Mad Max 2: The Gyro Captain and his Gyrocopter

In the classic 1981 Aussie movie Mad Max 2 starry Mel Gibson, the highways have become the domain of marauders who will stop at nothing to get their hands on precious Guzzoline. To survive out there you need to be a true Road Warrior and Max is the hero you need. Not everyone in this dystopian world takes the road though.

Mad Max 2 Crash poster — Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior

The Gyro Captain (Bruce Spence) soars above it in his gyrocopter (“Don’t touch please, that’s a precision instrument.“). He also happens to know where a compound is with a fuel refinery. Valuable information indeed!

Max discovers the gyrocopter and meets The Gyro Captain - Mad Max 2 (1981) — Max discovers the gyrocopter and meets The Gyro Captain – Mad Max 2 (1981)

The Gyro Captain - Mad Max 2 (1981) — The Gyro Captain – Mad Max 2 (1981)

The Gyro Captain and his gyrocopter played a big part in the battles with the marauders. I was recently in outback New South Wales near Broken Hill and Silverton where much of the movies epic car battles and key scenes were filmed. The road near the Mundi Mundi Lookout on the Mundi Mundi Plains past Silverton feature heavily in the movie and in Silverton itself is the excellent Mad Max 2 Museum (the owners Adrian and Linda are experts on all things related to Mad Max 2 and great people to have a chat with).

Mad Max 2 on the Mundi Mundi Plains in 1981

The Mundi Mundi Plains from the Mundi Mundi Lookout March 2016 - This stretch of road was integral to the road battles of Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior — The Mundi Mundi Plains from the Mundi Mundi Lookout March 2016 – This stretch of road was integral to the road battles of Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior

Mad Max 2 Museum - Silverton, NSW in March 2016 — Mad Max 2 Museum in Silverton, NSW – March 2016

The Museum has lots of behind the scenes photos, props (originals obtained from various sources and also recovered from movie locations), some of the original movie vehicles and plenty of replica vehicles including the mighty Ford XB Interceptor (“The last of the V8’s“. Click here for my visit to see the original car that is now in Miami). If you love all things Mad Max related (as I do) then this museum is a must see destination, as is visiting the nearby movie scene locations.

Max Rockatansky - Mad Max 2 — Max Rockatansky – Mad Max 2

Mad Max 2 Museum Road Warrior - V8 Interceptor with Max and The Gyro Captain (captive) on board — Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior – V8 Interceptor with Max and The Gyro Captain (captive) on board – this one is displayed with post road battle damage (photo taken during my visit to the Mad Max 2 Museum in Silverton NSW in March 2016)

The other V8 Interceptor with the Concorde front end attached at the Mad Max 2 Museum in Silverton, NSW (Adrian the owner of the museum built this one about 15 years ago)

Something I was surprised to see in the collection though was the original gyrocopter used in the movie (supplied and flown by Gerry Goodwin in the movie). Restored and rebuilt (on display courtesy of the current owner), the gyrocopter looks much as it did in 1981, though it is minus the centrefold photos that were just stuck on it in 1981 (time took its toll on these paper ladies it seems!).

Marauder vehicles & the gyrocopter at the Mad Max 2 Museum in Silverton, NSW — Marauder vehicles including the Ford Landau and Ford XA Batcar (replicas) & the gyrocopter (original) at the Mad Max 2 Museum in Silverton, NSW in March 2016

The Gyrocopter at the Mad Max 2 Museum in Silverton, NSW – March 2016

The Gyrocopter at the Mad Max 2 Museum in Silverton, NSW - March 2016 — The Gyrocopter at the Mad Max 2 Museum in Silverton, NSW – March 2016

In what is essentially an Aussie muscle car based action movie, it is cool that it has an aviation link too. It is also good to see the legend of The Gyro Captain lives on!