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Everson Gyrocopter
Ron Everson (at the machine’s controls) and his brother Ernie at Muriwai Beach with their gyrocopter. Leo White Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library.
The Everson gyrocopter was built by Ron and Ernie Everson in the early 1960s. The Everson brothers and their gyrocopter illustrate the notion of ‘kiwi ingenuity.’ The gyrocopter was tested at Muriwai Beach, where it was tethered to a vehicle and driven at high speed. The aircraft did not receive a Certificate of Airworthiness.
The brothers were passionate about aviation for many decades. One of their first projects was a glider called Evo I. They went on to build several aircraft, including one with a single-seat twin-engined design called Evo III. This aircraft, in which the pilot’s head was inches away from the propeller tips, was initially condemned by the authorities. Nevertheless it remains the only twin-engined homebuilt aircraft made in New Zealand.
Ron Everson donated the gyrocopter to MOTAT in 1982.
One of the Everson brothers and Evo II in Auckland in the 1930s. Leo White Collection, Alexander Turnbull Library.
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The
drive and ingenuity of the Everson brothers is indicative of the
pioneering spirit of many New Zealand aviators including Richard Pearse.
It is a spirit that continues today.