Flight #: 043
CFI: Richard O..
Aircraft: Robinson R22 Beta II
Aircraft ID: N8361N
Duration: 1.0hrs
Cumulative Time: 48.4hrs
Woot! Pass. Well, conditional pass. But, still. I'm psyched. This was a great flight. Felt really good throughout the whole thing. I was really on for this flight. I was a little anxious... but not nervous. I knew what I knew... and there was nothing that could have been done at that point... just focus on flying. So, what did the Stage 1 Flight Test consist of?
- Pre-flight Weather Checks - It is up to me to make a good weather decision about the flight. After checking the weather it was pretty clear that today was a perfect day to fly. Calm, cool and sunny. Aced it.
- Paperwork - Before each flight there is a maintenance folder that needs to be filled out. This consists of checking maintenance logs, hobbs timer, etc. All pretty easy, but it has to be done before the flight. Aced it.
- Pre-flight - A nice checklist for you to follow to ensure the safe operation of the helicopter. Aced it.
- Startup - And there is also a checklist to follow for startup. Aced it.
- Lift-off - Once we are run up and ready to go, we start off in a hover. Aced it.
- Gauge Checks - Always check gauges before doing anything of significance. Especially before takeoff. I asked Richard to do something for me in the cabin since I did not want to take my hand off the collective in a hover. He slyly did I what I asked and at the same time pulled an instrument fuse. I caught it on my gauge check. Sneaky Richard... Sneaky. Aced it.
- Communications - There are certain items to communicate to the tower before departure. Today's was, "Hillsboro tower, helicopter 8361-November at HAI with information Echo request west departure." "Helicopter 61-November, Hillsboro tower, cleared to cross runway 02 for west departure." "cross 02, 61-November". And off we go. Aced it.
- West Practice Area - We headed out to WPA for a few maneuvers. Very easy flight out. I had been taught to follow the roads out... but Richard mentioned that I really don't want to shadow the big roads... just in case. Stick to the less busy areas. Aced it.
- Settling With Power - Settling with power is a state where the rotor tip vorticies get so large that you no longer have sufficient lift to keep the helicopter in the air. In this test, I climbed up to 2000ft, got in to a tailwind situation and slowed down to pretty much of a 2000ft hover. All of a sudden you get vibrations... and this is the beginning of ETL (Effective Translational Lift) disappearing... and the onset of SWP. I lowered collective to lessen the vorticies and pushed forward to get out of them. While I got out of SWP effectively, Richard thought I was being a "puss" and got out too early. So he asked for it again... and this time, he wanted me to wait for the "dirty vibrations". This is the actual onset of SWP... and the vibrations are much more significant. So, I did. And got out of it the same way. Miss on the first try, Aced it on the second.
- Engine Failure - This is the what you practice for. Richard, in the middle of our conversation about wind at 1200ft, says "Engine Failure", and rolls off the throttle. I lower collective pitch and put us into an auto rotation. Missed it. As it turns out, this is part of my conditional pass for the stage check. As Richard told me afterwards, when I'm pulling over 20" of manifold pressure in flight, I have about 1 second to drop the collective before I lose engine RPM and get into a bad situation. The correct action is to "punch that fucker through the floor". I did, but slowly and smoothly. I need to be fast and abrupt.
- Weather Check - Before we return into the airspace we need to check weather to make sure we are aware of conditions before we return. In this case, it was still Echo and no changes. Aced it. But...
- Low RPM Recovery - Just as I switched back to tower frequency after checking weather Richard rolled the throttle down. I immediately noticed the change in noise and rolled throttle back on. Aced it.
- Charlie Pattern - We headed back in to Charlie pattern. I needed to determine if there was other traffic in Charlie and which direction they were flying today. It just so happened there were two other helicopters and they were doing left traffic patterns. I noticed this and jumped in line. Aced it.
- Normal Approach - As I have mentioned before, my biggest problem area is picking my descent point and hitting my landing point, so this was a real thing for me. I started early on my descent and started coming in a little shallow. I corrected my descent rate and hit my spot dead on. Aced it.
- Straight-In Autorotation - After a normal takeoff, Richard asked for a straight-in autorotation. I set up for the approach and came in as I wanted to. Fought rotor RPM a little, but got things under control and came in to a nice hover. Aced it.
- Steep Approach - Went around for another pattern in Charlie and came in for a steep approach. While this was executed well, it rushed the flare and it was a little jerky. Not bad, just not smooooth. Aced it.
