Flight #: 001
CFI: Gabe J.
Aircraft: Schweizer 300C IFRAircraft ID: N27YS
Duration: 0.4hrs
Today I had my "demo flight". Wow!
It had to have been one of the most exciting things I've ever done. The best part of the whole flight was when I was given control of the collective and cyclic (no anti-torque pedals, this time) for about half of the flight.
The most surprising thing to me during the whole experience was the minimal pressure needed to change direction. The cyclic can move approximately 1 foot in any direction:- left: roll left
- right: roll right
- fore: pitch nose down - forward flight
- aft: pitch nose up - backwards flight
However, only 1 inch adjustments move the helicopter significantly.
I was trying to describe it... and the best I can do is this - when driving down the road in your car at 75mph, you don't really turn the wheel, you make minute adjustments continually to adjust direction. It is probably unconscious, but if you think about it next time, you have ± 5º changes a few times a minute.
The most cyclic movement happened when I was moving forward (50-70 knots) and banking into a turn - maybe 2 inches of cyclic movement. This caused a significant banking and was, at first, a bit un-settling. Obviously this is a feeling one gets used to, but looking out the window at the ground at a 30º angle does give an interesting sensation.
Did I mention the helicopter did not have any doors?
Anyway, here is a Google Map estimate of the flight path - I've got to admit I was pretty focused on flying, but I do remember quite a few landmarks.
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