On the 15th I made a flight with C2, we flew out to Quincy and went through most of the maneuvers that are part of the flying portion of the check ride. This let me practice them and gave C2 an indication of what I needed to work on. We practiced slopes again, I have always had trouble with them in the past; I did pretty good this time. We did air taxi, quick stop, steep approach, maximum performance take off, normal approach, normal takeoff, pedal turns and auto-rotations.
The flight was brief and intense. I did really well on most everything, noticed some improvements myself and C2 said he got a clear picture of what we needed to work on (this was only our third flight together). The last auto I did was really good and I had the controls 100%.
As we headed back to Tallahassee we discussed a plan that would have me ready for the check ride. We did some ground work and set goals for having a check ride in 4 weeks. That happened to be the same week as my brother's wedding, so we made it 5 weeks for the check ride.
I am pretty excited for it to all happen, it is the start of a new phase of life for me. I am glad that I have the support of my family and friends.
R48
Monday, June 30, 2014
Monday, June 23, 2014
Alone (as in Flying Alone)
Sunday (8 June 2014) I was back at the airport for a solo flight. The helicopter was light on fuel and C2 wasn't able to be un-escorted airside (pending background check, etc.). So we discussed how to get the fuel I needed to fly and get it done in the quickest way possible. Time is money when the engine is running. We decided it would be best to start up, fly to Quincy together, shutdown, and get fuel. We would start up again, move away from the fuel pump, C2 would exit the helicopter and wait in the building while I flew patterns for an hour. Practicing my approaches, landings, take offs, hovering, and pickup/set down.
Again for this flight C2, was going to let me do everything and only take the controls if needed. We flew out of the Tallahassee Class C airspace and made our way to Quincy. I can find it navigating by landmarks now, I often forget to program the GPS before I take off. We landed and I maneuvered to the fuel pump. For most of my training, I got really nervous when I have to operate really close to things that can damage the rotors. Getting close to the trees or fuel pump always got me tense, this time, I decided I could put all that aside and do it myself! My instructor told me where to park and I maneuvered to the spot and set us on the ground. As I followed the shutdown checklist, C2 got out and began the fueling process.
Getting fuel involves bonding the aircraft to the fuel pump. It is often referred to as grounding, but technically you aren't grounding the helicopter. The fuel moving through the hose can generate static electricity, if the static discharges near the fuel fill spout; it can start a fire. Bonding to the fuel pump causes the pump and helicopter to share the static charge.
After getting fuel and taking a bathroom break, I did the start up and hovered away from the fuel pump. C2 gave me a few last minute pointers/reminders and with the throttle fully off, he exited the helicopter and I was alone. After waiting for him to clear the area, I rolled the throttle back up to 80%, let the governor take over and waited for the RPMs to stabilize. After a quick check of the instrument panel, I made a radio call announcing my movement from the fuel area to the active runway and slowly raised the collective.
I picked up really quick and began on a forward track half freaking out half trying to figure out why the controls seemed so strange. The winds were calm but occasionally blowing from the South, so I was using runway 14. I made a normal take off and then I remembered, 90% of the time there are two people in the helicopter. When you take half the load out, in this case C2, it is really light and flies very different. Then I remembered what I needed to do different to control the helicopter properly.
I flew traffic patterns for most of the hour, worked in some hovering practice and worked around the airfield with other aircraft as they flew around. There weren't any skydivers but it was much earlier than when I normally flew on Sunday. A few planes landed, got fuel and took off. It was a pretty uneventful day at the airport. After I had my hour of solo time, I taxied over to near the airport office and reduced the engine to idle. C2 made his way out to the helicopter and after he had his seat belt buckled, I rolled the throttle back on and we made our way back to Tallahassee.
This hour of solo time was the list requirement I had not met to qualify for my private license. After this all my flights will be working to improve my skills to meet the standards established by the FAA. In about 4 weeks I will have my private pilot check-ride, then I start working on my instrument and commercial ratings.
R48
I picked up really quick and began on a forward track half freaking out half trying to figure out why the controls seemed so strange. The winds were calm but occasionally blowing from the South, so I was using runway 14. I made a normal take off and then I remembered, 90% of the time there are two people in the helicopter. When you take half the load out, in this case C2, it is really light and flies very different. Then I remembered what I needed to do different to control the helicopter properly.
I flew traffic patterns for most of the hour, worked in some hovering practice and worked around the airfield with other aircraft as they flew around. There weren't any skydivers but it was much earlier than when I normally flew on Sunday. A few planes landed, got fuel and took off. It was a pretty uneventful day at the airport. After I had my hour of solo time, I taxied over to near the airport office and reduced the engine to idle. C2 made his way out to the helicopter and after he had his seat belt buckled, I rolled the throttle back on and we made our way back to Tallahassee.
