Flight #: 142 Commercial VFR61
Aircraft: Robinson R22 Beta II
Aircraft ID: N956SH
Duration, as PIC: 1.1hrs
Cumulative Time: 184.40hrs
WooHoo! Passed my Check Ride today! So it is official, I'm a FAA Certified Commercial Helicopter Pilot as of 1:00pm today.
Oral test went very well... definitely was prepared. Actually, it was pretty easy. My Check Ride 
for Private was a bear. Not only cause it was the first time I've done a test like that but my examiner, Dale, was one tough dude. This one was with Mark H, and while they both are required to follow the same PTS (Practical Test Standards), the oral exam is all about presentation. Mark was friendly throughout the whole process... not easy, friendly. I did not feel like I was in a battle, but a conversation with someone who knows a hell of a lot more than me. Mark was very much by the book. He had an interesting way of asking questions. He would start with an FAA approved/required question. Then follow it up with a related question that was not necessarily in the PTS. Something that required a little extra knowledge, discussion or interpolation. I learned a few things out of the whole event.
The flight itself was equally as rewarding. Really by the book. One bit that I found particularly interesting was the off airport portion. We flew west, out to the WPA (West Practice Area) and picked out a clear-cut logging peak. I actually started an approach, downhill, but did a "go around" when I realized that was not the best of my options even though it was directly in to the wind. Got to watch that tail-rotor you know.
View Larger Map
Anyway, other than that... I'd say I was spot on for the flight.
Damn, feels good to have that under my belt.
Down:
- HAI Written Exam : Pass : 97%
- FAA Written Exam: Pass : 96%
- HAI Commercial Oral Exam : Pass
- HAI Commercial Flight : Pass
- FAA Commercial Oral Exam : Pass
- FAA Commercial Check Ride Flight : Pass
Down:
- HAI Written Exam : Pass : 97%
- FAA Written Exam: Pass : 96%
- HAI Commercial Oral Exam : Pass
- HAI Commercial Flight : Pass
To Go:
- FAA Commercial Oral Exam : TBD
- FAA Commercial Check Ride Flight : TBD
Commercial Pilot Certificate:
FAA Exam: Name: Commercial Pilot Rotorcraft Helicopter (CRH)
Date: 2009-04-10
Expires: 2011-04-30
Site: LAS97101
Score: 96 / Pass / 1st Take
'aint nuthin' wrong with that!
Flight #: 127 Commercial VFR61
Aircraft: Robinson R22
Aircraft ID: N2356T
Duration, as PIC: 1.5hrs
Cumulative Time: 160.6hrs
Another cross country solo flight... this time during the day. It was a beautiful day and just there just happened to be an open helicopter for me.
No real special stuff to note on the trip, except this time I decided that I wanted to circle some things to look at later. And, as you can see from the map below... I did.
You'll see a prison, a logging yard where the logs are stacked radially, and this really odd building up on a hill - in the middle of nowhere. I think it might be an insane asylum or possible a rehab for movie stars. Who knows.
View Larger Map
Flight #: 120 Commercial VFR61
CFI: Kristie E.
Aircraft: Robinson R22 Beta II
Aircraft ID: N227SH
Duration, as PIC: 3.1hrs
Cumulative Time: 149.8hrs
Part of commercial training is flying in normal, everyday, situations for a commercial pilot. This mean being redirected to a new location during flight, and flying at night, etc. Today was training for both situations.
We headed south to Albany, OR via Route 26E, 217S and I-5S. You really would be amazed at the stuff you can see from 1500ft. Especially when following a major road. I'd say we saw 3 cops hiding behind road embankments/signs along the way. Actually got to see someone get pulled over.
This was not my first night flight, that was back in April of 2008. This is really just prep for my 5.0 Solo Night hour requirement for Commercial. Since the rule is that you only fly over lighted areas... we are pretty limited to where we can go. I-5 is the biggest, and most traveled road around that would allow us to go more than 25nm. This trip was South. Next one is North to Chehalis (KCLS).
View Larger Map
Flight #: 087 [Commercial VFR61]
CFI: Kristie E.
Aircraft: Robinson R22 Beta II
Aircraft ID: N2548S
Duration, as PIC: 1.3hrs
Cumulative Time: 105.8hrs
Kind of a back to basics flight today. Headed out to Sandy River airport this morning but was diverted to Mulio airport due to low clouds. No biggie, found everything I needed to... first try. Really helps to see the airport first.
