Greetings! It has been a while since I have posted. I haven't been flying much because of work and school. I have however determined that I need help paying for flight training. I setup a GoFundMe page and ask that if you are able to and willing, please make a donation. My goal is to get enough money so I can get my commercial license. This money will help me finish flight school in a reasonable amount of time so I can begin to build hours towards becoming a pilot for an air ambulance service.
With out these funds it will take longer to achieve my goal and there is a possibility that I will have to stop flying altogether. Air ambulance services provide quick transport for patients who need to get to a treatment facility. I want to help people get the help they need so they can begin to get better. The first step for me is earning my commercial pilot license. After I get my commercial pilot license, I will have to build hours and gain experience flying. I will have an array of jobs before I will meet the common qualifications to be hired by an air ambulance provider, but getting my commercial license is the first step. This first step is what I need help with.
Please share this with your friends and families. I will continue writing about my flight experiences as I complete flight school and begin flying and gaining experience. Thanks for the help and support.
Here is the link to my GoFundMe page.
R48
Showing posts with label helicopters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label helicopters. Show all posts
Monday, August 25, 2014
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Video (as in that video I shot is finally ready!)
I finally got the video I recorded of my flight on 29 June edited and worked into a format that I like (Since then I thought of a better way to present the videos, so I am working on them some more). I am going to begin with a picture of the dash of the Robinson R44.
I was working on the videos and realized it would probably be better to narrate what is going on in the video versus showing the video and writing about what is happening. I think it will be a better experience for those who view the blog.
Here is a video of me climbing to 2000 feet MSL and practicing a turning auto. As I climb the vertical speed indicator (gauge #7) shows a climb of over 1000 fpm and the Manifold pressure (gauge #5) shows about 25 inches, meaning I am at almost max power. The Altimeter (#4) shows the climb from 1000 to 2000 feet. The auto begins when the engine tach needle drops below 80%. The rotor tach needle stays above 90%. Although in the turn it drops below 97% which activates the Low rotor RPM horn and light.
The whole auto lasted 40 seconds and you can see the vertical airspeed indicator peg out at 2000 fpm descent and we lost almost 1200 feet of altitude in the process.
R48
I have numbered some of the gauges on the instrument panel. They are:
- Tachometer - The needle on the left is for the engine and the needle on the right is for the rotors
- Airspeed - This shows the airspeed of the helicopter.
- Artifical Horizon - This is primarily used in Instrument flights with little or no visibility.
- Altimeter - Indicates your elevation above sea level.
- Manifold Pressure (MAP) - This shows the air pressure in the intake manifold. The higher the indication the more power is being demanded from the engine. There is a limit on how much power you can safely pull.
- Low Rotor RPM light - This is light and a horn activate when the rotor system drops below 97%.
- Vertical Airspeed Indicator - This shows the rate at when you are changing elevation in feet per minute either up or down. It maxes out at 2000 ft/min.
- Clutch Light - The drive belts are tensioned automatically; when the light is on the tension mechanism is active.
I was working on the videos and realized it would probably be better to narrate what is going on in the video versus showing the video and writing about what is happening. I think it will be a better experience for those who view the blog.
Here is a video of me climbing to 2000 feet MSL and practicing a turning auto. As I climb the vertical speed indicator (gauge #7) shows a climb of over 1000 fpm and the Manifold pressure (gauge #5) shows about 25 inches, meaning I am at almost max power. The Altimeter (#4) shows the climb from 1000 to 2000 feet. The auto begins when the engine tach needle drops below 80%. The rotor tach needle stays above 90%. Although in the turn it drops below 97% which activates the Low rotor RPM horn and light.
The whole auto lasted 40 seconds and you can see the vertical airspeed indicator peg out at 2000 fpm descent and we lost almost 1200 feet of altitude in the process.
R48
Monday, July 21, 2014
Break (as in no flight this week)
Today (06JUL14) I spent C2 working on ground school, reviewing all the things I need to know for the oral part of the check ride. Aerodynamic, emergency procedures, rules and regulations. I need to study some, but know most everything I should.