- Running Landing - Running landings are not hard... they are just a bit loud and violent. You come in over the taxiway or runway at 40 knots at 20 feet. Get low and level out. Then go slow until you drop out of ETL and plop on to the runway at about 10 knots. You come to a skidding halt, steering with your cyclic and pedals. My running landing was successful but I could have kept on course a little better. I ended up on the right side of the taxiway... a little more than I wanted, but success. Aced it.
- Low RPM Recovery - I picked up from the running landing to a hover and started into a air taxi (20 ft, 40 knots) and Richard rolled down throttle on me... again. Again I caught it. Aced it.
- Slope Landing - There is a man-made hill in Charlie pattern for use in slope landing practice. Executed this nicely, although it was a little slow. Aced it.
- 180-Turning Autorotation - This is basically a maneuver where you enter an autorotation and need to turn in the opposite direction in order to safely land. This was the other area of my conditional pass. I entered nicely, completed the turn without too much concern over the RPM. Problem was, I bled off too much airspeed. I dropped to 50KIAS... which is just to slow. Missed it.
- Max Performance Takeoff - As mentioned in an earlier blog entry... this is a procedure that I've done a number of times and so far have done quite well each time. This one was no different. Aced it.
- Return to parking - After the final round in Charlie pattern Richard was happy with the Stage 1 and wanted to head back to base. I made the call; "Hillsboro tower, 61-November at the north taxiway, request HAI." "61-November, cross both runaways, proceed to parking.", "Cross both runways, 61-November". Off I went.
- Low RPM recovery - On the way back to base, after crossing both runways, Richard rolled down the throttle on me during the air taxi... again, I caught it. Aced it.
- Shutdown - Another nice checklist for one to follow during shutdown. Aced it.
- Post-flight check - After each flight, the pilot in command is required to do a walk though on the helicopter to ensure that there were no issues during the flight. It's a fast process, check the teletemps (thermometer strips that show max temperatures that occurred), feel the bearings, etc. No issues. Aced it.
- Debrief - This is a verbal walk-through of the flight between Richard and I. We went over the good and bad of the flight and this is where I got the signoff and conditional pass.
Flight was only 1.0 hrs... and we did a lot in that time. But, as I said, it felt good.
I've got to nail the Engine Failure/Collective issue and run a few more autorotations to maintain my airspeed. Other than that... we're green for solos!
I have to decide where to go now.
Passed it!
It was great, really nailed it. I studied like madman, and it paid off. Take a look:
Airspace Study Sheet
Stage 1 Q&A Review Document
Stage 1 - Pre Solo Questions
A new CFI, Richard O. was my CFI for this oral test. Richard will also be my CFI for the flight tomorrow.
I did make a few mistakes, stupid stuff.
I switched up some airspace information that was OBVIOUSLY wrong. He asked me to re-explain it... and I caught it. Probably nerves more than anything. If you are really interested in the details, I grouped Bravo, Charlie and Delta airspaces together when talking about VFR cloud clearances and flight visibility minimums. It should have been Charlie, Delta and Echo.
I was asked a question about translational tendency and I answered correctly, but could not completely explain the details. Translational Tendency is the tendency for the helicopter to drift to the right when in a hover. One can counteract this tendency in a few ways. First, you can hold the cyclic to the left. Second, you could re-adjust the cyclic so that when centered in the cockpit it has a little left already built in, or Third, you could have the main rotor mast tilted to the right. I got all that correct.
Follow up question was why. I said that it was from the thrust generated by the tail rotor keeping our MR torque in check. Which is correct, but not entirely correct. There is a component of rotational torque from the main rotor wanting us to yaw right. Then there is the anti-torque tail rotor system, keeping us from yawing right... and then the thrust of the tail rotor... which it pushing us to the right. Hence the tendency to translate to the right.
Other than that, I was spot on.
We did get in to some interesting discussions about radio failure and chip detectors. Wanna hear? Sure...
If I were on a solo, what would I do if I had a radio failure before entering Hillsboro airspace while coming back from Scappoose? First I would make sure I was on the right channel, then I would verify that I had the volume up and loud enough. Then, I'd check fuses. Then, I'd make sure my headset was still plugged in.
Once all the obvious stuff was taken care of, I'd just assume we had a radio failure. So, I'd set the transponder to 7600 and climb to 1500 feet so that my transponder signal could be picked up on radar. I would keep making my radio calls and I just might not be able to hear them... they might be able to hear me.
