Norman Surplus

Norman Surplus, the Gyrocopter Man

I was not having a particularly good day.  To be honest, I can’t even recall why.  All I know is that my head was pounding, and I wasn’t sure how long I would be able to stay focused and carry on working.

We were driving several hours north of Manila to meet a chap named Norman Surplus - and it was the only time he had to spare. I was sure glad he did.

His energy was infectious from the start; his smile enough to brighten any day. This was clearly a person drunk on life - and rightly so.  His was an extraordinary journey, and we were lucky enough to be there to witness it.

“I’ve been extremely fortunate,” he said. The statement meant so much coming from a man who was told in 2003 that he had a 40 per cent chance of surviving another year with cancer. But he did survive, and how.

Here was Norman Surplus now - eight years later - flying around the world in an attempt to make aviation history in an odd little machine called a gyrocopter.