Solo (as in Flying with out anyone else in the aircraft!)

23 June 2012

Today I made my first solo flight!  That's right, no one but me in the helicopter!  Before today, a tropical wave developed in the Gulf of Mexico and started bringing rain and wind to the area.  With 30% chance of rain in the forecast I drove to KTLH because there was a 70% chance of sun shine.  The rain chance increased to 60% starting around 4 PM Eastern, so I knew I had to be done before then.  Looking at the radar when I arrived I knew President Bush's "weather machine" was active; rain every where except Panama City and Tallahassee!  I could see I had just a few hours worth of flying weather before the bands of rain would over power the "weather machine" and I would be grounded.

Today's session started out with some paper work and getting endorsements in my log book, then pre-flight and run up.  The first time you solo, they want the winds to be below 4 knots.  The wind was blowing about 7 knots at KTLH and 3 in Quincy.  After getting takeoff clearance, my flight instructor and I took off towards Quincy to review the basic flight maneuvers and to be sure I was ready to take the $800 thousand helicopter out on my own without any issues.  As we were lifting off, it started to rain slightly, making it difficult to see until we reached 50 knots and the water was driven from the windshield.  Once we cleared the airport's perimeter the rain had stopped.  I forgot to program the GPS, so I tried to fly by land mark to Quincy but the low clouds and mist made it difficult.  I dialed up 2J9 on the GPS and headed the correct way (I wasn't too far off while guessing where to go).  We flew threw another brief shower just before we arrived in Quincy and after that rain cell, it was sunny, but windy.

We flew the basic maneuvers, normal approach, normal landing, hovering and normal take off.  The wind was around 10 knots with gusts as high as 14.  There was the rain cell close by and it looked like it was headed towards the airport.  My first solo flight might not happen today.  I kept practicing the basic maneuvers, while my flight instructor used his smart phone to view the latest Doppler images of the area.  The cell was moving away from the airport, all I needed now was for the wind speed to decrease.  I landed and while hovering, I was tasked with moving over into the grass area to practice pick ups and set downs.  I would set down, wait a few seconds, then pick up and hover maintaining position, move forward a bit and set down again.  Did that for about 15 minutes, then was tasked with hovering in position with a cross wind.  I did OK although I kept maneuvering the nose into the wind.

At some point there was a strong gust that sent the helicopter, well not out of control, but not under control very well.  I don't know what happened but my body went from average/normal to freak out!  So I am trying to bring the helicopter back to a stabilized hover while not crashing or damaging anything (my flight instructor didn't even move close to the controls, so that should have tipped me off that it was not as bad as I felt it was).  I manage to bring the helicopter from kinda controlled to mostly controlled and attempted to pass the controls to my flight instructor so I could relax and get my brain dialed back (if I think too much about flying, I fly really poorly.  When I just fly and don't think about what needs to happen, flights are smooth and calm). Of course he refused to take the controls, citing the fact that he wouldn't be there to pass the controls off to when I was flying solo.  So I kept fighting with the controls while working to calm down and (somehow) managed a mostly stable hover.  I set down, turned the control frictions on and settled down.  I was ready to fly back to KTLH and solo another day.

About 10 seconds after setting down I was normal again.  No idea what caused all that or why it went away so quick.  So I picked us up again and was maintaining a steady hover and making 90 degree pedal turns when we did something new.  My flight instructor would take the controls and start the helicopter in an abnormal movement, then pass the controls to me and it was my job to recover into a stable hover.  We did this about 5 times and I was able to recover each time.  I guess he thought my freak out was about me feeling I could not control the helicopter or something.  I knew I could fly the helicopter, I don't know why my body freaked out.

We flew a few more patterns and the wind finally calmed down to 4 knots with gusts up to 10 knots.  I was asked if I cared about the gusts and I said no.  I have flown several times in 10 knot winds with gusts as high as 20.  I knew what to expect and mostly how to handle extra wind.  So we landed and hovered over near the airport office, set down and brought the engine near idle.  It was time!  My instructor got out, let me know the helicopter will perform quite different with out his additional weight and that I would not need so much power when maneuvering.

After taking a minute to relax, open the door for some air flow and let my instructor get fully away from the helicopter.  I increased throttle to above 80% and let the governor take over bringing the rotors to operating speed.  After the blades had stabilized, I began to lift the collective, increase left pedal and move the cyclic slightly to the left.  I kept raising the collective until I could feel the helicopter was light on the skids.  Making sure all the forces from the increased power were neutralized with control inputs by me, I lifted the collective a little bit more and the right skid lifted off the ground, quickly moving the cyclic to the right and bringing the left skid level I was in my first solo hover!  I took a look around to see if anything was near by I needed to avoid, self announce on the radio I was taxiing to the runway and then called I was taking off on the grass runway 14.