R48
R48
Monday, July 14, 2014
Prep (as in Check-ride prep)
I am a little late this week with this post; school and work have been taking all my free time.
Today's flight (29JUN14) was longer and it was working on maneuvers for the check ride. Working on the maneuvers that I can do well to maintain the skills I do have and improve the others. Overall, I am getting better at doing the maneuver on the first try. I brought and mounted my GoPro camera (Full disclosure: I own GoPro stock); I was able to capture video of the flight, but because we had the doors off and I haven't bought an adapter cable, you can only hear the audio when the engine is idle and airspeed zero. I will eventually buy an adapter cable that will capture all the intercom and radio communications.
After getting the helicopter started, we headed out toward the TV station again. Being the only off-airport location they have permission to land at, we went there to practice off-airport operations. I made my assessment of the area and began my approach. I wasn't descending like I needed to, so I went around again. I made a better approach the second time and landed as needed in the field. The field at the TV station has some slopes that are not as steep compared to the Quincy airport, so we tried a new technique for landing on slopes. I did better at slopes on the first try and the new technique helped overall. I made a max. performance takeoff from the field and headed towards Quincy.
As we were approaching Quincy we heard the jump plane call "4 parachutes out over Quincy", so we flew towards town and climbed up to 2000 feet for some turning auto-rotation practice. I entered the auto, established the glide and properly managed the RPMs as we entered and exited the turn. I rolled the throttle back on and flew towards the airport. The jumpers were on the ground, so we made a normal approach.
I did the approach fine on my first attempt. I took off again and landed with a steep approach. Performed an air taxi, followed by a quick stop. A trip around the pattern for a running landing. A running (sometimes called a run-on) landing is used when you don't think the helicopter can hover. Maybe one magneto is malfunctioning, you are at a high gross weight, or at a location with high density altitude. A running landing is also one of the components used if I had to make a real forced landing; after the auto-rotation you flare to reduce descent and airspeed, then you let the helicopter settle to ground and touchdown with the skids level, running on them until the helicopter stops.
After running landing, we moved to the slopes. The slopes at Quincy are pretty steep, nothing outside the limits of the helicopter, but probably close to them. I did OK, on the slopes at Quincy, better than the last time.
After slopes, we waited for the jump plane to take off, then I went around the pattern and setup for a straight in auto-rotation. I entered the auto slower than normal and lost additional airspeed as I descended. You need the airspeed to have energy to use at the end for the flare and touchdown. I got the airspeed back, but I lost RPMs. The maneuver was recoverable, but in the interest of safety, both C2 and I at nearly the same instance said to add throttle and go around. Went around again and had a successful auto.
I setup for a turning auto. Sometimes the best place to land isn't in front of you, so you have to turn to land safely. The first one went OK, I did pretty good. I turned kind of tight so I had to adjust to make my spot. The second one was good, but I turned very steep, which drove the rotor RPM almost to max. With jumpers on their way up we taxied to the fuel pump, shutdown and got fuel. After a short break, we started up with an airplane really close to the tail rotor. It made us kind of nervous, so we quickly started and hovered away from the fuel pumps.
I did another running landing in preparation for a hydraulics off landing. The R44 has hydraulics to reduce the force from the pilot needed to control the helicopter. When the hydraulics fail, hovering will be practically impossible. After a successful running landing, I took off for the pattern and once I was in the downwind leg, the hydraulics went off. Controlling the helicopter without hydraulics is not hard, sort of like driving a car without power steering. Fine until you need to travel through a parking lot at low speed. The camera battery ran out as I was on final. I landed perfectly and was happy to have the hydraulics back.
After this, I am pretty sure we took off and went back to Tallahassee.
R48
Today's flight (29JUN14) was longer and it was working on maneuvers for the check ride. Working on the maneuvers that I can do well to maintain the skills I do have and improve the others. Overall, I am getting better at doing the maneuver on the first try. I brought and mounted my GoPro camera (Full disclosure: I own GoPro stock); I was able to capture video of the flight, but because we had the doors off and I haven't bought an adapter cable, you can only hear the audio when the engine is idle and airspeed zero. I will eventually buy an adapter cable that will capture all the intercom and radio communications.