Anyway, decided to start flying the Shweizer 300CB as well. Primarily to gain more experience on different machines. Has a lot more lifting power and is not quite as squirmy as the R22... but it is a beast compared to the R22. See...
Flight #: 084 [Commercial VFR61]
CFI: Kristie E.
Aircraft: Robinson R22 Beta II
Aircraft ID: N2356T
Duration, as PIC: 1.5hrs
Cumulative Time: 101.9hrs
Another cross country flight (a.k.a. X/C) today. Pretty much the same thing as the others, but we're really branching out into new airports. As I said earlier, Kristie, likes first-time airport flights. Keeps me out of my comfort zone and teaches me better pilotage / navigation skills too.
Was a little bit off today... mostly due to clouds in my way. I started to the north of the Newberg VOR. There were some low lying clouds over the ridge, so I headed west to get around them. This was actually my error... I was not really aware of how far west it took me. So, when I came around, my angle was off a bit, and I ended up being about 5 miles south of Aurora airport. I realized this and decided not to bother to head to Aurora and just find Harchenko. Along the way I saw, what I now know is, a drag strip. From 1500ft, a drag strip looks alot like an airport runway, except no numbers. I knew this was not a runway. I continued on south along I5 and looked for Harchenko. I knew it was to the east of the highway and north of a bit of a mountain. So, when I pased the ridge, I just turned around and spotted it pretty quickly. Not a bad find. Being off course is OK as long as you know how to get back on track.
After Harchenko we headed back home. Along the way Kristie had me climb to 3000ft for a demonstration. 0 airspeed autorotation!
In an autorotation all you care about it keeping your main rotor RPM in the green. As long as that is spinning you are generating lift - which means you can land safely. Now, when you lose an engine, you have to trade the energy from your airspeed or your potential energy from weight for rotor RPM. Say you need 100% energy to land safely. In a normal auto you are at 700ft and 70kts - 50% Airspeed (kenetic energy) 50% Altitude (potential energy). This is a nice setup for a safe landing. But, rarely do you have all the things you want in an emergency - sometimes you will need to convert energy from one type to the other. For example, we did a low airspeed auto earlier (25% Airspeed / 75% Altitude), and that was cool. You nose down a little... gain some speed... then enter your auto normally.
Anyway, in this auto we got lots of altitude (100% potential) and no airspeed (0% kenetic).
So, we climb up to 3000ft and get level. Then slowed down to 0knots and entered an auto. You start to sink... fast. You still have control over your yaw (with the pedals), but you drop. As you are falling you nose down and start gaining speed... as your speed comes up, you pitch the rotor blades a little and the RPM stars coming up. Once you are in the green, you are back in a normal auto and safe.
Really impressive maneuver. Whole point is that you have to think outside the box a little to get the situation back in your favor.
Flight #: 082 [Commercial VFR61]
Aircraft: Robinson R22 Beta II
Aircraft ID: N956SH
Duration, PiC: 1.4hrs
Cumulative Time: 99.0hrs
Ho, hummm... another cross country solo flight into Washington state's Kelso-Longview airport.
Actually, I really like the morning flights like this. Beautiful weather, cool air, not much traffic in the sky. Followed the river all the way up. Beauty!
Flight #: 081 [Commercial VFR61]
CFI: Kristie E.
Aircraft: Robinson R22 Beta II
Aircraft ID: N8361N
Duration, PIC: 1.7hrs
Cumulative Time: 97.6hrs
Today was a totally new experience for me I got to:- fly in 12 knot wind
- talk to Portland Approach and Portland Tower
- get made fun of by Portland Approach
- fly into PDX (Portland International Airport), a Class C airspace - WAY cool
All in all, good day.
Started out with wind. So far in my training I have been avoiding, correctly, higher winds. Mainly because there is no reason to make your life tough when flying if you don't need to. But, as with anything, you need to stretch a little to build muscle. And there really is not anything better than wind for a stretch.
There are 5 things that really effect a helicopter's performance. High, Hot, Heavy, Humid and Wind. I'm heavy, so when flying with Kristy we always have this as an issue. We generally don't fly into high altitudes, so this is not a big one. Hot is a big deal in the summer... today was 90º. Humid... its Oregon... so yes. But, not in the summer. The other one, Wind. Today was 12knots... significant in a little helicopter like the R22.
Anyway, this just meant that I had to be on my game with the pedals today... expect the unexpected.
