Intro Helicopter flight lesson

Jay Lutz

Jay Lutz

Well-known member
Any advice from anyone who has tried it? I'm planning to watch some videos and check out a flight manual. Already rigged up my POV hat-cam!

If you've done it.....any advice? Robinson R22


Thanks, Jay
 
Jay
My Father in law rents a space in his hanger to a rotorhead whom has a Bell 206 Jet Ranger. I have flown in it many times, and left seat piloted once with the owner. It requires a very steady hand and good coordination. When I used the quote "Not enough o's in smooth" to describe movement he agreed that was the best description.

I found that I am lousy at piloting. I already have one expensive hobby, why would I need a second like aircraft maintenance?

Have fun with it.

cheers
dave parker
 
Dave, no intentions for second hobby......always wanted to try it though.....just like last year when my daughter and I went skydiving. Mega fun.
 
Jay
I understand. I too enjoyed skydiving, which was a hobby that my older brother was involved in for many years (over 2500 jumps). I found it highly ironic that he would be willing to jump out of an airplane as you cannot get him to climb to the top of a six foot step ladder (fear of heights). The only reason he climbed to the roof of a single story house that we own together was that I was already on the roof taunting him viciously. We were replacing the roof and his fear of heights was preventing him from helping.

Enjoy the helicopter thing, it is pretty cool and vastly different from fixed wing stuff.

cheers
dave parker
 
Ex got her license in an R-22. Very difficult to learn to fly and hours are very expensive, especially compared to fixed wing instruction/rental.

I witnessed an R-22 crash and kill two people. Personally, I wouldn't go near one.
 
David,

Was it lack of maintenance, pilot error, catastrophic failure of something that shouldn't fail? I mostly fear the latter.
 
My Navy friend who was a helicopter instructor tells me it's like trying to juggle while balancing on a basketball. He also says helicopters don't really fly.......they just beat the air into submission. One of the most complex and high maintenance airframes on earth....that's why the flight hours are so expensive.

Then there's the whole power failure no gliding thing......autogyration doesn't really count.
 
Jay Lutz":2328ajhh said:
David,

Was it lack of maintenance, pilot error, catastrophic failure of something that shouldn't fail? I mostly fear the latter.
Click to expand...

In this case, I don't think anyone knows for sure. The tail rotor lost effectiveness, which could have been pilot error or mechanical failure. The helicopter spun under the rotor, tipped nose down, then the boom broke and the whole thing fell 200 feet straight down like a shot duck. The pilot was green-- just got his commercial license, so pilot error is possible.

The FAA has been trying to push the R-22 off the market for years because they think it is unsafe. The inventor, Frank Robinson, has ascribed its higher-than-average crashes to pilot error and says that the helicopter is basically safe. Considering that a lot of schools use it for training, meaning it tends to be flown by inexperienced pilots more often, he could be right. The schools use it because it is the cheapest helicopter available, not because it is the easiest or most forgiving to fly.

I know I wouldn't bet my life on whether the FAA is right or Robinson is right.
 
Kinda like what we all do for fun over and over again, some of us since 1976............doesn't really make a lot of sense. Oh well.
 
Bug Peter Jay. I'm faintly remembering an Apache helicopter pilot in the prod or Waterford ranks. He'll probably remember.
 
Jay Lutz":qek5s4vw said:
Kinda like what we all do for fun over and over again, some of us since 1976............doesn't really make a lot of sense. Oh well.
Click to expand...

True :D .

'Cept take anything that can happen to you in a racecar, then add a 1000 ft. drop! 88-o
 
Long time friend was Air Force crash investigator. His response to me was, "It's always pilot error, the degree is all that is in question."

James
 
Jay, there is a very big helicopter flight school called Bristow Academy which has a facility at the Titusville, Florida airport (where I volunteer at the museum). I understand it is the biggest in the country, but they have other locations, as well. But if you want to make a trip to Florida, you could visit and stay with us. Joel
 
Jay,

I got my helicopter rating in an R22, also owned one for 5 years. It's a tough helicopter to fly, in a hover all you have to do is think about where you want to go and you go there without really moving the controls. It's like tring to balance a basketball on a ball point pen! But when you've mastered it, you have really done something most people could never do, also if you can fly an R22, you can fly any helicopter as anything else will be easier to fly. R22's have been used for training for over 20 years and a lot of low time pilots fly them. Training and respect for what you're doing is key.

Flying along with racing carry some risk, both can be done safely. Hope you have fun on the intro ride!

Ken Kannard
 
Ken,

Any reference websites you can point me to in preparation? Need not be Robinson R22 related. Got a helicopter piloting video coming from the library later this week. Thanks, Jay
 
Had the lesson Saturday and this is something that should go on every racers bucket list. Extremely difficult as you have to control 4 things simultaneously: cyclic (right hand), collective (left arm), throttle (left wrist), tail rotor (both feet). The hardest part seems to be hovering near ground level but once you get moving along at 50 to 60 knots forward the tail control surfaces seem to mellow things out. Don't even think about taking your hands off any of the controls........you might get away with scratching your nose if you are lucky.

Much thanks to Ken Kannard (former R22 pilot/owner/EP Nissan racer) and others for the pre flight advice

My ex Navy helicopter instructor friend summarized it well.....it's like trying to juggle while standing on a basketball.
 
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