Anyway, I actually asked this question when we went to visit the tower at KHIO. They said the best and easiest thing... is to put the helicopter down somewhere - in a field, parking lot, etc and pick up the cell phone and call the tower. Tell them where I am, get permission and let them know where I am.
Now, here is where Richard got sneaky... say I don't have my phone. (Which, I assure you, will never happen. But, it MIGHT be out of battery.) I'd actually land in a field or some huge back yard. I can almost guarantee that if I landed in your back yard you would let me use your phone.
But, I get the point... no communication with the tower.
For this, it would be good to understand the layout of the airport.
I said that I would be flying in from the north, coming across the ridge, and stay to the east of runway 20. I'd be sure not to cross the extended runway line and come in for an approach to Bravo taxiway. (East of the N/S runway on the north side.). At this point, I would go to the runway intersection hold short line and wait for light signals from the tower.
Richard said, if I were to do this, I should toggle my landing lights... just so the tower could be sure to see me. They would hopefully be clearing traffic out of my path, but just to make sure... flash away.
Now, this would probably work, but Richard suggested another, better, option. Skirt the airport airspace to the east, and enter from the south so that I did not have to cross any runway to get to parking. OR, fly over the airspace and come down on the south side for the approach. Since HIO is class Delta airspace, this would mean that I would have to be higher than 2500ft AGL, or 2700ft MSL.
Good to know, I really never thought about the scenario before... so this was a good discussion.
Next question was... I'm 8 miles out and get a main rotor chip light. What do I do?
The chip light goes on when a metallic particle is detected. Obviously, there should not be much metal floating around in the gear boxes... so clearly a bad thing. The POH states that if this chip light is accompanied with noise, vibration or an increase in heat... land immediately. However, if none of these secondary indications appear, land when practical. I got that right... but that was the book answer.
Richard said that I should get to the ground as fast and safely as possible. I happen to agree... but I gave the book answer. So, while technically correct, practically I should just get the hell down.
Other than that... very successful session. Felt really good... and I passed.
On to the flight with Richard, tomorrow at 9:30am.
Flight #: 042
CFI: Kristie H.
Aircraft: Robinson R22 Beta II
Aircraft ID: N8361N
Duration: 1.2hrs
Cumulative Time: 47.4hrs
Another prep flight... this time, with a little twist. I could not get to the airport in time to get a pattern, so we headed north to Scappoose for some practice. It is a nice flight north out of the airport. Get to cross over a ridge, follow a valley and cross the river to get there. Had not been up here in a while, so it was a good refresher on uncontrolled airspaces.
We got there, and I entered the downwind leg on the 45º as is appropriate, but flubbed my call to Scappoose traffic. Not badly... just forgot a few things in my call. I figured it out on my own, and fixed it, but it was a little weak. We came in for an approach and I hit the mark... dead on. The key... eyes outside.
Don't you hate it when they are always right?!
In the hover, Kristie wanted me to do a max performance takeoff. As I maneuvered down a little bit on the taxiway to clear some space for landing aircraft to taxi off I saw a "Governor Off" light flick on and off. Odd. Anyway, this is the procedure you use if you need to get up, fast, to clear an object. Think... landing in a clearing and you need to get out without whacking into trees.
There is, as with almost everything, an acronym. MIPOC:
- M: Magneto Check. This ensures the Robinson's dual magnetos are operating correctly. To do this, you roll back on the throttle, turn off the governor, and isolate each magneto to ensure it is operating correctly.
- I: Instrument Check. Once you complete your check, you check instruments to make sure you have everything "in the green". You are going to push the helicopter close to it's limits and want to ensure everything is good to go before you try.
- P: Performance Check. Since you can be, and in this case we are, at a different airport, we need to make sure the engine can give us the performance we need given the altitude and temperature of our spot.
- O: Obstacle Identification. This verifies the object you need to clear is well understood and that you are really focusing on what you will need to avoid.
- C: Clear the helicopter. A quick look outside and around the helicopter and you are good to go.
All was gooving along nicely until we finished up the magneto check. After we had an all clear on both magnetos I turned on the governor and the "Governor Off" light stayed on. Hmm... flicked the switch back and forth... nothing. Governor failure. Now, it was working for our flight out... but now... done.
The Pilots Operating Handbook (POH) gives the procedure for a failed governor... basically, switch it off, manually override it, and land as soon as practical. In this case, we were about 20 minutes away (by air) and 40 by car from the airport. A governor is part of our required equipment to start a flight, but since we were mid flight we were in a bit of a grey area. Since you don't need the governor to fly, and it is OK to land as soon as practical, we opted to fly back to home base for repairs. This meant we had to cut the flight short... but safety is always #1.