This hour of solo time was the list requirement I had not met to qualify for my private license. After this all my flights will be working to improve my skills to meet the standards established by the FAA. In about 4 weeks I will have my private pilot check-ride, then I start working on my instrument and commercial ratings.
R48
Thursday, June 19, 2014
New (as in New Instructor)
I had already planned to do a two flights this weekend. One Saturday with the instructor to practice maneuvers and one Sunday morning to fly the last hour of solo time I needed for my private license. Saturday morning I get up and drive over to Tallahassee for a flight. I also got to meet the new flight instructor. I knew the school was getting a new instructor, but I didn't know it was going to happen so quickly. After introductions, discussing where I am at in my training, and what I wanted to do for this flight, I did the pre-flight and we were taking off toward Quincy.
Charlie2 (Code name for my new instructor, hereafter shortened to C2) said he was going to observe and only intervene if he felt it was absolutely necessary, so he could feel OK with me flying solo the next day. It's about 20 minutes by air from Tallahassee Regional to Quincy Municipal; I flew the whole way with out issue. C2 noted several times that I was flying well and he didn't notice anything that would cause him concern in me flying solo.
We practiced some maneuvers that I felt I needed to practice, slopes and auto-rotations. We were limiting the flight length because thunderstorms were forecast to begin and we wanted to be on the ground before they started. I did really well at slopes and fully executed a straight in auto rotation 100% on my own.
Not everywhere you land will be a nice flat surface and helicopters have limits on how much of a slope they can safely land on. Anytime the helicopter is on uneven ground a dynamic rollover is possible; this video shows one. When landing on a slope the pilot is also working to avoid a tail strike, the maneuver has you analyze the landing area, pick a landing spot, safely hover to your spot, land the first skid on the ground while holding your heading and keeping the helicopter level, lowering the other skid to the ground, fully reducing power and making sure the helicopter is stable on the slope. Then reversing the process to pick up off the slope and navigate away safely. I don't think it would be so bad if there weren't trees so close to the few slopes available at the Quincy airport (if you look it up, there is a picnic table on the west side of the paved runway. It is in the area where I do slope practice.).
We moved on to auto-rotations or "autos". In the event of an engine failure, the pilot quickly enters an auto-rotation; this allows the helicopter to "glide" back to the ground. Auto-rotations are complex because you are using altitude to build energy in the rotor system so what when you get to the ground, you use that energy at the end to stop your decent and most forward speed to gently land. You have to balance airspeed, rotor RPM and altitude so you have enough rotor RPM at the end to land safely. When you practice auto-rotations, you also have to protect the aircraft from an over speed. The rotor system has limits on what it can handle and if you exceed those limits it leads to very costly inspections and possibly having to replace components. In a real emergency, the primary goal is get on the ground and live. We did a few autos and on the last one I did it was good. That was the first time I had executed the maneuver 100% with no control input or correction from the instructor. It was pretty exciting for me.
I am very close to earning my private license and am working hard to make sure I know everything I need to know in both flight skills and regulation knowledge.
R48
Charlie2 (Code name for my new instructor, hereafter shortened to C2) said he was going to observe and only intervene if he felt it was absolutely necessary, so he could feel OK with me flying solo the next day. It's about 20 minutes by air from Tallahassee Regional to Quincy Municipal; I flew the whole way with out issue. C2 noted several times that I was flying well and he didn't notice anything that would cause him concern in me flying solo.
We practiced some maneuvers that I felt I needed to practice, slopes and auto-rotations. We were limiting the flight length because thunderstorms were forecast to begin and we wanted to be on the ground before they started. I did really well at slopes and fully executed a straight in auto rotation 100% on my own.
Not everywhere you land will be a nice flat surface and helicopters have limits on how much of a slope they can safely land on. Anytime the helicopter is on uneven ground a dynamic rollover is possible; this video shows one. When landing on a slope the pilot is also working to avoid a tail strike, the maneuver has you analyze the landing area, pick a landing spot, safely hover to your spot, land the first skid on the ground while holding your heading and keeping the helicopter level, lowering the other skid to the ground, fully reducing power and making sure the helicopter is stable on the slope. Then reversing the process to pick up off the slope and navigate away safely. I don't think it would be so bad if there weren't trees so close to the few slopes available at the Quincy airport (if you look it up, there is a picnic table on the west side of the paved runway. It is in the area where I do slope practice.).
We moved on to auto-rotations or "autos". In the event of an engine failure, the pilot quickly enters an auto-rotation; this allows the helicopter to "glide" back to the ground. Auto-rotations are complex because you are using altitude to build energy in the rotor system so what when you get to the ground, you use that energy at the end to stop your decent and most forward speed to gently land. You have to balance airspeed, rotor RPM and altitude so you have enough rotor RPM at the end to land safely. When you practice auto-rotations, you also have to protect the aircraft from an over speed. The rotor system has limits on what it can handle and if you exceed those limits it leads to very costly inspections and possibly having to replace components. In a real emergency, the primary goal is get on the ground and live. We did a few autos and on the last one I did it was good. That was the first time I had executed the maneuver 100% with no control input or correction from the instructor. It was pretty exciting for me.
