“IT’S ABOUT FLIGHT ITSELF” Napa winery owner reaches new heights in an unconventional aircraft K AT Y H AU T E It’s a bird, it’s a plane… Wait, what is that flying overhead? That’s exactly what St. Helena residents Amy Ellingson and Mark Blaustone wondered last spring when they stepped out of their front door on Adams Street. They heard a faint buzzing sound overhead and looked skyward. As they searched the sky for a flying machine she began to feel like she was witnessing something magical. “It was like the ‘Wizard of Oz,’ when the Wicked Witch is on her broom or ‘ET,’ when the bike is flying,” said Ellingson. “It was a little bit of fun and intrigue.” “We could hear it before we could see it,” she explained. There was a sense of wonder, “what is that? What is he doing?” Although they couldn’t immediately identify the flying object, they recalled that a friend had recently flown in a 12 | INSIDE NAPA VALLEY
Henry Boger
Bart O’Brien in his flying machine. TOP OF PAGE: Half Dome from the air. Submitted photo.
gyrocopter. In fact, it was the very same gyrocopter, piloted by Napa winery owner Bart O’Brien. “It was very thrilling to watch. We had just moved into the house and it was so cool—things happen here. It was a good omen.” “I wanted him to land, but
of course he couldn’t.” O’Brien usually takes off and lands at Napa County Airport, about five miles south of Napa. But as his wife Barb recalls, he did make one unexpected landing about three years ago. “ T h e Na p a R e g i s t e r ran a photo of Bart in his
single-seater off of 29 north of Imola,” she said. According to Bart, the gyrocopter’s reserve fuel tank wouldn’t open so he had to make an emergency landing, which drew the attention of local law enforcement officers and the press. O’Brien started with a one-person gyrocopter and explored the Napa Valley. He was eager to fly under the Golden Gate Bridge; once he accomplished that milestone he decided he wanted to share the experience with other brave souls and bought a two person gyrocopter. With the help of a GoPro, he started documenting his trips. In order to explore more diverse geological and geographical locations he recently purchased a trailer large enough to set up camp in other locations. What does it take to pilot a gyrocopter? Gumption? SPRING/SUMMER 2021