Ok, so what's the governor? Well, this is an electronic piece of magic that does fine grained adjustments on the engine RPM so that you don't move out of the green zone as you are messing with the main rotor pitch. Along side the governor is the correlator. The correlator is a mechanical linkage between the collective pitch control and the throttle that increases the engine speed as you raise pitch. (This is because as you increase pitch on the main rotor blades you are increasing drag and potentially slowing down the MR blades.) Anyway, the correlator does very coarse adjustments to the throttle... usually too much. The governor is there to protect things a little. Engine over speed = bad.
So, the fact that the governor is dead is not the end of the world, but it is now up to me to make sure the engine is not going into the red. Just one more thing to worry about, eh? Well, the correlator, as it turns out, it very very obnoxious. As you raise collective to lift off, it slams down the throttle and engine RPMs head up into high-red. You have to be there to roll it back down. Once you have it right, you are pretty much good to go... until you land. But at least you don't have to be on top of it so intensely during the flight.
Just a little drama for the flight, but it was great experience for "governor off" flight.
Headed back early, but got some good experience.
Flight #: 041
CFI: Gareth E.
Aircraft: Robinson R22 Beta II
Aircraft ID: N8340S
Duration: 1.6hrs
Cumulative Time: 46.2hrs
Got another chance to fly with Gareth this afternoon. Another good flight. Again focusing on the patterns, approaches and emergency procedures for the stage 1 flight, scheduled for the 28th.
It is really good to mix it up with instructors. Gives you a chance to get used to someone else's way of teaching and helps find the errors of your ways. Fact is, they are teaching the same thing... but with slightly different twists... sometimes it is that twist that hits home. It was the case this time too.
I have issues "hitting the spot" when coming in for a landing. I generally overshoot my spot cause I'm too high and too fast when I turn final. So, I mentioned this to Gareth before the flight just so that I could get some other eyes to help me work on it. Right before run-up, he ran in to the pilot lounge and grabbed a white board, dry erase marker and a stack of post it notes. Odd, thinks I.
Anyway, he asked me to fly a normal approach to golf intersection on alpha taxiway. On the way in, I did as I do normally... overshot my spot. So, he took controls on the next one, handed me a dry erase marker and told me to put a mark on the inside of the cockpit plastic just over the landing spot when he said we were lined up. So, I did just that. Little "x" on the screen. Then, we just did a go around.
At 700ft as I turned on the downwind leg. Out come the post-it notes and Gareth covers up the air speed indicator with a little "Now that's broken... so no point looking inside.". Great... clearly he and Kristie talk. :)
But, they are both exactly right... I look into the turn, keep my eye off my spot and either lose too much, or gain too much speed. And that is what kills me. So, I kept my eyes on the touchdown point... and wham, made it.
We continued the flight executing other maneuvers, but nothing too exciting to speak of. All pretty much on target... and feeling good.
I've got one more flight with Kristie before my Stage 1 Ground exam and flight. But right now, I'm feeling great about ground, and pretty good about the flight.
Well, did not do my stage 1 check at all. Short story, I've been incredibly sick for the past 3 days. Dual ear-ache, one ruptured ear drum, sore throat and body aches that would bring down an elephant. Ugh. This sucks.
Not sure when I'm going to be able to re-schedule this... this really sucks.
Flight #: 040
CFI: Kristie H.
Aircraft: Robinson R22 Beta II
Aircraft ID: N8340S
Duration: 1.0hrs
Cumulative Time: 44.6hrs
I was feeling OK this morning. My sinus has cleared up a but, and the aches had pretty much gone away. I was ready for one last flight before my Stage 1 Check ride.
We got Alpha pattern and headed out for the pre-flight. It was an absolutely beautiful day. 3-5 knot wind, sun, cool air... perfect day for flight. Wind was out of the East, so runway 12 was active. The meant that Alpha taxiway was going to be in heavy use, but this is generally not a problem as the tower gives helicopters permission to do patterns even though airplanes are taxiing - we just don't fly over/near them.
