Logging country, Vernonia Oregon

Flight #: 083 [Commercial VFR61]
CFI: Kristie E.
Aircraft: Robinson R22 Beta II
Aircraft ID: N2356T
Duration, as PIC: 1.4hrs
Cumulative Time: 100.4hrs

The flight to Vernonia was a blast. Mainly because it is beautiful country and it was a perfect day. Sky was clear, had a nice breeze from the west, and I happened to be going out as the temperature was cooling down in the evening. Also, a few milestones for today's flight.

• first flight to Vernonia, OR
• first flight in to true logging country
• first real off airport landing
• first real pinnacle landing
• first "brown out"
• first maximum glide configuration auto-rotation

I kind of have mixed emotions about flying to airports for the first time. You are challenged by the fact that you have never found them before, and it takes some real looking to find the them.

The larger airports, with towers and multiple runways are easy to find. You can seem them for 5+ miles. Their sheer size is the win here. Obviously runway lights are good too. Terminals, ground crews... like Portland International - PDX. Can't miss that puppy.

Mid-size airports, like Aurora - UAO, paved with one runway are pretty simple as well, but you generally can't see them until you are about 3 miles away. Sometimes they can be tricky because they often look like roads, or parallel big roads. Some have lights, others do not... so you need to focus to get on these.

Small airports are tricky, Twin Oaks - 7S3. They are generally paved, but very small. They really look like driveways. Usually the give away for these puppies are the kind-a-hanger looking buildings on the side. Beat up tarmac, faded paint, etc. Tough.

The micro-airports, like Vernonia 05S, if you can call them airports, are impossible to find. Grass strips, is more like it. These things cannot be see until you are on top of them. Literally the change in color of the grass helps you find the runway, if they have grass, that is. Most of them are dirt road looking things with a faded orange rag blowing in the wind, rather than a wind sock. Man, they can be tough. Vernonia was not too bad because it was the only flat area witin 5 miles that was not covered in clear-cut tree stumps.

Anyway, found it and our first approach was aborted because there were kids, on their 4 wheelers, playing on the runway. So, went around for another approach. This time they were running back on to the runway to pickup something they had dropped/left earlier. Ugh. We did an approach and then just headed north for an off airport landing. Not our average, "hey, go land in the field" off airport... a real live one.

This was incredibly cool. Kristie picked out a clearing on a pinnacle and asked me to land. Took a little maneuvering on my part, but once we got lined up and headed in... it was very impressive. 100ft drop down a slope on my left. 50ft on the right. If you watch Ax Men, this is the place they would put the yarder.

Anyway, came in for a landing, and at about 10ft we kicked up a cloud of dust... causing a mini-brown-out. Generally you would come all the way to the ground here because in a real brown-out your visibility is gone and your last known spot is safe... down.... so you go there. In this case, it was just a little bit obstructed so we immediately took off. Altitude over airspeed in this situation, so you "fall" off the pinnacle into the valley a bit to get some air under you in case of an emergency. Plus, it looks really impressive when you do it.

Tooled around a bit more in the area, and headed back for HIO.

Along the way, Kristie asked if she had shown me a max-glide... she had not, so we set up for it. Situation is this... you get an engine failure and you can't find an open spot anywhere near you... only way far away. How do you get there? Set up for a maximum glide configuation auto rotation. 75knots, 90% RPM... and you literally glide/float to your point. Just the aerodynamics of the helicopter taking over, really, but you can extend your point quite a bit. For every 1500ft in altitude you can glide over a mile. Impressive, right? Did one of those... to test it out. I was a little bit un-nerved during this because <97% rotor RPM, your low rotor RPM warning horn is going off. Ever try to do someting physically/mentally demanding with an horn balring? Remember, I'm wearing a $1000 noise cancelling headset in the helicopter and this thing is LOUD! Anyway, with a little help, Kristie got me to my setup and it was pretty impressive.

After that, headed back home. Nothing to interesting to speak of, honestly... a pretty standard approach and landing. Although I don't undestand why they put the sun directly in your eyes like that when you are trying to land.



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HIO-4S9-HIO

Flight #: 080 [Commercial VFR61]
CFI: Kristie E.
Aircraft: Robinson R22 Beta II
Aircraft ID: N2356T
As PIC: 1.5hrs
Cumulative Time: 95.9hrs

Now that I'm finished with Private Pilot certification, I've learned the basics. Know the rules, and how to stay in them safely. Commercial is all about stretching those rules to the actual limits of the helicopter, the real-world situations, so as to operate safely.

By that, I mean, since a helicopter can operate at 1500ft and have 0 airspeed... I should know how to deal with an emergency in those conditions. I should know, as I do, that I really don't want to operate there, but sometimes I may have to.

Also, there may be conditions, weather or airport closures for example, where I can't get to where I want to... and need to make a diversion.

That is what today was all about.

I had a flight plan for us to fly to Vernonia, OR (05s), made famous by the new show on History Channel - Ax Men. So, at lift off, Kristie decided to divert me with a South departure... and not my planned North departure.

At pattern altitude I got a request from the tower to check out some cloud bases to the south... so we did that for them. After that, she diverted me to Mulino airport. I'd been there before, but after the could base check, I was about 5 miles south of where I had been in the past, so it was a bit of a new path for me.

Anyway, found it without too much trouble. Once we got there, the fun began. We started the zero airspeed auto-rotation training. Think hovering at 1500ft, still... and cutting the engine. WOA! We did not start that today, but we're on the way. Kristie asked me to set up for 1300ft @ 40knots. 600ft higher and 30knots slower than a normal autorotation setup.