Basically everything my instructor has taught me was playing in my head as I moved the cyclic forward, gained speed, pushed the cyclic forward some more when the helicopter wanted to climb to stay about 5-8 feet above the ground and when things felt right (about 40 knots) I eased the cyclic back and started to climb.  Every time the helicopter wanted to go faster I held it back at 60 knots to keep climbing, clearing the power lines and trees flying out and turning right when about parallel with the tanks at the waste water plant.

Here is a picture of the take off path for RWY 14.

Maintaining 60 knots and continuing to climb to 700 feet MSL I turn right just past the waste water facility flying a slightly larger pattern than normal so I would have plenty of time to get setup for landing (also the wind was pushing me towards the runway).  Announced my turn to the downwind leg of the pattern.  Stopped climbing so I was at 700 Feet MSL and flying 60 knots, ready to begin landing.  The part of landing I need to improve on is maintaining my descent through the base and final legs of the pattern.  I started my descent just before I turned base and announced my position.  Descending at around 500 feet per minute (FPM), I turned and managed to keep descending and maintain the 60 knots for the landing profile.  Announced my turn to final and kept descending watching the power lines get closer and closer, I cheated a little and slowed my descent from 500 FPM to 100 FPM until I was past the power lines.  Clear of the power lines and the barn I began to slow down to 40 knots and maintain that until I was close to the ground.  As the ground gets closer I start raising the collective (pulling/adding power) which slows me down even more, slowing adding power until I am hovering just past my spot and enter a stabilized hover (another area I need improvement on).  Hovering for about a minute and then call that I am taking off.  From here on out, my solo flight pretty much repeats.  Take off, fly the pattern, land, hover, take off, fly the pattern, land, hover, etc.

The Approach path for RWY 14.

There was other air traffic and some jumpers mixed in.  I did what I could to avoid all that I could.  I had one plane get into the pattern behind me, so I felt a little rushed to land and clear the runway.  I used the time to take a break and practice pick ups and set downs so the other pilots could get to where they wanted go with out delay and to avoid flying near the open parachutes (they are not supposed to cross the concrete runway but I avoided them entirely.  Don't want to be on the news as the student helicopter pilot who chopped up some enthusiasts just out to have some fun).

After an hour of flying around I saw my instructor walking towards the field so I landed, set down and idled the engine so he could climb in.  After a short break for some cooler air, I returned the blades to operating speed, picked us up into a hover, called the take off and flew back to KTLH.  I had some trouble understanding what was wanted while talking to approach, but I figured it out and we landed at the North ramp and shut down.  We discussed what I did good at and where I could approve.  Next week another flight like this one.  In two weeks, I will leave from KTLH alone, fly for about 2 hours and return to KTLH.  I will probably just fly to Quincy and do more flights in the patterns.

R48

Objects (as in Operating near Objects is Stressful Regardless of the Actual Threat the Object Possessiveness!)

17 June 2012

Today's flight was pretty much a repeat of last week.  The focus was mainly on the maneuvers I need to be able to perform while flying alone.  Normal take off, landing, hovering, hover taxi, pick up, set down and auto rotation.

I am doing pretty much all the radio calls now since I will have to do them when I am flying solo.  No instructor in the cabin to prompt or complete the call.  Just me.  I am confident enough to be maybe a bit over cautious.  My dream is to fly helicopters not die in a helicopter crash.

Today we flew out to the old commercial airport just North of KTLH.  The runway is closed but it makes a nice place to practice with no other traffic.  The runway is not very long and has trees on all sides.  Trees on the left or right side don't really bother me, it is when I have to land flying over trees or take off with trees in the departure path.  I'm not really sure why it bothers me so much, I know I can maintain altitude until I clear the trees when landing and I can climb fast enough to clear the trees on departure.

While practicing pick ups, set downs and hovering I got close to an old set of traffic cones that were positioned on either side of the runway.  I noticed them as I would pick up, move forward a bit, hover to a spot, stop and set down (again opening the door to get some cooler air).  These are the larger cones that come up to about the middle of your thigh, 30 - 36 inches tall.  For whatever reason, I did not want to get near them.  They couldn't damage the main rotor, it is 12 feet off the ground.  The tail rotor is about 5 feet above the ground, so no real threat to that, but as I moved closer to them I could feel my self starting to get nervous about them being there.  I did fly past them a couple of times before while doing landings and take offs before I even noticed them when I started practicing hovering maneuvers.

