Adventurers Christophe Gonin, from La Tour, France and Lucien Angrand, from Ornex, France braved North Atlantic waters to fly from France to Oshkosh to attend the 2024 Airventure. Planning for their journey began two years ago when Christophe, a Magni Gyroplane pilot, set a goal to fly to Airventure in a two place gyroplane. First, he had to research the equipment necessary to make such a trip. He needed a gyro that had a range of at least 300 miles (for the longest over water legs) and that was reliable enough to prevent an unscheduled swim between landing sites. He settled on the Argon GTL (Grand Touring, Long) because it met all those specifications (with some modifications) and because it was long enough to accommodate their gear and survival equipment. The Argon is manufactured in Europe, with about 90 flying world wide (12 in the U.S.).
The intrepid pair left France on April 15, 2024 and made a stop at the Friedrichshafen Airshow in Germany before setting out for the UK. After Scotland and Faroe Island, they landed in Heidi, Iceland. They tooled around Iceland for a while before once again donning their exposure suits to set out across the North Atlantic for Greenland. The gyro landed at Kulusuk, Greenland and then explored the icy island by visiting Narsarsuak, Nuuk and Sisimiut before visiting Baffin Island and then mainland Canada. They crossed over to the United States at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. They reached Oshkosh on July 14 after three months of fun flying and adventure. Although they would not trade their flight for the world, they are flying back to France on a commercial airliner.