After getting the helicopter started, we headed out toward the TV station again. Being the only off-airport location they have permission to land at, we went there to practice off-airport operations. I made my assessment of the area and began my approach. I wasn't descending like I needed to, so I went around again. I made a better approach the second time and landed as needed in the field. The field at the TV station has some slopes that are not as steep compared to the Quincy airport, so we tried a new technique for landing on slopes. I did better at slopes on the first try and the new technique helped overall. I made a max. performance takeoff from the field and headed towards Quincy.
As we were approaching Quincy we heard the jump plane call "4 parachutes out over Quincy", so we flew towards town and climbed up to 2000 feet for some turning auto-rotation practice. I entered the auto, established the glide and properly managed the RPMs as we entered and exited the turn. I rolled the throttle back on and flew towards the airport. The jumpers were on the ground, so we made a normal approach.
I did the approach fine on my first attempt. I took off again and landed with a steep approach. Performed an air taxi, followed by a quick stop. A trip around the pattern for a running landing. A running (sometimes called a run-on) landing is used when you don't think the helicopter can hover. Maybe one magneto is malfunctioning, you are at a high gross weight, or at a location with high density altitude. A running landing is also one of the components used if I had to make a real forced landing; after the auto-rotation you flare to reduce descent and airspeed, then you let the helicopter settle to ground and touchdown with the skids level, running on them until the helicopter stops.
After running landing, we moved to the slopes. The slopes at Quincy are pretty steep, nothing outside the limits of the helicopter, but probably close to them. I did OK, on the slopes at Quincy, better than the last time.
After slopes, we waited for the jump plane to take off, then I went around the pattern and setup for a straight in auto-rotation. I entered the auto slower than normal and lost additional airspeed as I descended. You need the airspeed to have energy to use at the end for the flare and touchdown. I got the airspeed back, but I lost RPMs. The maneuver was recoverable, but in the interest of safety, both C2 and I at nearly the same instance said to add throttle and go around. Went around again and had a successful auto.
I setup for a turning auto. Sometimes the best place to land isn't in front of you, so you have to turn to land safely. The first one went OK, I did pretty good. I turned kind of tight so I had to adjust to make my spot. The second one was good, but I turned very steep, which drove the rotor RPM almost to max. With jumpers on their way up we taxied to the fuel pump, shutdown and got fuel. After a short break, we started up with an airplane really close to the tail rotor. It made us kind of nervous, so we quickly started and hovered away from the fuel pumps.
I did another running landing in preparation for a hydraulics off landing. The R44 has hydraulics to reduce the force from the pilot needed to control the helicopter. When the hydraulics fail, hovering will be practically impossible. After a successful running landing, I took off for the pattern and once I was in the downwind leg, the hydraulics went off. Controlling the helicopter without hydraulics is not hard, sort of like driving a car without power steering. Fine until you need to travel through a parking lot at low speed. The camera battery ran out as I was on final. I landed perfectly and was happy to have the hydraulics back.
After this, I am pretty sure we took off and went back to Tallahassee.
R48
Monday, July 7, 2014
Jumpers (as in Avoiding them)
Today's flight was longer but more of the same, prepping for the up coming check ride. We took off and flew towards a TV station that the school has permission to use their land for off-airport landings. C2 had not been there and I have only been there once. We departed TLH and flew to the North looking for a small clearing and the tower by the station building. We found it and I proceeded to perform an off airport landing.
I started by circling the field at a high altitude looking for any obstacles and searching for something that would indicate wind direction. The field at the station is surrounded by power lines, trees, and has two tall towers on either side. It is a fair representation of what an off-airport landing could be. There was smoke in the distance that showed the wind was probably from the North. I made a lower circle around the site and planned my approach so I would land into the wind.
I slowed down and began my decent, holding altitude over the trees, waited until I was sure the tail would clear them without contact, and continued descending. I was in a steeper than normal approach, but not a real steep approach. I continued my descent ending in a hover near the middle of the field. C2 asked how I was going to take off, so I explained I was going to hover to the back of the field and make a maximum performance take-off. Waiting until I was clear of the trees and power lines in front of me to begin any forward movement, picking a path over the shortest trees with an open field behind them. C2 showed me a few things about the max. performance take-offs, confined areas and off airport operations. He also has a different way of doing the max. performance take-off; I like it better than the other way I was taught.
