Flight #: 002
CFI: Kristie H.
Aircraft: Robinson R22 Beta II
Aircraft ID: N8361N
Duration: 0.7hrs
Cumulative Time: 0.7hrs
Absolutely incredible. Today's flight was from HIO to Portland's downtown public heliport.
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This was one of the most incredible things I have done in my life so far. Feelings were all over the map. I was pumped full of adrenaline both from excitement and also from fear - just being honest here. It is not often that you are 1500 ft in the air zipping through radio/HDTV towers at 70 nmph towards a city.
You can see a rough estimate of the flight path above, but we essentially left HIO, northbound, and followed route 26 east to downtown Portland. I would say that I actually controlled the cyclic for about 90% of the distance on Rt. 26. Kristie had both the anti-torque pedals and the collective at this point. She actually made the approach into downtown and flew a northerly course along the river. If you look at this leg in the map above, you will see a private helipad on the left. You need special permission to even make an approach at this pad, so we just zipped on by. About a mile further north we saw the public heliport on our left, and did a slow flyby to check the wind socks for wind direction. Conveniently there was no wind. She continued north with a large, lazy counter clockwise loop around Portland's Union Station. We lined up for an approach to the heliport and started to descend. The landing was soft and direct and we just sat for a few minutes to check weather.
After some instrument checks, we powered up and lifted off. This heliport is actually on top of a downtown parking garage. I'm sure we've even parked there before (right near the Portland Saturday Market) but never knew. Seems that the rule is, if you get out of the helicopter or power down, you need to pay a landing fee. A touch-and-go, like this, is free since there is no point doing it unless you are training. After we got to about 500 ft, Kristie gave me both the cyclic and the collective control. As one might expect, there is a protocol for doing a control hand-off:
Kristie: "You have the cyclic and the collective."
Kristie is in full control. I've got my hands on the controls loosely so at to feel her adjustments.
Chris: "I have the cyclic and the collective."
I hold the controls completely.
Kristie: "You have the cyclic and the collective."
Kristie lets go completely.
Same idea as the submarine "dive, dive, dive" command. Everybody knows and agrees to what is happening next.
At this point, Kristie told me to follow 26 west, back to the airport by heading between two clumps of radio / HDTV towers. As with any new venture, there is a change in vocabulary and acronyms. They call those clumps the Antenna Farm.
The flight back was a little more relaxed and I got to enjoy myself a little more. Navigation was purely by sight and we just followed the highway all the way to The Stadium (Hillsboro's football stadium). Within a 5 mile radius of the airport Kristie radioed the tower and we were given an approach on runway 20.
We hover taxied to the hover-cone and then took position on the helicopter taxiway. She set us down nice and gently. We did a quick post-flight check and clocked out.
Only the second flight, I know... but this is incredible.
2 comments:
What an exciting adventure! I'm thrilled for you. And, congratulations on the running and weight loss. M
Cool stuff!
You had your introduction to helicopter IFR (I Follow Roads), and to positive transfer of control. You want to make a habit of always doing the latter. It works both ways too: use it when you want the controls. I sometimes fly with a good friend who is ATP rated in helos. If he has the controls and I want them back for some reason, we do the reverse of what you and Kristy did:
cap'n bob: I'd like the controls, John.
john: You have the controls.
cap'n bob: I have the controls. (and he let's go).
This is kinda fun seeing you learn!
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