I had a hard time getting my landing profile correct.  My approach was too steep most of the time, I was too slow or too fast, but mostly I was too high and was not descending as I should.  This matters because of something called the "Dead Man's Curve".  There is a chart published by the helicopter manufacturer that outlines flight conditions that if you are operating in those regions you will not have time or aircraft performance to safely land in the event of an engine or other failure.  When you are low and moving slow, you will not be able to enter an auto rotation that will provide the performance needed to safely set the helicopter down.  If you are operating in the Dead Man's Curve and you have a failure of any kind, you can bet on being dead.

I did pretty good overall and it was time to go back to KTLH.  Once again my approach was too steep, but I managed to land and hover to the parking spot and made a decent set down.  On Saturday, my instructor and I will get in the helicopter, fly over to Quincy (2J9), review the basic maneuvers and after about 30 minutes of flying together, we will land and he will get out of the helicopter.  Then I head off on my own for 30-45 minutes, landing to pick up my instructor and fly back to KTLH.

Then I start learning about navigation methods and cross country flight planning.  Then comes a few cross country flights, night flights, solo cross country flights and probably a solo night flight.  My goal is to have my private license by my birthday (which is in October) and my instructor says that should not be a problem.

I am still working on getting a GoPro Hero camera to record my adventures, hopefully I will be able to afford it soon.  I know that reading about something and seeing that same thing are different.  I really want to be able to contrast the decent rate of a normal approach versus an auto rotation!

R48

Oh! (as in Oh! Why wasn't I told this earlier?!)

10 June 2012

Since I am getting close to having enough hours to fly solo, today's flight focused mostly on the maneuvers that I need to know to fly safely with out my flight instructor and all the information in case I encounter an emergency.  It was hot today; 30C (86F) with dew point at 24C (75F) meant the Relative Humidity was 80%.  After pre-flight and run up I made the radio calls to get clearance and took us up.  The wind was from the South so we had to fly out over the central ramp, up over Capital Circle and then across the airport to the Northwest towards Quincy.

In Quincy we did a lot of the basic maneuvers, regular approach, regular takeoff, flying the pattern, self-announcing on the CTAF.  We also spent a lot of time practicing hovering, pick-ups and set-downs.  Quincy was practically void of any other air traffic.  I didn't even see anyone at the jump school!  I was able to maneuver all over the runway surface and not have to stop for in or out bound traffic.

I have not been using the pedals enough while hovering, I could hover sufficiently, but after I started using the pedals as I should be today, hovering was outstanding!  To hone my skills I would hover to a spot, set down, pick up, hover forward one stripe, hover over the spot and set down again.  I did this down most of the runway pausing every few set downs to open the door and get some air because it was so hot.  Now that I was using the pedals as I should, my ability to maneuver while hovering was markedly improved.  I was pretty excited about my new knowledge and skills, until it was time to get fuel.

We also did some straight in auto-rotations to practice, but I didn't do very good today.  There isn't a lot of time when you enter auto-rotation at 900 feet.  I did note that I didn't get stuck staring at the gauges and spent most of the time looking out side, watching where I was going.

It's not that I didn't want to get fuel, it's that I am still a little shy about flying near other objects.  Not to mention a huge fuel tank!  Putting my reservations aside I maneuvered us towards the fuel ramp and set us down (I am sure I had some help, but I was so focused on not damaging the helicopter or us that I didn't notice).  After a short break in the air conditioning of the airport office, we started up and flew back to KTLH.

Next week we will do more of the same, making sure that my flight instructor feels confident I can take off and fly by myself and land safely.

R48

Trees (as in I am surrounded by trees!)

03 June 2012

As I prepare for flying solo one of the things I needed to accomplish was a full review of the Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) I need to know for passing the oral and written exam for my private pilot license.  The FAR tells what you can and can not do as a pilot, when aircraft have to be inspected, when you can/can't fly, what type of repair/alteration is major or minor and who can/can't perform that work.  I spent about 4 hours today going over the FAR, highlighting, making notes, putting tags in, etc.  There are only a few sections I have to know by heart, but I have to know just about where everything is at, which part gives the requirements to earn a private license, which parts talk about maintenance, etc.  (I should probably be reading and reviewing those instead of writing this!).

After dredging through the FAR it was finally time to fly.  Performed the pre-flight and noted we were low on fuel.  The weather was 34C (about 94F), I would have liked to take the doors off but we were going to stop in town somewhere and get something to eat.  Locking our gear in the helicopter and others out took priority over having a cool flight.  I start the engine, engage the clutch, the blades start spinning and while waiting for the Cylinder Head Temp (CHT) to enter the green, listen to ATIS and call Ground control.