I made a max. performance take-off out over my planned departure path and we headed to Quincy. I found Quincy and made a normal approach. That was good because my first approach was a good one. Sometimes when the first time I do a maneuver while flying it is bad, but when I do it again later in the flight it is good. One of the things I have to do as I prepare for the check ride is to make the first maneuver a good one. We headed for the slopes and I did them really poorly, I mean really poorly. One of the mistakes I was making was looking at the ground close to where I was trying to land. Noting that slopes still "need improvement", I held a hover while Jump1, the plane from the local skydiving school, took off and ascended with jumpers. C2 wanted to look for more potential off airport locations and I needed to practice recovering from settling with power (AKA vortex ring state).
We took off and headed Northeast of the airfield looking for the field I had used once before to practice off airport landings. I found the field but trees has been planted since I used it making it unusable for off airport operations. Settling with power is a condition where the helicopter sinks into the vortices created by the main rotor. These vortices disrupt the airflow causing a loss of lift, applying power to stop the descent makes it worse. To recover from settling with power you must reduce power, which stops the vortices, and apply forward cyclic to move the helicopter away from the disturbed air. After you gain some airspeed, you can add power to start climbing and finally leveling the helicopter returning to a normal flight profile.
The jumpers were still in the air as we traveled back to the airfield, so we continued out over the town of Quincy and climbed to 3000 feet. It is common to introduce new concepts at higher altitudes so you have time to recover if things don't go as planned. C2 discussed the points of a turning auto-rotation and what to watch out for and how to manage the rotor RPM. Turning causes the rotor RPMs to increase, so to avoid an over speed, you have to raise the collective (which will decrease rotor RPM) before you turn. I entered an auto-rotation, got into a glide and began to turn. I controlled the RPMs the whole time! Since we were well above the ground, at the point where you begin to flare for landing, I rolled the throttle back on and allowed the governor to take over. After the engine and rotor RPMs had stabilized I added power and again headed towards the airfield.
The jumpers were on the ground and we practiced a few more things before heading back to Tallahassee. I am getting better at all the maneuvers I need to be able to do. I feel confident on the controls of the helicopter.
Leave a comment if there is something you want me to explain in more detail or if you have questions. I got the mounts I needed for my GoPro camera so I will be able to add pictures and videos soon.
R48
I started by circling the field at a high altitude looking for any obstacles and searching for something that would indicate wind direction. The field at the station is surrounded by power lines, trees, and has two tall towers on either side. It is a fair representation of what an off-airport landing could be. There was smoke in the distance that showed the wind was probably from the North. I made a lower circle around the site and planned my approach so I would land into the wind.
I slowed down and began my decent, holding altitude over the trees, waited until I was sure the tail would clear them without contact, and continued descending. I was in a steeper than normal approach, but not a real steep approach. I continued my descent ending in a hover near the middle of the field. C2 asked how I was going to take off, so I explained I was going to hover to the back of the field and make a maximum performance take-off. Waiting until I was clear of the trees and power lines in front of me to begin any forward movement, picking a path over the shortest trees with an open field behind them. C2 showed me a few things about the max. performance take-offs, confined areas and off airport operations. He also has a different way of doing the max. performance take-off; I like it better than the other way I was taught.
I made a max. performance take-off out over my planned departure path and we headed to Quincy. I found Quincy and made a normal approach. That was good because my first approach was a good one. Sometimes when the first time I do a maneuver while flying it is bad, but when I do it again later in the flight it is good. One of the things I have to do as I prepare for the check ride is to make the first maneuver a good one. We headed for the slopes and I did them really poorly, I mean really poorly. One of the mistakes I was making was looking at the ground close to where I was trying to land. Noting that slopes still "need improvement", I held a hover while Jump1, the plane from the local skydiving school, took off and ascended with jumpers. C2 wanted to look for more potential off airport locations and I needed to practice recovering from settling with power (AKA vortex ring state).
