After 5 years of flying (on and off), I took my checkride today and passed, so I am finally a (helicopter) pilot!
Even though I haven’t been posting much lately (due to a hectic work schedule and flying), I feel like I’ve made some good friends on the forum and I just wanted to share my good news with my unicycling buddies… especially because it is a lifelong dream come true!
I often make comparisons between helicopters and unicycles… you have to pitch forward to accelerate in both vehicles, they are both quite maneuverable, and the helicopter can hover while the uni can idle, etc.
I would look forward to flying with my fellow one-wheelers, should any of you be so inclined and the opportunity presented itself.
Anyway, sorry for posting a thread about myself… but I am really excited about it and thought some of you may be interested.
Congratulations! Another friend of mine and erswhlile radio colleague qualified as helicopter pilot a couple of years ago. I never realised exactly how much work was actually involved.
He was later involved in a well-publisized (in South Africa anyway) incident where the chopper he flew fell into the sea just off the coast of Mosselbay.
When I asked him about it afterwards, he dissmissively told me that it wasn’t anything serious, “just a bit of engine failure”, he said.
I’m obviously not technically gifted enough to figure out when engine failure on a chopper becomes ‘serious’…
Congrats on sticking with it and finally achieving this lifelong dream. Are you going to use it commercially?
Thanks a lot, Mark… it is tons of fun! Some say it’s the most fun you can have outside the bedroom.
Many thanks GILD! I will continue on and get my commercial, instrument, and CFI (flight instructor) ratings… mostly because I have a passion for flying and am a partner in an aviation company. I will probably instruct part time in order to stay sharp on my emergency procedures and because I would enjoy teaching others how to fly. I intend to get my fixed wing rating next, then finish up the requirements I need for my gyroplane rating (I already have twelve hours in gyros), then comes my multi-engine land rating, then hot air balloon, then airship, then glider, then powered-lift (The BA609 tilt-rotor will be certified and in service by then), then my seaplane rating, then multi-engine seaplane. I have to get my rating to fly jets, too… because they recently came out with a whole new class of really cool small turbofan jets, known as “microjets” (Eclipse Aviation, Adams Aviation, and Honda) that I’d like to fly, too. Hopefully I’ll find some time to fly my hang glider once in a while, too!
An engine failure on a chopper becomes ‘serious’ when it occurs at a location where there is no suitable LZ beneath you (or within gliding range). Trees don’t make a good landing zone, as the chopper will most likely fall through them (nose first… unless you precisely flare and stand the copter up on its tail just above the trees so that you fall tail first… but that’s not the procedure that’s taught, though it is the procedure a high-time pilot I met told me he would do if he were in that situation). There have been some miraculous instances where the pilot was able to get the chopper stuck in the trees (in dense forest), though.
An engine out could also become serious if the pilot fails to immediately lower the collective at the moment the engine fails in order to immediately enter an autorotation (you have about one second to do so) OR fails to maintain rotor RPM (or airspeed) during the descent. If rotor RPM decays below a certain amount the helicopter will be transformed from a flying machine into a falling object. With proper training, neither of these situations should occur. Airspeed is needed (in the R22) because the helicopter has a low-inertia rotor system and thus forward airspeed (of about 65 knots) must be maintained so that that energy can be transferred to the rotor system during the flare (which will reduce your forward airspeed and rate of descent), and then right before ground contact you cushion your landing by raising the collective and using up all the energy in the rotor system (which you just maximized by flaring). If you don’t have enough airspeed you can’t do a proper flare and you’ll smack the ground hard.
Also, thanks for wishing that my jesus-nut always be tight. I have the same wish, and hopefully the A&P that works on the copter I fly feels the same way! We do have torque stripes on nearly every nut on the copter though, so hopefully a proper pre-flight should minimize the chance of flying with anything being loose.
Thanks so much, Dwayne!
Thank you very much, harper… it certainly was no easy task for me – that’s for sure! I am quite certain that it is the most difficult thing (for me) that I’ve ever accomplished so far. I’m not sure about the unicycling being of help… I’ve wondered about that myself. I suppose that it may have helped in certain elements related to balance and coordination (though your reacting with very small inputs on the controls rather than with your muscle). Flying a copter is so complex and multi-faceted that I think I did have greater difficulties learning the parts that weren’t related to balance and coordination, though.
You’re welcome to be my passenger any time! I would look forward to the opportunity to fly with you.
Congratulations! That is very cool. I have taken a few hours of helicopter lessons, so I know how hard that is. It always seemed like there were at least 10 things to think about all the time (except when hovering, when there are 37 things to think about). I hope to get my liscense eventually, but it will probably be a while, as I am quite busy with school at the moment. That is quite an impressive list of things you are going to learn to fly! I am sure that will be a lot of fun.
