No Fly - Redux - The Sequel

Wind, fog, rain, and ice... no thanks.

No Fly - Redux

Today was gusing to 25knotts... not going to try that.

No Fly!

Icing Conditions = No Fly

Headed towards the Stage 1 Check-Ride...

Flight #: 034
CFI: Kristie H.
Aircraft: Robinson R22 Beta II
Aircraft ID: N8361N
Duration: 1.1hrs
Cumulative Time: 37.6hrs

Got some good practice in today, in preparation for my stage 1 check-ride. We were trying to get it in before the end of the month, but I don't think we're going to make that goal. Weather is really bad, recently, and I need to get better on my autorotation entries. I end up doing one of two things... entering with a nose-down attitude or not completely lowering collective before rolling off throttle.

More practice before I'm going to feel confident here.

61N, you are on my list!

Punk-ass 61N. No flight today because the punk wouldn't start. Totally killed the battery (which was almost dead already) trying to start it. Called line service to help jump it... and that failed too.

It sucks to be grounded by weather, but it happens and you can't do anything about it. To be grounded because the machine won't start... that just burns.

Practice Autos

Flight #: 033
CFI: Kristie H.
Aircraft: Robinson R22 Beta II
Aircraft ID: N8361N
Duration: 1.2hrs
Cumulative Time: 36.5hrs

Autorotations in the West Practice Area - the theme for today's flight. Things are definitely getting better. I'm a lot less anxious now and focusing on the smooth steps to execute the maneuver.

Also been focusing on those nasty hover autos. I'm getting quite a bit better, if I do say so myself. A successful HA is to not only land safely, but also to do it gently and without much yaw. I'm now withing 15º about 75% of the time. The other 25%... more like 45º.

Kristie and I had initially talked about getting my ramp solo in before the end of the month, but I'm pretty doubtful that this will actually happen. I lost 3 days this week due to weather and wind. I think I'm probably there, we just want to be sure. I still have some slop in my flight that I need to iron out.

Plus, no rush, right?

How to fly a helicopter, by Dave Barry

Kristie was given this during one of her CFI meetings... too good not to share.

"How to fly a helicopter - by Dave Barry

TODAY'S AVIATION TOPIC IS: How to fly a helicopter.

Although flying a helicopter may seem very difficult, the truth is that if you can drive a car, you can, with just a few minutes of instruction, take the controls of one of these amazing machines. Of course you would immediately crash and die. This is why you need to remember:

RULE ONE OF HELICOPTER PILOTING: Always have somebody sitting right next to you who actually knows how to fly the helicopter and can snatch the controls away from you.

Because the truth is that helicopters are nothing at all like cars. Scientists still have no idea what holds helicopters up. "Whatever it is, it could stop at any moment," is their current feeling. This leads us to:

RULE TWO OF HELICOPTER PILOTING: Maybe you should forget the entire thing.

This was what I was thinking on a recent Saturday morning as I stood outside a small airport in South Florida, where I was about to take my first helicopter lesson. This was not my idea. This was the idea of Pam Gallina-Raissiguier, a pilot who flies radio reporters over Miami.

Pam is active in an international organization of women helicopter pilots called - Gloria Steinem, avert your eyes - the "Whirly Girls." She thought it would be a great idea for me to take a helicopter lesson.

I began having severe doubts when I saw Pam's helicopter. This was a small helicopter. It looked like it should have a little slot where you insert quarters to make it go up and down. Also, this helicopter had no doors. As a Frequent 1 Flyer, I know for a fact that all your leading U.S. air lines, despite being bankrupt, maintain a strict safety policy of having doors on their aircraft.

"Don't we need a larger helicopter?" I asked Pam. "With doors?"

"Get in," said Pam.

You don't defy a direct order from a Whirly Girl.

Now we're in the helicopter, and Pam is explaining the controls to me over the headset, but there's static and the engine is making a lot of noise.

"... your throttle (something)," she is saying, "this is your cyclic and (something) your collective."

"What?" I say.

"(something) give you the controls when we reach 500 feet," Pam says.

"WHAT?" I say.

