The Gyrocopter is a fully functioning aircraft, noted by the Civil Aviation Authorities around the world as the safest Rotary Wing Aircraft, which through their ingenious design, manage to avoid some of the less endearing qualities of airplanes and of the helicopters.

The autogiros were the first rotary wing aircraft to fly successfully with sufficient control, and they have been around for decades. In addition to the name the autogiro, they have been known as "gyroplane", "autogro" and later "gyrocopter".
The design has inherent safety, better low-speed flight than airplanes as well as the capability of vertical take-off and landing.

To avoid any confusion, the gyrocopter does not fly like an airplane or a helicopter. Yes, there are some similarities, and even though it looks a lot like a helicopter, the gyrocopter has some flight characteristics of its own and the gyro flies like a gyrocopter.