Today was apparently different. I started off with a normal takeoff and an approach to Golf-intersection on Alpha Taxiway but were quickly blocked by a private plane. No problem, we deflected off into the grass for a bit as not to overfly him, and then vectored back on to the taxiway. At about 40ft, a jet turned on to the taxiway from a hanger and started towards us. Kristie grabbed the controls and got us back over the grass. Apparently this happens from time to time... they "just don't see us". I find this a little odd, since we do have a 20 foot spinning blender blade 8 feet off the ground... but hey, not everyone has good eyesight. So, I did a go around. As I passed the tower, I notified them of the go-around.
Ok, here we go again... normal pattern to land on Golf-intersection. A little congested, but no problem, and I came to a hover. I turned into the patter to check for traffic and off my right shoulder I saw a prop plane come off the runway and turn my direction. He's supposed to stop and wait for us to get out of the way... but no. Headed straight for us. Did not even hesitate. So, I pulled off, quickly into the grass to get away. Good thing, too... cause he had no intention of even slowing. Nice.
So, as I continue to hover there in the grass, we hear someone in Charlie pattern request normal pattern. No response from the tower. But, that's not unusual when there is lots of traffic in the air/ground, you just wait your turn. So, he waits... we wait. After a minute Kristie suggests that I just make my call to get in line. I do. Halfway through, I get stepped on by someone asking for takeoff clearance. The tower services his request and then continues on with someone else. Again, this happens... but it is rather odd that it is happening to us more than once in one session. The helicopter in Charlie requests again. No response. So, I request and get a response this time... only it is not very pleasant = "All helicopters, stand by."
W.T.F.?
Never heard that one before. So, I wait. And wait. And wait. Planes continue to get clearance to do whatever they request. Now it is about 7 minutes since my last request. I look over to Kristie to get the vibe and find out what to do next. She's pissed. So, I request, AGAIN. "40S, standby." And he continues to give clearance to aircraft to taxi, takeoff and land. One after another. Finally Kristy boils over and says "I have controls." and takes the helicopter. She moves it on to the taxiway and sets it down. Dead smack in the middle of the taxiway. Now, we have been assigned this pattern... so it is technically our space to use. And we sit.
Along comes a LARGE twin engine just... up the taxiway wanting to take off on runway 12. But, we're in the way. Clearly Kristie is trying to get the tower's attention. Still we sit. The jet comes to a stop, and we all sit. Then, over the radio, "40S, exit the taxiway immediately." So, we pick up, move to the grass and hover. When the jet passes, we go back and set down in the same spot. Meanwhile, other fixed wing traffic is making requests and getting clearance... no clearances to any helicopter, anywhere.
So, there we sit.
And again, along comes a fixed wing. And we get ordered off the taxiway again by the tower.
This time, Kristie gives me back the controls and says, "might as well request to go back home, if they will let us... we're just wasting money." She was absolutely right... burning fuel and cash just hovering in the grass.
So, I try one more time for a pattern. "40S request Alpha." Nothing from the tower. So, I request a path back home.... "40S request HAI". "40S, cross runway 2, precede to HAI".
Dick.
So, we went home. Before I shut down the helicopter, Kristie was out and on her way in to talk to the chief flight instructor for HAI. I shut down the helicopter and signed out... then headed home.
Clearly something was going on. And someone was getting their butt chewed out. Believe me, when I find out, I'll be sure to report back.
Flight #: 039
CFI: Kristie H.
Aircraft: Robinson R22 Beta II
Aircraft ID: N2356T
Duration: 0.8hrs
Cumulative Time: 42.8hrs
Again, we prepped for the stage 1 check flight. And, again we headed out to the WPA. On the way out, Kristie rolled down the throttle to check me on my Low RPM recovery... and I caught it. So that was good. We then went up to 1000ft MGL to do some autorotations. My entry was decent and I did a pitch pull. Was a little too much as the RPM dropped... to 90%. At this point the Low Rotor RPM light came on... but no horn. I corrected things and brought us to a decent steady state. Descended a bit further and rolled on and took us back to normal flight.
Problem. No Low Rotor RPM Horn. Part of our required equipment for an R22 is summed up with the GOAL acronym:
- G: Governor
- O: Outside Air Temperature
- A: Alternator
- L: Low RPM Warning System
And, without a fully functioning Low Rotor RPM system, we're not supposed to continue flight. So, I made the decision that we were not flying within the rules of flight and that we needed to head back home... which we did.
Kind of sucks to have to cut a short flight, but it's not worth falling out of the sky.