But Pam is not listening. She is moving a control thing and WHOOAAA we are off the ground, hovering, and now WHOOOOAAAAAA we are shooting up in the air, and there are still no doors on this particular helicopter.

Now Pam is giving me the main control thing.

RULE THREE OF HELICOPTER PILOTING: If anybody tries to give you the main control thing, re-

AIEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

"That was too much pressure," Pam says.

Now I am flying the helicopter. I AM FLYING THE HELICOPTER. I am flying it by not moving a single body part, for fear of jiggling the control thing. I look like the Lincoln Memorial, only more rigid.

"Make a right turn," Pam is saying.

I gingerly move the control thing one zillionth of an inch to the right and the helicopter LEANS OVER TOWARD MY SIDE AND THERE IS STILL NO DOOR HERE. I instantly move the thing one zillionth of an inch back.

"I'm not turning right," I inform Pam.

"What?" she says.

"Only left turns," I tell her. When you've been flying helicopters as long as I have, you know your limits.

After a while it becomes clear to Pam that if she continues to allow the Lincoln statue to pilot the helicopter, we are going to wind up flying in a straight line until we run out of fuel, possibly over Antarctica, so she takes the control thing back. That is the good news. The bad news is, she's now saying something about demonstrating an "emergency procedure."

"It's for when your engine dies," Pam says. "It's called 'auto-rotation.' Do you like amusement park rides?"

I say: "No, I DOOOOOOOOOOOOO..."

RULE FOUR OF HELICOPTER PILOTING: "Auto-rotation" means "coming down out of the sky at about the same speed and aerodynamic stability as that of a forklift dropped from a bomber."

Now we're close to the ground (although my stomach is still at 500 feet), and Pam is completing my training by having me hover the helicopter.

RULE FIVE OF HELICOPTER PILOTING: You can't hover the helicopter.

The idea is to hang over one spot on the ground. I am hovering over an area approximately the size of Australia. I am swooping around sideways and backward like a crazed bumblebee.

So I am very happy when we finally get back on the ground. Pam tells me I did great, and she'd be glad to take me up again. I tell her that sounds like a fun idea.

RULE SIX OF HELICOPTER PILOTING: Sometimes you have to lie."

NOTE: WHEREAS this article is reprinted here without permission, and WHEREAS there is no commercial intent, and WHEREAS it is here shown for Our personal enjoyment, THEREFORE, We do hereby grant a special dispensation from copyright law under the "fair use" doctrine.

Stage 1 Prep...

Flight #: 032
CFI: Kristie H.
Aircraft: Robinson R22 Beta II
Aircraft ID: N8361N
Duration: 1.1hrs
Cumulative Time: 35.3hrs

Another good flight. Getting prepared for my Stage 1 Check Ride. This pretty much means doing everything over and over and over until I get it perfect. I've been doing pretty well on the hover autorotations recently. Which feels pretty good. My normal autos have not been so smooth, though. Mainly due to my lack of proper setup. Practice Practice...

Mixin' it up

Flight #: 031
CFI: Garreth E.
Aircraft: Robinson R22 Beta II
Aircraft ID: N8361N
Duration: 1.1hrs
Cumulative Time: 34.2hrs

My flight this morning was canceled due to Wx (weather) issues... icing mist at 0ft. So, so flight.

Later in the afternoon I got a SMS from Kristie asking if I was available, last minute, for a flight. I'm always ready for a flight! So, I sped over to HAI. When I got there Garreth, another CFI, was the one with a helicopter and training slot. So, it was Garreth and I today.

This was great practice for me... because not only did I have to prove myself to a new CFI, but I also had to get used to their method of training.


Now, I can't prove it, but I think Garreth was messing with me during the pre-flight. There were about 8 things which were out of their normal setting. For example, the transponder is normally set to 1200... this time it was at 1100. The clutch was engaged, the altimeter was set to 400ft below sea level, and a number of fuses were pulled. I caught 'em all. Which is, of course why they would test me.

Other than that the flight was pretty normal. Hovers, auto rotations, patterns, quick stops, etc. Garreth introduced slope landings which, as Garreth said, is where most landing occur. Rarely do you actually get to land on a flat surface. Good point.

