CFI: Kristie H.
Aircraft: Robinson R22 Beta II
Aircraft ID: N8361N
Duration: 1.7hrs
Cumulative Time: 2.5hrs
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I think I'm getting it... I really do. This morning's flight was fantastic. Weather was a little rough this morning on the way in, but winds and rain stopped during my pre-flight check. I completed 100% of the pre-flight today, and I think I'm getting pretty good at it - if I do say so myself. Basically it is a confidence around knowing that I am looking at the yoke flanges when I'm really supposed to.
After we powered up we actually decided to hold back and let the Jet Ranger, turbine chopper used by the local Fox news network land first. I was surprised at the effect of their down wash... felt like we were going to get blown away.
We got clearance for the WPA and headed out for some maneuvers. Plan was to set the floor at 1000ft and act as if we were executing a series of approaches.
Kristie keeps telling me to keep my eyes off the instruments and look outside. You do this,
obviously, in a car when you drive, but I'm just not used to the feel of the helicopter yet... so I keep checking altitude, speed, manifold pressure and carburetter temperature. Fact is, if you jut glance down, every so often, as you do now with your rear-view mirror and speedometer you are much better off. She was telling me that she uses the position of the compass / compass mount in relation to a point on the horizon to estimate the pitch angle (nose down) of the helicopter - this is related to the speed when in forward motion.This is, obviously different for everybody and every helicopter, but it turned out to be a pearl of wisdom... because I stopped fixating on the gauges.
My flight was sooo much better. I stopped wobbling and executing rapid speed changes, etc.
She really knows some good tricks and I enjoyed the flight a lot more... not only can you focus on what you are trying to do... turns, climbs, etc... but you enjoy scenery too.
At this point, turns... that's the coolest part of flight. The banking.
Flight back was uneventful, but interesting because thre were so many people coming back to base. Lots of radio chatter.
1 comment:
Told ya! That's not to say you shouldn't ever scan the instruments -- you need to do a periodic scan to make sure the systems are healthy and that you're holding your intended altitude (and as you may have discovered, a strong up- or downdraft can get you off your assigned altitude real quick).
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