The departure was fine, albeit a little bumpy. I had a heavy right cross wind on pickup, so it was a little messy. Once I got things under control, we headed north for our leg to Happy Valley. I decided to use VFR flight following again, as it is nice to have someone else looking out for you. I called it in, and we were on our way.
Now, this airport is a private airport, and is not to be used for landing, but we can use it as a fly-over destination. Problem is, this little sucker looks like a road between two houses on the side of a mountain. Took me forever to find it. I kept doing circles looking for it. I was focusing on the valley floor, but there really was no point in doing that because it WAS ON THE SIDE OF A MOUNTAIN. Who would put an airport on the side of a mountain? Geez!
Anyway, after my 5th circle over the general area, Portland Approach (VFR Flight Following) 
came on the radio. The conversation went like this:
Portland Approach: "November, 956, Siera, Hotel, how do you read?"
Me: "Loud and clear, go ahead."
PA: "How long do you plan to go around in circles up there?"
Me: "Uh, I suppose a little longer. Still looking for Happy Valley Airport"
(Kristy is cracking up, sitting in the passenger seat.)
PA: "Well, would you like a little help in locating the airport?"
Me: "Sure, that would be great, thanks."
PA: "It is at your 9 O'clock, almost directly below you."
Me: "Thanks. Will report in sight."
PA: "I'll be here."
(5 seconds later)
Me: "Happy Valley in sight. Apparently it was hiding from me."
I know they are there to help me... but I was embarrassed. Fact is, this is one hell of a hard airport to find. It is in the middle of the trees... has two HUGE houses on either end... and on the side of a mountain. It even looks like the airport can be used as a road to get to the houses down the hill a bit.
Now I know.
Anyway, once I found it, I requested a transition through PDX airspace to Pierson airport. Pierson is unique in that it is an untowered class Delta airspace, nestled in to a class Charlie airspace.
This means that you need to talk to Portland Tower to get in/out of Pierson.
The Portland Approach operator had me transfer to Portland Tower. I changed frequencies, and asked for the clearance. They granted it, and asked me to head directly from Happy Valley to the downtown Convention Center, then head north and cross over the PDX runways at the tower at 1500 feet. I've got to say, it is incredibly cool to fly over a big airport like this and watch jets landing and taking off at the same time. Generally you don't get to see a jet land when you are directly above.
After watching a few planes, we crossed the river into Washington state, and headed west towards Pierson. Wind was blowing HARD from the west, and I came in for a landing. We pulled off onto the hoverpads and Kristie had me do a few 90º pedal turns in 12knot wind. Tricky, but I pulled them off pretty nicely. Certainly not my best work, but I've never been in 10 knot wind before. So, I felt pretty good.
We headed out, and talked to Portland Tower, once again, to get approval for a west departure. If you look at the map above, you will see that the Pierson airspace "opens" to the North West. If we head out that way, there is no need to cross in to PDX Airspace... and they appreciate that.
Once out of the airspace, we headed west back to HAI.
Landing was, again, pretty hairy in that wind (now 15, gusting 20), but it was good practice.
View Larger Map
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.
Flight #: 079 [Commercial VFR61]
CFI: Kristie E.
Aircraft: Robinson R22 Beta II
Aircraft ID: N2356T
Duration: 1.4hrs
As PIC: 1.4hrs
Cumulative Time: 91.4hrs
View Larger Map
Flight #: 078 [Commercial VFR61]
CFI: Kristie E.
Aircraft: Robinson R22 Beta II
Aircraft ID: N7526S
Duration: 1.5hrs
As PIC: 1.5hrs
Cumulative Time: 93.0hrs
View Larger Map
Flight #: 077 [Commercial VFR61]
CFI: Kristie E.
Aircraft: Robinson R22 Beta II
Aircraft ID: N2356T
Duration: 1.4hrs
As PIC: 1.4hrs
Cumulative Time: 91.5hrs
View Larger Map
for Private was a bear. Not only cause it was the first time I've done a test like that but my examiner, Dale, was one tough dude. This one was with Mark H, and while they both are required to follow the same PTS (Practical Test Standards), the oral exam is all about presentation. Mark was friendly throughout the whole process... not easy, friendly. I did not feel like I was in a battle, but a conversation with someone who knows a hell of a lot more than me. Mark was very much by the book. He had an interesting way of asking questions. He would start with an FAA approved/required question. Then follow it up with a related question that was not necessarily in the PTS. Something that required a little extra knowledge, discussion or interpolation. I learned a few things out of the whole event.