All in all, a very good flight.

I made hover autos my bitch!

Flight #: 030
CFI: Kristie H.
Aircraft: Robinson R22 Beta II
Aircraft ID: N8340S
Duration: 1.2hrs
Cumulative Time: 33.1hrs

In excellent CFI style, Kristie got me right back into hover autrotations next flight. And it was a good thing too.... they still un-nerve me a bit, but I no longer question what I'm doing. I know.

We did quite a lot today, straight-in, turning and hover autorotations. Running landings, running takeoffs and steep approaches. All good.

And, at the end Kristie told me she wants me solo'ing by end of January. WooHoo!

That does mean I need to pass my Stage 1 Check Ride. Essentially a 2-4 hour verbal exam with an hour flight with another CFI or the Chief Flight Instructor.

Means a lot of studying in my future, but I can't wait to fly on my own!

So, I almost killed Kristy...

Flight #: 029
CFI: Kristie H.
Aircraft: Robinson R22 Beta II
Aircraft ID: N8361N
Duration: 1.3hrs
Cumulative Time: 31.9hrs

Well, not really. But if it were not for her quick reaction, we certainly would have a few bruises. Here is what happened... we were doing straight-in autorotations along side of hover autos.

A straight in autorotation is set up 700ft MSL (500AGL) and 70 KIAS. When level, lower collective, right pedal, slight aft, and completely roll off throttle, then pitch pull to get your rotor RPM into the green. Then you continue your entrance to land safely. It is an advanced maneuver to get you safely to the ground without power. Really a beautiful thing when it is done right... you just sort of float in.

A hover autorotation is set up at about 1-2 ft AGL hover. When ready, you completly roll off throttle, hard right pedal, little right cyclic and pause... then hard and large pitch pull on collective. This is quite a bit more abrupt and is used when the engine cuts out in a hover. You have very little time to execute this... cause you are only 1-2 ft off the ground. Dropping a helicopter from 2 feet does not sound like much but 1400lbs can make a pretty big dent. That and you have a blender blade spinning above your head.

After about 4 hover autos in a row I got mixed up... and, I have to be honest here, hover autos freak me out a bit. I know practice makes perfect... and that fear and panic will eventually go away but not this day.

In short, I set up for the hover auto, rolled off throttle, lowered collective and threw in right pedal. The helicopter just dropped out of the sky. Kristie tore up the collective to reduce the fall but we hit hard... and bounced up about 8 inches and then slammed down again. An absolute mess. Where did I go wrong? I lowered collective. You never lower collective in a hover autorotation... never. You only lower in a straight-in or 180 auto rotation. I just got confused.

See, when you lower collective, you reduce the pitch of the main rotor blades... and lose lift. If you lower throttle you reduce the power to the blades... and you lose lift. If you do both and don't have airspeed and altitude... you got nothing left. And, in a hover auto you have neither airspeed nor altitude. So, you are in a helicopter, in the air, with nothing. That's why we fell.

When you do it right, you pause a little, then yank the hell out of the collective to soften your hit. If you do it perfectly, you just land with a little bump. But, that pitch pull slows down the rotors significantly... so you can only do it once. You have to wait till you need it at the last minute.

So, I suppose there is a silver lining here... I know how bad a 2ft fall can be and I will never do it again.

Other than that end-of-the-day mess, the rest of the day was good.

Page 2!

Flight #: 028
CFI: Kristie H.
Aircraft: Robinson R22 Beta II
Aircraft ID: N8340S
Duration: 1.2hrs
Cumulative Time: 30.6hrs

Another good lesson. Great weather today, gentle wind to help with my hover practice, and about 10 mile visibility. Sunny (and I forgot my sunglasses), so that helps with SAD. Well, not really a sufferer, but it is nice to finally have sun in your eyes.

We ran through some advanced maneuvers again, just getting better at all of it. I actually got to do about 75% of a running landing on my own. Coming in at 40knots at 2 feet above the ground is very similar to the feeling one gets riding a motorcycle. It is that sensation where speed seems to increase the closer you get to the ground. Addicting.