The key here is, you are looking for good rotor RPM to land safely. You get that by converting airspeed or altitude to upward thrust on the main rotor. In this case, we have less airspeed than we need, but more altitude. So, what do you do? You nose dive... get some speed, pull out gradually and wind up those main rotor RPMs. Which is exactly what I did.

True is, this was not such a stretch for me... as I'm known for being slow in my autos as it is... so I already know that nosing down gives me airspeed, but reduces the thrust on the main rotor... so I have to correct things on the way down.

Was a cool excercise, and I'm looking forward to doing 0 airspeed ones eventually. Althought, that has to be a little funny feeling when you kill the throttle.

One thing which I forgot to mention is Flight Following. Kristie showed it to me the other day. Think of it as your own personal radar operator telling you where to go. How do you do it? You call up Portland-International, ask them for "VFR Flight Following" to an airport, and they operator will tell you which way to go. They ask you to set your transponder to a particular number, "Helcopter 2356T, sqwak 4096, and Ident.". That way you will appear as an identified dot on his radar. He'll be there watching you all the way. Every so often he will come on the radio and tell you "Airport is 12miles out, at 1 O'Clock. Do you have the airport in sight." Once you have the airport in sight, you let them know, and they let you go.

Cool stuff today. No flights for a few days... holiday coming up.

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.

Slopes... my new thing.

Flight #: 061
CFI: Kristie H.
Aircraft: Robinson R22 Beta II
Aircraft ID: N8361N
Duration: 1.3hrs
Cumulative Time: 70.4hrs

Lots of practice again today. Focus on slope landings.

Here is how a slope landing is done:

Position the helicopter across the slope at a stabilized hover headed into the wind over the spot of intended landing (Frame 1). Downward pressure on the collective starts the helicopter descending. As the upslope skid or wheel touches the ground, hesitate momentarily in a level attitude, then apply lateral cyclic in the direction of the slope (Frame 2). This holds the skid against the slope while you continue lowering the downslope skid with the collective. As you lower collective, continue to move the cyclic towards the slope to maintain a fixed position (Frame 3). The slope must be shallow enough so you can hold the helicopter against it with the cyclic during the entire landing. A slope of 15 degrees is considered maximum for normal operation of most helicopters, However check the POH of the particular helicopter being flown for the manufacturer's recommended limitation.

You should be aware of any abnormal vibration or mast bumping, that signals maximum cyclic deflection. If this occurs, abandon the landing because the slope is too steep. In most helicopters with a counterclockwise rotor system, landings can be made on steeper slopes when you are holding the cyclic to the right. When landing on slopes using left cyclic, some cyclic input must be used to overcome translating tendancy. If wind is not a factor, you should consider the drifting tendancy when determining landing direction.

After the downslope skid is on the surface, reduce the collective to the full down position, and neutralize the cyclic and pedals (Frame 4). Normal operating RPM should be maintained until the full weight of the helicopter is on the landing gear. This ensures adequate RPM for immeadiate takeoff in case the helicopter starts sliding down the slope. Use antitorque pedals as necessary throughout the landing for heading control. Before reducing RPM, move the cyclic as necessary to check that the helicopter is firmly on the ground.

And a slope pickup is done:

Begin the takeoff by increasing RPM to the normal range with the collective full down. Then, move the cyclic towards the slope (Frame 1). Holding cyclic towards the slope causes the downslope skid or wheel to rise as you slowly raise the collective (Frame 2). as the skid or wheel comes up, move the cyclic towards the neutral position. If properly coordinated, the helicopter should attain a level atttude as the cyclic reaches the neutral position. At the same time, use antitorque pedal pressure to maintain heading and throttle to maintain RPM. With the helicopter level and cyclic centered, pause momentarily to verify everything is correct, and then gradually raise the collective to complete the liftoff (Frame 3).

After reaching a hover, take care not to avoid hitting the ground with the tail rotor. If an upslope wind exists, excute a crosswind takeoff and then make a turn into the wind after clearing the ground with the tail rotor.

Simple, huh. :)

More practice...

Flight #: 060
CFI: Kristie H.
Aircraft: Robinson R22 Beta II
Aircraft ID: N2356T
Duration: 1.0hrs
Cumulative Time: 69.1hrs

Some real crap weather the past few days. Finally got a chance to go up and really was in the groove. Getting better on my autorotations. Turns out that I'm very focused on the airspeed indicator and not paying enough attention to my attitude on entry. As such, I miss the sweet spot and end up spending my time chasing it.

Practice, practice, practice.

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.

Low Rotor RPM Warning System - Fail

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.

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!

Lookin good... feeling good...

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.

No rust this time!

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.

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.

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?

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!

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.

Double Block

Flight #: 025
CFI: Kristie H.
Aircraft: Robinson R22 Beta II
Aircraft ID: N8340S
Duration: 2.4hrs
Cumulative Time: 27.0hrs

We had a double block (2 x 2hr) of flights today. That affords you so much more time to practice and enjoy yourself. So, we flew on up to Scapoose, OR and did our patterns there. Was great since it was a 7am flight and we were the only people in Scapoose until about 9am.

Got in another first today. Refueling away from home. Sounds silly and trivial, but it was a milestone for me. Felt like getting gas on a long road trip. Get to stretch your legs, check out new scenery.

Just a fun day.