Stage 2 Prep-Flights

Flight #: 067, 068
CFI: Kristie H.
Aircraft: Robinson R22 Beta II
Cumulative Time: 80.1hrs

I'm circling the runway on my Private Pilot : Rotorcraft : Helicopter license... so close. I've been doing a few flight here and there to make sure I pass the FAA Check Ride. Mostly working on the "tough" maneuvers like [straight-in, hover, 180-turning] autorotations. Supposedly this is the point where everyone needs work.

No doubt, I can get safely to the ground in an engine failure condition... I just need to make them perfect. My issue now is keeping the nose level and not over-speeding the main rotor.

What is an over-speed, you ask? Well. The main rotor is rated up to a certain RPM. Go below the limit (a rotor RPM below 80% plus 1% per 1000ft of altitude) and your main rotor will stall out. Meaning that you will not have the ability to get it spinning again to generate lift. This happens, you check-out.

If you go above the limit, 104% you get in to over-speed territory. An over-speed introduces increased stress on the bearings, joints, bolts, connectors, blades, etc... and since the rotor is what keeps you in the sky, you need to be very conscious of any excess of stress.

As my dad always says... "Be good to your boat-oar, and it will be good to you." Which I've adapted to "Be good to your main rotor, and it will be good to you."

Anyway, there are really two types of rotor over-speeds. Minor and major. A minor over-speed would be a rotor RPM of 105% to 110%. This would require squawking the ship, and having it inspected by a licensed mechanic. Over 110%, you replace the blades, rotor hub, and send the engine back to Robinson for a full rebuild. BAD NEWS.

All that being said... if you are ever in a real emergency, have an engine failure at altitude and need to bring the ship in for an emergency landing... rotor RPM is really not a concern. If you get the helicopter to the ground, and you can walk away... success. An over-speed is not an issue.

Maneuver Practice

Flight #: 062-066
CFI: Kristie H.
Aircraft: Robinson R22 Beta II
Aircraft ID: Various

Past 5 flights have all been maneuver practice... just honing the razors edge. The final result of it all:

• my normal approaches are rock solid - landing withing 3ft of desired point
• autorotations are passable, not perfect, but passable. I still need to work on my entry speeds... I keep slowing down without trying.
• air-taxi / quick stop - perfect.
• hover autorotations - damn fine. I've learned to roll off the throttle S L O W L Y, and all else is smooth.
• running landings - passable, need to work on my speed control here.
• running takeoff - perfect.
• max performance takeoff - perfect.

Feelin' good... feelin' really good.

Practice maneuvers before the checkride.

Flight #: 059
CFI: Kristie H.
Aircraft: Robinson R22 Beta II
Aircraft ID: N2356T
Duration: 1.4hrs
Cumulative Time: 68.1hrs

Now that I'm all done the solos, it is time to hone my maneuvers to a razor's edge. How does one do that? Well, first of all, you fly with Kristie. Every time I do something well, she resets my zero-point and won't let me continue until I repeat the maneuver and do a little better than last time. It's good... but what a hard ass! :)

Approaches are getting a lot better, and I'm really focusing on getting my autorotations down solid.

Good to go, SOLO!

Flight #: 044
CFI: Kristie H.
Aircraft: Robinson R22 Beta II
Aircraft ID: N956SH
Duration: 1.0hrs
Cumulative Time: 49.4hrs

Well, officially passed Stage 1! Conditional Pass - Definitively Closed.

Short flight today, consisting entirely of Kristie killing the engine on me and yelling "Engine Failure" on me. I nailed it every time. A few 180 Autorotations as well to make sure I kept my airspeed up in the green. Again, nailed it.

Thankfully we finished quickly as we got a burst of freezing rain as we crossed the runway heading back to parking.

I'm cleared for solo flights!

White board markers and post-it notes, flight essentials.

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.

More practice towards Stage 1 Check

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!