Also filled up page 2 in my logbook. Again, not a real big deal, but it is a physical milestone when you have to turn pages to get to the next entry.

Patience... easy does it.

Flight #: 027
CFI: Kristie H.
Aircraft: Robinson R22 Beta II
Aircraft ID: N8361N
Duration: 1.1hrs
Cumulative Time: 29.4hrs

Another good flight today. Continuing to practice basic maneuvers. As Kristie said, "You know how to fly this thing... now just get fast and accurate." She's right, of course... I do know how to fly. Hovering is no big thing anymore, I just need to get more focused on the details now.

For example when hovering down the end of the taxi way, I need to stick my heading. I tend to wobble and fishtail quite a bit. The is the side effect of wind, but I should be faster on the pedals to keep any significant movement from happening.

Also, she is referring to the fact that I tend to over correct with my collective to much. After lift off and ascent to pattern altitude (700ft MSL, 500ft AGL) I end up correcting too much and bouncing up and down around my target altitude. Test standards require that I'm with in 100ft of my target, so I'm skirting with that limit now... but I just should be better.

I think it all stems from the fact that the feedback is rather slow... meaning that when I'm happy with my altitude, I should just use the collective a little bit, and just let the helicopter react. I give a little nudge... then wait about 1/2 second. When I don't see correction, I hammer it, and we drop. I just need to be patient.

It's not all bad... I'm worrying about tuning things now... and not keeping aloft.

We started doing running takeoffs today as well. Feels wrong. This is one of those maneuvers that I should never be in. Basically it is how to squeek a liftoff when you can't hover. Basically it is getting light on the skids and then sliding forward, while still on the ground, until you hit ETL. Then, with that added lift component you are able to climb out with much less power than normal. You should never be attempting a take off when you don't have enough power... and should should not be landing in an area where you would get in this situation. But, none the less... it is something you should know... just in case.

We also started hover autorotations. This is when you lose power in a hover. You start out low and work your way up... as you get better. We started at "light on the skids" and worked our way up to about 2 inches off the ground. When Kristie demonstrated it, it was an abrupt but soft landing. When I tried it was like dropping the helicopter from 2 inches. Just like everything else... practice makes perfect.

Running landings help shake off the rust...

Flight #: 026
CFI: Kristie H.
Aircraft: Robinson R22 Beta II
Aircraft ID: N8340S
Duration: 1.3hrs
Cumulative Time: 28.3hrs

First flight in two weeks! Been on vacation for the holidays and went to the Outer Banks with some friends over new years. Felt really good to get back into the pilot seat. Little bit of rust here and there, but not as much as before. You really do benefit from muscle memory. The day was really windy so I had a lot of pedal work to do on this flight, but it was good... right back in to the deep end of the pool.

We started a new lesson today... and that included a running landing. This is a maneuver necessary when you don't have sufficient power to hover and land normally. This can happen for a number of reasons. The most obvious of which would be extremely poor flight planning and not determining if you were able to hover at your intended landing site. There is something called IGE (In Ground Effect) hover. This is a condition where the helicopter is within one rotor distance of the ground and two components take effect. The first is the reduction of induced flow. Basically a reduction in induced drag and therefore the power needed to maintain the same vertical lift is reduced. And, second, the rotor-tip vorticies are reduced, increasing the efficiency of the rotor. The essentially generates a bit of a pillow of air and allows you hover with less power.

Anyway, you use this effect to help with landing. If for some reason you don't have the power to hover to get from OGE (Out of Ground Effect) into IGE, you will need to rely on your forward motion and the efficiencies of ETL to keep your lift until you are ready to land. If your poor planning has you landing at too high of an altitude, or you have a magneto failure and can't produce the required power to land safely, you will need to do a running landing.

You come in for a normal landing... and "go low" then "go slow". This means, you are at about 50 knots and a few feet off the ground. Then, you slow down. As you do, you will slowly drop out of your ETL efficiency and touch down... at about 20 knots. You use your tail rotor to steer your skidding helicopter to a stop.

It is a bit un-nerving at first... it just feels wrong to be going that fast that close to the ground and coming to a skidding halt. But, years of Big-Wheel skid turns finally pay off.