BIDDEFORD — In 2003, Norman Surplus, of Northern Ireland, received a bleak prognosis: After being diagnosed with bowel cancer, doctors told him he had a 40 percent chance of living longer than 18 months.

More than a decade later, Surplus is not only living cancer-free, but by the end of July, he hopes to be the first person to travel around the world in an autogyro ”“ a small, open-aired aircraft that resembles a helicopter but uses an unpowered rotor and a motorized propellor to fly, reaching speeds of 80-100 mph and altitudes of 800-1,000 feet.

Surplus began the trip in 2010, heading east from his hometown in Ireland, hopping from airport to airport along the way, typically flying in four- to five-hour spurts. He was delayed for three years in Japan, however, while he attempted to get approval from the Russian government to fly into northeastern Russia in order to make his way to Alaska.

On Monday afternoon, about a half dozen people stood on the tarmac of Biddeford Municipal Airport, looking up into the sky as a tiny yellow blot grew into Surplus and his autogyro. Surplus said his touchdown in Biddeford marks the end of the coast-to-coast leg of his journey, from California to Maine, and means he is about 75 percent of the way through the entire trip.

“It’s nice to see the Atlantic,” he said as he rolled off of the runway.

Surplus said he only started flying after he recovered from cancer, and he has since broken nine world records and is trying for his 10th. He’s using the worldwide flight in part to raise awareness and money for Bowel Cancer UK, an organization dedicated to researching bowel cancer, which affects tens of thousands of people in the United Kingdom each year.

“It is a message of hope,” he said of his endeavor. “It felt like an interesting challenge. I quite like (stories of the) champion and the underdog, and (the autogyro) is the underdog of aviation.”

Surplus said he has also been using the trip as a means of showcasing the autogyro, which was invented in 1923 but fell by the wayside after the invention of the helicopter. The lightweight aircraft burns about one-third of the fuel of a similarly sized helicopter, he said, and only costs about 10 percent as much to maintain.

“I liken it to flying a motorbike,” he said.

Surplus planned to stay the night in the area, but wasn’t sure, as of about 3 p.m. Monday, exactly where he would be sleeping. It was his first time visiting Maine, as well.

“I’ve been told I need to eat some lobster,” he said with a smile.

After a brief diversion to Nantucket, which was scheduled for today, Surplus said he planned to fly to Belfast, Maine, before ultimately taking off for Belfast, Northern Ireland, making stops in Canada, Greenland, Iceland and Scotland along the way.

“It’s certainly the most technically challenging,” he said of the last quarter of the trip. “It provides a nice sort of dramatic ending to the flight.”

David Edstrom, a Biddeford resident who holds his commercial pilot’s license, was one of a few members of the public who turned up to watch Surplus fly into Biddeford Monday.

“I’m fascinated by everything that flies,” he said before leaving the airport. “I couldn’t resist meeting someone who’s flying around the world.”

— Staff Writer Angelo J. Verzoni can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 329 or [email protected].