Helicopters R Us

[02TAC]

Untitled from J B on Vimeo.

[spntshell]

Wow! looks like one of ours with out the N numbers and ERA decals

Originally Posted by Hay Ewe

Bump
this thread seems to have slowed down a bit which is shame, there are some great pics on here and stories and I am sure more to come.

I can't contribute much because
a) I dont have a digital camera
b) I work in tech services / records and I am sure that pictures of log books and work packs are not as exciting as flying and stores 'n' stuff

the closest I got recently to anything active happening is this



I think this will work, bit of a noob at this

Hay Ewe

[BikePilot]

Hey guys, I'm signed up for an introductory flight lesson in a R44 exactly a week from today. I get a couple of hours of ground school then an hour of flight. I've been an on-and-off fixed wing student pilot (with more off than on - broke student). Haven't soloed, but can take off, fly around and land in a glider or basic fixed wing plane without breaking the plane.

Any advice to make the most of the introduction to rotorcraft? I won't be continuing lessons for a while (still a broke student pilot - the intro lesson is thanks to a huge discount at a near-by flight school), but intend to get my fixed and rotary wing tickets eventually. I've a basic understanding of the aerodynamics of how a helicopter works, but that's about it.

I broke out the R22 in Microsoft flight simulator X - probably not all that realistic, but I figured it'd at least give me some sense of how things work (I've got ruder pedals and a throttle quadrant separate from the joystick).

I found the FAA rotorcraft flight manual http://www.faa.gov/library/manuals/a...-h-8083-21.pdf and it looks useful, but I won't have time to read the whole thing before next Saturday (school is insanely busy - ~1k pgs to read and 3 papers to write between now and lift-off).

I've absolutely loved the flying I've done so far and am super excited about getting to fly a helicopter. I've never even flown in one as a passenger before.

This is the outfit that's giving the lessons. http://www.eastcoastaeroclub.com/ at Hanscom field.

[poondogger]

If I were you I'd spend about 10 minutes proving to yourself it's hard to do and the rest of your time on a joyride away from the airport as low and fast as safety permits. I've only been flying for about 10 years but still remember my first helicopter flight like it was yesterday. Don't expect to learn much about flying it but rather use it as an opportunity to experience what a helicopter can do. GL

Originally Posted by BikePilot

Hey guys, I'm signed up for an introductory flight lesson in a R44 exactly a week from today. I get a couple of hours of ground school then an hour of flight. I've been an on-and-off fixed wing student pilot (with more off than on - broke student). Haven't soloed, but can take off, fly around and land in a glider or basic fixed wing plane without breaking the plane.

Any advice to make the most of the introduction to rotorcraft? I won't be continuing lessons for a while (still a broke student pilot - the intro lesson is thanks to a huge discount at a near-by flight school), but intend to get my fixed and rotary wing tickets eventually. I've a basic understanding of the aerodynamics of how a helicopter works, but that's about it.

I broke out the R22 in Microsoft flight simulator X - probably not all that realistic, but I figured it'd at least give me some sense of how things work (I've got ruder pedals and a throttle quadrant separate from the joystick).

I found the FAA rotorcraft flight manual http://www.faa.gov/library/manuals/a...-h-8083-21.pdf and it looks useful, but I won't have time to read the whole thing before next Saturday (school is insanely busy - ~1k pgs to read and 3 papers to write between now and lift-off).

I've absolutely loved the flying I've done so far and am super excited about getting to fly a helicopter. I've never even flown in one as a passenger before.

This is the outfit that's giving the lessons. http://www.eastcoastaeroclub.com/ at Hanscom field.

[BikePilot]

Thanks! That sounds like great advice to me

On a different topic, I was at oskosh last summer and enjoyed the aerobatic helicopter routine and also spent quite a bit of time drooling over the Mosquito ultralight helicopters. They even had a factory test unit there that was flying with a fuel injected yamaha snowmobile motor - looked pretty trick (the others used Hirth motors I think).

[BikePilot]

Had a fantastic time in the R44 - I will definitely need to do more of this!

Instructor and I headed out to the R44


Getting in


Taking off


Landing



As it happens FSX does an excellent job simulating the control of the helicopter.
Its actually easier in real life because it is easier to discern small changes in attitude.

Ground school was quite thorough. There were over 200pgs of fairly dense reading assigned, then classroom instruction from 9am-noon followed by an exam. I passed, though I did take exception with the FAA on a couple of points.

Once we were out at the helicopter the instructor took the time to show me all the systems, opened the cowling and let me drool on the O-540 a bit. We let the other R44 near by take off, then we were off. The instructor did the take-off and I followed on the controls. Translational lift is no joke, it feels like someone flipped on the nos - the thing just takes off when those rotors start to get clean air.

