Green Country Pilot Takes Unique Aircraft For Unseen Views Of Oklahoma

A Green Country pilot is using a unique aircraft to get a view of Oklahoma most people never see.

Carl Potter never thought he'd own a gyroplane. In fact, he remembers meeting someone at an airshow he thought was crazy for wanting one.

"He said I'm here to buy a gyro and I told him he was an idiot, I wouldn't fly one of those it's crazy those things are dangerous blah blah blah," says Potter.

But after learning more about this half plane, half helicopter, Carl was hooked. And now he flies one of the few airworthy gyroplanes in the state.

"In Oklahoma total, there's probably somewhere I'm gonna guess around 8 that I know of," he says.

Unique aircraft like these have their own personality, much like the pilots who fly them.

Carl says the best part of these planes is that they can go low and slow. Which came in handy 3 years ago when they helped find a plane that had crashed in some trees.

"That's where we found the pilot that went down in his plane right in those trees," says Potter.

After a smooth landing, I could see why Carl loves the gyroplane.

Carl says he's had plenty of happy passengers over the years.

"Most people get a real thrill, my 85-year-old mother, Ellen, she loves the thing," he says.

Carl says anyone who wants a ride just has to come out to Haskell Airport and help cover the cost of the flight.