Talking on the radio is not hard, sounding like you know what you are doing on the radio is.  Every call entails the same four items, Who you are calling, Who you are, Where you are at and what you want to do.  Simple to do while sitting on the ground but when you add flying, scanning for traffic, checking gages and warning lights it gets a bit tougher.

After the CHT was in the green, increased throttle to 75%, checked the magnetos and sprague clutch, turned the governor on and increased 102% blade RPM.  No strange noises, contacted the tower and requested take off clearance.   Clearance was granted and with the wind blowing from the South we lifted off into a hover and made a left pedal turn into the wind and began to build airspeed, make a climbing turn over the central ramp, turned to follow Capital Circle.  Traveling at 60 knots we made a turn to the Northwest towards Quincy, flew over closed RWY 18/36 gaining altitude. I missed the fact that the pedals were moved all the way forward, which made using them difficult because the angle was off.  I would correct that during our fuel stop.

Because of the wind RWY 14 was active in Quincy, I made some radio calls and landed.  My hovering was poor because I missed a week of flying.  Made a normal take off, was flying the pattern while the Jump plane was taxiing to the Runway.  I was nearing the end of the downwind leg and preparing to turn base when Jump 1 called he was taking off.  Glancing over my shoulder and seeing the plane on the runway I wanted to extend the downwind leg to ensure we didn't come close to each other.  Soon Jump 1 was in the air and making a right turn to climb to 8500 feet with two jumpers.  I made the turn to base, then to final, made my radio call and landed.  We needed fuel so we taxied over to the fuel pump. 

While fueling up we were approached by a guy who wanted to parachute out of the helicopter.  We agreed to take him, he took off to get his gear on and we went inside for a break.  As we were walking into the building the two jumpers were making their landing.  As we were headed back to the helicopter, he met up with us and we all got in.  Got the helicopter started, safety checks made, picked up into a hover and moved away from the fuel ramp.  Jump 1 was landing on the grass runway, we waited for him to clear, made our radio call and began to take off.  Now that we were full on fuel and people, we pulled full power and began a slow climb to 3500 feet.  We turned to the south and continued to climb, turning west after a while staying close to the airport.  We approached 3500 feet and began to maneuver to where the jumper wanted to bail at.  After he bailed and the door was closed, we continued to climb to 4000 feet, watching, waiting for his parachute to open.  His chute opened and we made a clearing turn to prepare for an autorotation!  I forgot to correct the pedal position.  This made it feel like I was just smashing the pedals to get them to move.

We are flying 70 knots at 4000 feet and entered autorotation.  Descending at nearly 2000 feet per minute, we have just under two minutes before we would be at the ground!  After entering an autorotation and maintaining the correct rotor RPM and airspeed, you have to look around below you and pick a landing spot (in a real emergency we would have landed there).  After you pick a landing spot you have to determine if you can make it there and maybe pick a different landing zone.  We could make it and made our turns and control adjustments to maintain airspeed and rotor RPM.   At about 500 feet we begin to flare, this reduces the decent rate and speed of the helicopter.  Using the energy stored in the main rotor allows this to happen.  At 400 feet (about 200 feet Above Ground Level (AGL)) you level the ship and begin to raise the collective to further slow your decent.  While the helicopter  is slowing, the throttle is reapplied to maintain rotor RPM and we ended up in a hover about 150 feet AGL.  Doing most everything correctly (I get stuck looking at the airspeed and rotor RPM, instead of most of my focus being outside) we climbed to about 1200 feet and flew towards the East.  

We flew over the now closed commercial airport, Lake Jackson, over a bunch of houses and made a North turn to follow Thomasville Road.  I knew we were going to land and get something to eat, but I didn't know where we were landing.  It sounded like there was a place that it was common for people to fly in and eat.  Well this was nothing like that.  Here is a picture of where we landed! (Coordinates if you want to map it yourself! 30.565430, -84.216878)

The red arrow shows the landing zone and the orange arrow shows where we met up with some of the flight instructors friends and ate food.  It was fun, both the landing and hanging out with friends.  After eating we went back to the helicopter, which was attracting spectators, started up and took off (there was a small child in the one car that stopped to watch us takeoff).  I fixed the pedals this stop, and we took off, flew over the restaurant and headed back to the airport.  We flew over downtown past a club that is usually busy, but no one was in the club when we flew by.  After landing we shutdown and discussed what I did good at and what I need to practice on the next few flights so I am ready for solo flight. 

It had been a long day, almost 12 hours of driving, learning and flying.  I was headed home and ready to relax. 

R48