Showing posts with label running takeoff. Show all posts
Showing posts with label running takeoff. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

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.


Thursday, April 17, 2008

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. :)

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

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.

Saturday, February 9, 2008

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.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

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!

Thursday, January 10, 2008

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.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

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.