Once up to about 500' the instructor gave me the controls and I flew around for a half hour or so. I was able to fly very near straight and level on the first attempt - a little wobbly, but really quite impressed with myself. I then made a couple of laps around Waldon Pond and enjoyed a great view of Boston. I played with climbs and descents, played with different collective (basically power) settings. The thing really felt quite sporty. Way over powered for our conditions (well under gross weight on a cold, calm day at sea level) and the controls had excellent feel and only required a very light touch. A thumb and forefinger on the cyclic was plenty. The collective and throttle took a more healthy grip and the torque pedals are about like those on a glider or aerobatic plane - lighter than a cessna 172, but not as light as say a throttle on a typical cage.

Overall it is definitely much more involved to fly than an airplane. It requires constant corrections and wouldn't likely stay upright hands-off for more than half a second or so it seemed, but at the same time it wasn't nearly as difficult as some would suggest.

The view is just amazing. Much better than any airplane I've been in. The windscreen literally extends from almost directly above my head to the top of my toes and wraps around pretty far as well.

I'd hinted before we took off that I rather enjoyed more advanced maneuvers and wouldn't likely be disconcerted or scared. On the way in the instructor asked what I thought of shooting an auto-rotation. I thought that sounded like a fantastic idea. I flew the pattern and high final, then he took over and I followed on the controls. He cut the power, pitched forward and descended at 85kts and about a 45 deg angle. When we were about 15' off the ground he pulled back hard on the cyclic and transfered that 85kts of kinetic energy into rotational energy in the rotor and that allowed for a short hover as rotor speed began to bleed, then he hit the power and we were off (we could have set down right there without power, but then we'd have been in the middle of the runway). Taxing at 40kts and 20' off the ground or so is way cool, much better than driving an airplane on the ground.

[Elvis70]

Welcome to rotary flight. Careful, it is addicting, and like most drugs it leads you to destroy relationships, end up alone, and old, with little to no net worth.

[Hedge36]

Pick your favorite peanut butter now and stock up.

[BikePilot]

So not much change from the present then (but I am allergic to peanuts - can I substitute pasta or something?)

[Hedge36]

Originally Posted by BikePilot

So not much change from the present then (but I am allergic to peanuts - can I substitute pasta or something?)

Vegemite

I grew up in and around 212s and 412s, a love affair from an early age. In the Navy there was a lot of H2 time, but for some reason it took me another twenty years to get around to committing to the expense of getting my rotary cert... not a regret one at this point

[cosybike]

Is it air conditioning or something - seems be injected into the cabin? The are showing Coastguard rescue here and Highland Emergency. Tis a rotor lovers wet dream.

I don't know if its the editing or the flying style but they sure make a meal of anything they are doing compared with the Navy/RAF.

The blackhawk also seems helluva wobbly compared to a big seaking. There was one episode where they mentioned concern about the rain in case the computer gets wet? Whats that about?

[PackRat]

[quote=Hedge36]Vegemite I grew up in and around 212s and 412s, a love affair from an early age.....{quote]

Yeah, sure you did!

You still want that main rotor blade?


.

[Hedge36]

[QUOTE=PackRat]

Originally Posted by Hedge36

Vegemite I grew up in and around 212s and 412s, a love affair from an early age.....{quote]

Yeah, sure you did!

You still want that main rotor blade?


.

Hell, can you imagine what'd take to get it to CA? Still got that tail blade? It'd look good on the wall I think

[Hedge36]

Originally Posted by cosybike

Is it air conditioning or something - seems be injected into the cabin? The are showing Coastguard rescue here and Highland Emergency. Tis a rotor lovers wet dream.

I don't know if its the editing or the flying style but they sure make a meal of anything they are doing compared with the Navy/RAF.

The blackhawk also seems helluva wobbly compared to a big seaking. There was one episode where they mentioned concern about the rain in case the computer gets wet? Whats that about?

Correction: The CG uses Jayhawks.

And everybody knows computers and water don't mix

[kodiakfrank]

Originally Posted by cosybike

Is it air conditioning or something - seems be injected into the cabin? The are showing Coastguard rescue here and Highland Emergency. Tis a rotor lovers wet dream.

I don't know if its the editing or the flying style but they sure make a meal of anything they are doing compared with the Navy/RAF.

The blackhawk also seems helluva wobbly compared to a big seaking. There was one episode where they mentioned concern about the rain in case the computer gets wet? Whats that about?

That is condensation coming out of the air cycle machine: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_cycle_machine). It is the air conditioning system for the aircraft.

The Jayhawk is basically the same as a Seahawk; the tail landing gear assembly is attached to the transition section of the airframe. On the Blackhawk the tail gear is attached to the tail boom/pylon.

We reall never had a big problem with water getting in the avionics/computers.

The wobbliness is caused by a nut loose between the seat and the cyclic.