We took off and headed Northeast of the airfield looking for the field I had used once before to practice off airport landings. I found the field but trees has been planted since I used it making it unusable for off airport operations. Settling with power is a condition where the helicopter sinks into the vortices created by the main rotor. These vortices disrupt the airflow causing a loss of lift, applying power to stop the descent makes it worse. To recover from settling with power you must reduce power, which stops the vortices, and apply forward cyclic to move the helicopter away from the disturbed air. After you gain some airspeed, you can add power to start climbing and finally leveling the helicopter returning to a normal flight profile.
The jumpers were still in the air as we traveled back to the airfield, so we continued out over the town of Quincy and climbed to 3000 feet. It is common to introduce new concepts at higher altitudes so you have time to recover if things don't go as planned. C2 discussed the points of a turning auto-rotation and what to watch out for and how to manage the rotor RPM. Turning causes the rotor RPMs to increase, so to avoid an over speed, you have to raise the collective (which will decrease rotor RPM) before you turn. I entered an auto-rotation, got into a glide and began to turn. I controlled the RPMs the whole time! Since we were well above the ground, at the point where you begin to flare for landing, I rolled the throttle back on and allowed the governor to take over. After the engine and rotor RPMs had stabilized I added power and again headed towards the airfield.
The jumpers were on the ground and we practiced a few more things before heading back to Tallahassee. I am getting better at all the maneuvers I need to be able to do. I feel confident on the controls of the helicopter.
Leave a comment if there is something you want me to explain in more detail or if you have questions. I got the mounts I needed for my GoPro camera so I will be able to add pictures and videos soon.
R48
Monday, June 30, 2014
Standards (as in Practical Test Standards)
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
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 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
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
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Cross Country (as in Fly over here and then over there)
I haven't been blogging much because I have been busy with school,
work, life and everything else. No matter how much time I try to spend
relaxing it is not enough, I always seem behind on my school work and regular
work wants me to work all the time.
The
cross country flight is near the end of your flight training and
brings all the skills and knowledge learned into one long flight. Radio
communications, flight planning, dead reckoning, cockpit resource
management are just a few of the things needed to complete the flight.
My most recent
flight was my first cross country flight. Cross country flying is
technically when you fly more than 25 Nautical Miles (straight line) distance
to another airport. We had 6 airports on the plan to visit before returning
to KTLH. We made it to 4 of them before my instructor directed us back
home. The flight was very taxing. I wasn't allowed to use the GPS
and had to fly based on a heading and time I calculated before the flight and
get to the next check point and have a good idea when looking at the
aeronautical chart where I was. I had a hard time maintaining my airspeed
and heading, which changed the times I calculated, which got me
"lost" a couple of times.
We departed KTLH
for Quincy (2J9) and then headed to Bainbridge, GA (KBGE). I ended up
about 10 miles west of the airport because of my
piloting failures listed above. After climbing, looking for and
finding the airport, I flew a traffic pattern and headed on the next airport. Doesn't
sounds so bad, remember that while all this is going on my flight instructor is
doing his best to frustrate and stress me out. He did a good job, I was
pretty stressed but I know that when I am flying cross country by myself, he
won't be there to give advice or tell me what I am doing wrong. As we
traveled by my poor dead reckoning skills (using landmarks to identify where
you are and where you are supposed to be), I missed the airports by several
miles each time. Since I wasn't doing very well, my instructor had me plot
a course back to KTLH. We flew the 35 miles back discussing what I needed
to improve on and what I should be checking when I fly by myself.
I was pretty upset
with how poorly I flew, until I was filling out my log book and realized that
the last time I flew was on the 30th of September. I felt a little better
about the flight but not really. I discussed the next steps with my
instructor about when I should be ready for my check ride. I wanted to
use the time between the two school semesters over Christmas to have
my check ride, but that would require flying twice a week and I don't quite
have that ability. We discussed where I am at, what I need to work on and
set a goal of 30 January 2013 for me to have my check ride completed. So
shortly after the New Year I will have my private pilot license (rotorcraft)
and will start working on my commercial license and instrument rating.
