Listen Now

This podcast was posted on January 12, 2021. Jim Lezie owned Skywheels Rotor Systems from 2001 to 2018. He is a seasoned veteran of rotorcraft.  Jim’s been around rotors for years as a pilot in both the California Air National Guard and a military service member.  When ABC Network News was looking for expert comment on the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash in 2020, they called and interviewed Jim Lezie. Jim was extensively involved with new owner Joe Covelli in the Skywheels transition, and ultimately bringing the product back into manufacturing and on the market again. In this podcast, Jim offers a great perspective on Skywheels and its stable and reliable performance. You will enjoy listening to his comments and perspective.  

This live podcast was recorded on December 22, 2020. In September, Skywheels Rotor Systems completed flight tests. Test pilot Greg Bradley put the new blades through their paces and goes over flight maneuvers and data acquired. Receive firsthand information about new rotor blade performance and flight characteristics.

This podcast was posted on December 7, 2020.  Jim McCutchen began manufacturing McCutchen Skywheels rotor blades in 1985.  Following a successful run until 2001, his company manufactured 6,000 rotor blades.  To put that into perspective, if you placed the rotor blades end-to-end, they would stretch 17-miles long.  That's a lot of rotor blades.  During his time of ownership, Jim did considerable research and testing.  Our podcast begins with an update from Skywheels President Joe Covelli.  Joe details his goal in bringing Skywheels back on the market and manufactured again to match the original McCutchen Skywheels rotor blades for their safety and performance characteristics.  The goal was met in the summer and fall of 2020 during test flights by two pilots who confirmed the new rotor blade sets had the same flight performance characteristics as the originals.

In this podcast recorded on October 5, 2020, Air Command and Skywheels President Joe Covelli reviews September's successful completion of Skywheels rotor blade testing and the recently announced partnership with Blackhawk Aerospace Composites, Inc.  In looking forward to the next few months, the focus returns to completing the gyroplane kit drawings and pricing.

New sets of Skywheels Rotor Blade Systems are being manufactured again and deliveries will begin soon. Now, the company is turning its full attention back to gyroplane kit production and reintroducing the Commander Elite models. In addition, Air Command and Skywheels President Joe Covelli is working with a team of design engineers, consultants, manufacturing partners, suppliers, and a newly formed group, the Air Command Advisory Board. The entire team is working together to refresh and bring back to market one of the original titans in gyroplane flying, Air Command Gyroplanes paired with Skywheels Rotor Blade Systems.

This podcast was recorded on March 13, 2018. In September 2017, Harold Smith sold Air Command International to Joe Covelli. The company specializes in manufacturing gyroplane rotorcraft sold worldwide as build-to-fly kits. As part of the transaction, the company’s headquarters, to include operations and manufacturing, were moved to River Falls, Wisconsin (near Minneapolis, Minnesota). Harold, an aeronautical engineer, and his son Doug successfully operated Air Command from the airport in Caddo Mills, Texas for nearly 25 years. According to Joe, “We look forward to continuing the great tradition of Air Command in manufacturing production gyroplane kits, parts, and accessories for customers worldwide”. Currently, there are over 2,500 Air Command single and two-seat gyroplanes flying worldwide. The company’s first flight was in 1984. The website is www.aircommand.com.