Today I actually had a flight scheduled, but as Murphy would have it, I'm sick. I really should not be flying right now. So, we opted for a review ground lesson of stage 1 topics. I didn't ACE it, but it was pretty damn close. I need to re-review my emergency procedures... I fumbled through those. And, I actually forgot to study a particular topic Hypoxia and the effects on a pilot. So, we'll do that right here, right now:
Hypoxia:
- Oxygen deficiency
- Signs: Headache, Dizziness, Visual Impairment, Blue-ish lips, Tingling sensation
- 4 Types:
- Hypoxic Hypoxia: Lack of sufficient oxygen in the air. High altitude, etc.
- Hypemic Hypoxia: Inability for blood to carry sufficient oxygen. Sick, low blood volume, etc.
- Stagnant Hypoxia: Poor blood circulation not carrying sufficient oxygen through body.
- Histoxic Hypoxia. Blood unable to absorb sufficient oxygen through alcohol or drug use.
Flight #: 038
CFI: Kristie H.
Aircraft: Robinson R22 Beta II
Aircraft ID: N8361N
Duration: 1.3hrs
Cumulative Time: 42.8hrs
More practice. A lot of the same. I certainly don't mean to sound blazé about it... this stuff is awesome. It is just that there is really nothing new to talk about. I am definitely getting sick... which is exactly what you want before you go in to a Stage 1 check. Ugh.
Getting better on the hover autos too. I think I was just chopping the throttle too fast. Why make it harder for myself, right? This is a test to see if I know what to do... and I do. So why do I have to make it incredibly hard.
Flight #: 037
CFI: Kristie H.
Aircraft: Robinson R22 Beta II
Aircraft ID: N7155W
Duration: 1.4hrs
Cumulative Time: 41.5hrs
Still gearing up for the Stage 1 Check on the 19th. All is looking good. While it is not actually part of the stage 1 check, Kriste demonstrated and then let me fly a 180º turning autorotation. It is exactly what it sounds like. You lose engine power and need to make a 180º turn to hit your landing spot. It is very much like a standard auto except that in the turn you have to be very conscious of your rotor RPM. As air is forced under the main rotor your RPM shoots up, and this happens in the turn naturally. So, you just have to be on top of it.
I've had a few questions about the Stage 1 check, and what it is. Basically it is a check, done by the school, to make sure you are ready to begin Stage 2 - which includes solo and cross country flights. It consists of two phases.
The first is a 2 to 4 hour verbal examination of all topics covered in Stage 1 of the course. This includes aerodynamics, emergency procedures, power plant mechanics, airport operations, regulations and airspaces, etc. The idea here is to make sure I'm in complete understanding of all the rules and operations governing helicopter flight. In some cases, I don't need to memorize exact rule paragraph and sections, I just need to know basics and be able to find the regulation in the FAR/AIM manual. In other cases, emergency procedures, I need to know them immediately and exactly - In case of an emergency. This exam is conducted by a totally new CFI, someone who I've not yet worked with. This keeps things pretty impartial and opens me up to hearing the question in different ways.
Once I pass this portion of the Stage 1 check, I then move on to the flight. This consists of taking a flight with the new CFI out to the west practice area and executing an Off Airport Landing, an example of Settling With Power (Vortex Ring States) and running through basic pilotage and radio communications. We then fly back to Charlie Pattern and execute normal patterns, quick-stops, max performance takeoffs, running takeoffs / landings and a few auto rotations.
When this is complete, I move on to the beginning of my solo flights. Can't wait!
Flight #: 036
CFI: Kristie H.
Aircraft: Robinson R22 Beta II
Aircraft ID: N7526S
Duration: 1.2hrs
Cumulative Time: 40.10hrs
Another really positive run today. Pretty much normal maneuvers with a lot of autorotations. Still a little sloppy on entry. Kristie is not helping as much as she was in the past so I'm running on the high/low RPM limits. It seems now that I'm not anticipating the RPM movement. I'm getting better, tho... no doubt. Still on target with the 19th for my Stage 1 Check-Ride.
Also started doing slope-landings on my own. Very interesting to do... especially in the wind.
Flight #: 035
CFI: Kristie H.
Aircraft: Robinson R22 Beta II
Aircraft ID: N7155W
Duration: 1.3hrs
Cumulative Time: 38.9hrs
Back from a week long vacation... and a week of bad weather. Thought it was going to be another rust-filled show... but no! Went really well today. Nailed every normal approach, take-off, running takeoff, quick-stop. Took me two tries on the running landing, and three before I got a "passable" autorotation, but it was a great day. So great, in fact, that Kristie scheduled my Stage-1 Check-Ride for February 19th. Lets hope we can get there.