I am very close to earning my private license and am working hard to make sure I know everything I need to know in both flight skills and regulation knowledge.
R48
Monday, June 9, 2014
Exam (as in FAA Knowledge Exam)
I scheduled to take the FAA written knowledge exam on Thursday. Luckily there is an FAA testing center in town; otherwise I would have had to take a day of vacation and drive to Tallahassee to take the test. I showed up at the testing center (a local vocational school) ready for my test only to find out the lady who usually administers the tests had a dental issue and wouldn't be in. She was supposed to have left the test materials out for the tests, but the booklet I needed for my test was not left out. The book was locked in a cabinet with some FCAT (state standardized testing) testing materials and state law dictates that those materials have very limited access.
The ladies who were filling in made an amazing effort to gain access to the cabinet but were unable to. I left with the plan that I would come back at 4 pm to take the test. They called around noon saying they would not be able to get the test materials that day but to call them to schedule a different time to take the test. I decided I would take the test during my lunch break on Friday.
When I showed up Friday, they had everything I needed and after registering and paying for the test, I began. I had been averaging around an hour whenever I would take an online practice test and scoring in the low to mid ninety's. After an hour of answering questions, performing weight and balance calculations, and figuring out how long it would take to fly from one place to another, I completed the test and passed with an 83. Now with the written exam completed I can focus 100% on the practical and oral exam that are part of what is commonly called a "check-ride".
R48
The ladies who were filling in made an amazing effort to gain access to the cabinet but were unable to. I left with the plan that I would come back at 4 pm to take the test. They called around noon saying they would not be able to get the test materials that day but to call them to schedule a different time to take the test. I decided I would take the test during my lunch break on Friday.
When I showed up Friday, they had everything I needed and after registering and paying for the test, I began. I had been averaging around an hour whenever I would take an online practice test and scoring in the low to mid ninety's. After an hour of answering questions, performing weight and balance calculations, and figuring out how long it would take to fly from one place to another, I completed the test and passed with an 83. Now with the written exam completed I can focus 100% on the practical and oral exam that are part of what is commonly called a "check-ride".
R48
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Update (as in This just in...)
Things have been quite busy the last several months. Between a change of flight instructors and a helicopter crash (I was not involved) progress has been really slow.
My original flight instructor had flown enough hours to get a job flying off shore to and from oil rigs. Since the flight school only has one instructor, it took a bit to get a replacement. That flight instructor left and it was a little bit longer to get a replacement.
I started flying with the newest instructor and I am making good progress. My maneuvers are getting better and are very close to check ride standards. I am taking the FAA written exam this week and have been studying hard for it.
The training helicopter crashed and it took almost 8 weeks to procure a replacement. They have a smaller helicopter, but the instructor and I would not meet the weight and balance limits.
I have decided that ultimately I want to be a Helicopter EMS (HEMS) pilot. Flying people from accident sites to hospitals or patients from one hospital to another. I will need a lot of hours to get a job like that, but I know that it will be worth it.
I want to update this blog more regularly than I have in the past. I also hope to get a GoPro camera to begin capturing video and images of my flights. This weekend I have a solo flight to get the last of the PIC hours I need for my private license.
I have been thinking of crowd sourcing the funds to pay for flight school. Doing so will ensure that I (hopefully) have enough money to complete my flight training and can begin my path to flying HEMS. Currently funds for flight training are tied to the degree I am working on in Aviation Management. If I can't get enough money from the loans offered while attending school, I won't be able to finish flight school.
R48
My original flight instructor had flown enough hours to get a job flying off shore to and from oil rigs. Since the flight school only has one instructor, it took a bit to get a replacement. That flight instructor left and it was a little bit longer to get a replacement.
I started flying with the newest instructor and I am making good progress. My maneuvers are getting better and are very close to check ride standards. I am taking the FAA written exam this week and have been studying hard for it.
The training helicopter crashed and it took almost 8 weeks to procure a replacement. They have a smaller helicopter, but the instructor and I would not meet the weight and balance limits.
I have decided that ultimately I want to be a Helicopter EMS (HEMS) pilot. Flying people from accident sites to hospitals or patients from one hospital to another. I will need a lot of hours to get a job like that, but I know that it will be worth it.
I want to update this blog more regularly than I have in the past. I also hope to get a GoPro camera to begin capturing video and images of my flights. This weekend I have a solo flight to get the last of the PIC hours I need for my private license.
I have been thinking of crowd sourcing the funds to pay for flight school. Doing so will ensure that I (hopefully) have enough money to complete my flight training and can begin my path to flying HEMS. Currently funds for flight training are tied to the degree I am working on in Aviation Management. If I can't get enough money from the loans offered while attending school, I won't be able to finish flight school.
R48
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