Wow, congratulations Andrew! That’s great news. I hope my invitation to fly with you is a standing one, because NYC is over 2000 miles away at the moment…
Thanks a lot, sevenasterisks! I still vividly remember my first time in the cockpit and I felt exactly what you describe . Pretty early on my instructor told me to check my gauges to make sure they were in the green and I didn’t even think I could do that… I felt like I needed all of my attention outside the copter and that I needed to see the horizon just to make the correct control inputs and keep the aircraft stable! At the time, I couldn’t even imagine being able to fly the aircraft, scan the gauges, pull carb heat, talk on the radio, read a map, hold my heading, altitude, and airspeed constant, and navigate! I dreamed about what it would be like to reach the day when I could do all those things and when the examiner would say, “Congratulations, you’re a pilot!” Now that the day has come, it is the best feeling I ever had… but I know it’s just the beginning as I intend to continue learning and advancing my skills on a continuous basis. It took me five years of flying on and off with several significant breaks in my training (some as long a s 9 months at a time). It doesn’t matter how long it takes you… as long as you stay committed and keep at it on whatever basis you can manage, I’m sure you will achieve your goal. What kind of copter did you fly… a Robinson or a Schweizer? I hope that I will be able to get my ratings to fly all of the types of aircraft I mentioned – that’s my goal, anyway… and I’ll try my best to achieve it no matter how long it takes me.
Thanks, Brian! Yeah, now I have some time to put into my other passion – unicycling!
This year’s Rolling Trials competition in Cleveland should be incredible!
Thanks, leo! I’ll have to check out the Adam Curry blog… that should be interesting! RC copters are really cool! You may want to check out the Heli-Chair (http://www.heli-chair.com):
“The Heli-Chair helicopter flight training device is a proven helicopter flight emulator, not a simulator. Emulation of the flight dynamics of a helicopter is very difficult for a computer flight simulation to accomplish, therefore the Heli-Chair utilizes a real helicopter to give you hands-on training. You will be flying from a mock-up cockpit that has all the same controls as a full size helicopter; a cyclic, collective and throttle, and anti-torque pedals which fixed-wing pilots often refer to as rudder pedals. The helicopter is remotely controlled from the helicopter cockpit mock-up. All of the physics, fluid dynamics, and other aerodynamics of rotary wing flight apply. Nothing is left out because it is real, not simulated. Wind gusts, ground effect, settling with power…every last detail. The Heli-Chair is a very high fidelity flight simulator.”
(picture of Heli-Chair attached)
Thanks a lot, Dave! Your invitation has no expiration date and can be redeemed at any time (with minimal advance notice)!
Thanks so much… I really appreciate it!
Thanks a lot, Chrashing… I consider the Coker my 2-dimensional copter of sorts! Of course, you know I LOVE your tagline (Unicycles are flying machines!)… I couldn’t agree more! Hope to see you at a NYUC meeting (or other event) sometime soon! Adam Cohen (JustOneWheel) organizes some great Muni ride you may be interested in…
It was my pleasure to provide the detailed reply, GILD… glad you liked it and that it will come in handy!
You are correct… using my newly acquired rating to “get air” with my Coker would most definitely be cheating! I’ll have to just do it the old fashioned way… by hitting a nice-sized quarter pipe!
I do like the quote… quite accurate! You do still need a runway if you want to travel at really fast speeds, though (but that may be changing soon… check out CarterCopters.com, if interested)
Thanks so much, James! Being that you have the determination to learn the unicycling skills that you have acquired, I have no doubt whatsoever that you could become a pilot if you so desire.
I don’t think you’re really the envious type, Cathy :). As a unicyclist, you have put the time and effort into learning a unique skill that most people are unwilling to pursue… and so the same comment that I made to James applies equally to you. The personality traits that you possess will enable you to figure out a way to learn how to fly some type of aircraft when the time is right for you. And when that day comes, I will congratulate you and look forward to sharing the skies with you!
Thanks a lot, Tim! If I ever make it to your area, I’ll definitely look for you. Maybe we could scope out some new Muni spots with a bird’s eye view from the R22!!!
Congrats! Though I think yer a bit crazy to fly a machine with a thousand parts all trying to go in opposite directions I grew up around planes, my dad is a retired airline pilot and CFI, and I got my fixed-wing right before college so I know the feeling I’ve only been in choppers twice, once in the Civil Air Patrol (ride in a Chinook) and my older brother (who rebelled and went into choppers ;)) gave me a ride once… They needed a frying pan at the airport’s annual pancake breakfast so we flew back to my parents house… Landed in the driveway. Try doing THAT with a Cessna I just remember it felt so cool to be able to hover
And of course, with a chopper you can get to those hard to reach muni spots easier
Again, congrats, and good luck with your next rating, whichever it might be!
Congratulations. Does this mean we’ll see some aerial unicycling filming in the near future? I’m picturing helicopter chase shots down the hills in Moab!
Congratulations on getting your license to fly. The view should be great up there.
Here’s a gallery of pictures taken by a helicopter pilot in and around Mexico City. That link has been making its way around the net over the past week or so. Neat pictures.
The closest I’ve come to a view like that was a ride in a hot air balloon on a calm day so we didn’t get to fly very far. The takeoffs with a balloon are nice but the landings are just a controlled crash.
Glad to hear you did it!
I grew up around planes, my dad is a retired airline pilot and CFI, and I got my fixed-wing right before college so I know the feeling 