My next flight
will be another dual cross country with my instructor with a shorter route so
that I will have the required hours and then I will be making solo cross
country flights until I have the 10 solo hours required for my license.
One part of the
flight that was interesting was flying between
three broadcast antennas about 30 miles north east of
Tallahassee. I was flying at 1000 feet and they still appeared very tall
to me. The towers are about 2000 feet tall, I tried to find a good
picture of them, but I couldn't. I am still saving to get a camera
similar to the GoPro Hero camera. Something I can position and have it
take pictures or video while I fly so I can share some of the images.
R48
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Update (as in, In Other News, a Helicopter Crashes into a Lake. Details at 11.)
As some of you know I have been waiting for the flight school to get a replacement helicopter to replace the one that was crashed during the early morning hours of July 4th. The replacement arrived about a week ago and I have been able to fly again. I started school this week and have not had much free time.
A lot has been going on the past three weeks between semesters. I thought I was going to get a nice break to relax, but it didn't happen. I will post about my most recent flight in a few days (hopefully before I fly again this Sunday). After I get school lined out so I do not miss any assignments I will write up last week's flight.
I have a full course load this semester; the classes don't appear to be too hard or challenging. The real challenge is remembering and recalling all the new information I need for the tests and such. I am also studying for the written portion of the private pilot exam. It is important to score well on this test because the (check-ride) examiner judges you on your score, I am told the higher the score, the nicer the examiner is. It may also help me get a job in the future.
R48
A lot has been going on the past three weeks between semesters. I thought I was going to get a nice break to relax, but it didn't happen. I will post about my most recent flight in a few days (hopefully before I fly again this Sunday). After I get school lined out so I do not miss any assignments I will write up last week's flight.
I have a full course load this semester; the classes don't appear to be too hard or challenging. The real challenge is remembering and recalling all the new information I need for the tests and such. I am also studying for the written portion of the private pilot exam. It is important to score well on this test because the (check-ride) examiner judges you on your score, I am told the higher the score, the nicer the examiner is. It may also help me get a job in the future.
R48
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
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
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
Monday, June 11, 2012
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
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
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Pilot (as in, "This is your Captain speaking.")
Monday began the first day of college for me. I have been to college before but now I am going to learn something new. I will be earning a Bachelor’s of Science in Aviation, emphasis in Aviation Administration. I will also be learning to fly helicopters and becoming a commercial helicopter pilot. This is a change from my current career as an IT Professional.
Why? Well, I don't like computers new like I did 10 years ago. Sure they are great for playing games, surfing the internet, writing a college paper and what not, but I don't like fixing them anymore, saving them from viruses, troubleshooting home wireless networks, building my own server, or trying some new architecture. Computers now days are pretty much a throw away device. Network cards and video cards are built into motherboards so if one goes bad you have to replace the motherboard, but the cost of the motherboard is almost the cost of a new computer.
Flying gets my brain active; I can not stop learning about anything that deals with flying. The different jobs, the cool things they do, everything. Especially with helicopters. Saw a video on YouTube where a power company is using a helicopter to lift their linemen to the top of the high power transmission lines to check and service the electrical tower. The helicopter can lift the men and supplies to the top of the tower in less than a minute, where it would have taken them over an hour just to climb to the top! How cool is that?!? Very cool!
I know there are parts to every job that are boring or mundane, but with flying there seems to always be something new. A different craft, a new type of craft, a different mission to fly.
College is taking more time than I remember, the first go round seemed like it didn't require a lot of time. This week alone I have spent over 2 hours each night studying, reading and taking quizzes. (I should be doing more of than rather than writing here now!) After my financial aid arrives, I will also begin flight school. So I will be working full time (40 hours/week minimum), going to school full time (12 credit hours) and attending flight school (not sure of the time requirement yet, but I have to drive 90 minutes one way to get to the school) all at the same time, plus my regular life and family. My goal here is to document my adventures in flying and regular life here for my friends and family to read about. I expect to have time to post here on a regular basis. How regular, I don't know. That will be determined after I start flight school and get in a groove with everything else.
Here starts a brand new adventure!
R48
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