Flying a Helicopter?

[crash325]

Keep in mind that "take off is optional - but landing is mandatory.
I had a ride in an Army helo in about 1946. Canvas covered pipe, no doors or seat belts, if memory is correct.

A fair amount of time at controls of light AC.

Lots of hours flying RC AC. Was an instructor for many years. A little time with RC gliders.
All of it lots of fun. Liked the building about as much as flying.

Also flew "u" control for several years. Even entered a few contests.

If you want to see helos or RC planes do unbelievable things check of a local RC field.

Still have a few planes & would like to fly them some more. Even cleared off a field a few years ago.
Just lack of time & $$ holding me back.:confused3:

 

[adventure bob]

The hardest helicopter to fly today is the Osprey. Osprey pilots will tell you that during transition, there's a moment in time where there's not enough rotor lift to be a helicopter anymore and not enough forward motion/wing surface to be an airplane. They say if your a pilot you can kind of feel that moment and its mildly disconcerting, and there's nothing you can do about it except hope the computer gets it right.

 

[houstonscott]

The hardest helicopter to fly today is the Osprey. Osprey pilots will tell you that during transition, there's a moment in time where there's not enough rotor lift to be a helicopter anymore and not enough forward motion/wing surface to be an airplane. They say if your a pilot you can kind of feel that moment and its mildly disconcerting, and there's nothing you can do about it except hope the computer gets it right.

Well because it just goes from point A to point B it's only one third of what's happening in an Apache, and it doesn't do nap of earth flight at night. E model Apache is the hardest most complicated flying machine ever made. HS

 

[Gary Fowler]

I had a friend who took me up in a two seater glider once. It was very, very cool, but I was surprised at how noisy it was, simply because of the wind.

I have also been up in a small plane, most recently when we circumnavigated the island of Kauai in Hawaii. The scenery was spectacular, but I was so "seasick" by the end of the ride that I had to lay down for an hour! Will never do that again, but I would love to ride in a helicopter. Is it really less obnoxious in terms of the effects on your stomach? That is what I've heard, namely that a helo shakes you up but you don't get those long ups and downs which are what really upsets the vestibular system and makes you seasick in a small plane. Any comments?

A helicopter is just as susceptible to the updrafts and down drafts as a fixed wing craft, if anything more so although I suppose that a good pilot could quickly add more lift to compensate for a sudden down draft. Those are not very common and mostly you get the heat effect little bumps which will effect any kind of flying machine travelling thru them. Remember that a rotor wing uses the same principle of airfoil as a fixed wing; they just move the wing thru the air in a different manner so both are in the same boat as far as rising and falling air currents.

 

[oosik]

During the '60's, while working for Fish & Game in AK, we were fortunate to have the services of the Army to provide access to remote locations. They would chopper us in, set up a base camp and provide any and all transportation needed. I still remember riding in the choppers called "the flying banana". Made my 'ol butt pucker up and trade places with my belly button. The Army justified these excursions as field training operations.

 

[Garandman]

You made my day, G.

Sounds like quotations from fixed-wing pilots, who all seem to hate choppers.//

Ironically they were usually bumper stickers on cars owned by the mechanics!

I was in a border Cavalry Squadron (3-7 Cav) and another platoon leader was flying the border trace in a Kiowa with a CWA. He asked, innocently, "What happens if you lose the engine?" At which point the Chief shut the engine down. They auto-gyro'd into a beet field.

The Chief began hurrying through the restart checklist. He pointed out a cloud of dust approaching from some distance away - a very PO'd German farmer on a tractor! They finally got the engine started, and the Chief rotated and flew directly over the tractor.

Why? "So he can't get my tail number." Their maps always had the nudist camps marked but they avoided them because the proprietors would use binoculars to report them.

During the '60's, while working for Fish & Game in AK, we were fortunate to have the services of the Army to provide access to remote locations. They would chopper us in, set up a base camp and provide any and all transportation needed. I still remember riding in the choppers called "the flying banana". Made my 'ol butt pucker up and trade places with my belly button. The Army justified these excursions as field training operations.

That's still the case, Army NG Aviation Regiment in Alaska is very active: fire fighting, rescue (including Denali), etc. They fly Blackhawks, Chinooks, Sherpas [fixed wing], and who knows what else. Along with the Coast Guard they fly in extreme conditions there.

My old First Sergeant was sent on a river survey mission in Alaska. They were sent up river in an Armored Personnel Carrier. They surveyed the river bottom and looked for fords and potential landing sites. They were resupplied occasionally by air, but most ate fish they caught. Not sure which river, there are a number of large and small rivers near Fort Wainright.

 

[Redneck in training]

I had a friend who took me up in a two seater glider once. It was very, very cool, but I was surprised at how noisy it was, simply because of the wind.

I have also been up in a small plane, most recently when we circumnavigated the island of Kauai in Hawaii. The scenery was spectacular, but I was so "seasick" by the end of the ride that I had to lay down for an hour! Will never do that again, but I would love to ride in a helicopter. Is it really less obnoxious in terms of the effects on your stomach? That is what I've heard, namely that a helo shakes you up but you don't get those long ups and downs which are what really upsets the vestibular system and makes you seasick in a small plane. Any comments?

It all depends on weather. I have flown a heli from a oil rig somewhere in Timor Sea back to Darwin when the weather was already bad due to cyclone approaching. Three hours of being pressed in the seat one second and lifted above the seat the next.

Ex husband of my daughter was a military heli pilot. He said you can train a monkey to fly modern (computerized) heli.

 

[Redneck in training]

To fly an airplane was my dream since my childhood. So we bought a property that could accommodate 2000+ ft run way and built a house with 36ft wide single garage door. I wanted to build Zenith or Sonex kit plane. It was 12 years ago. Never got to it due to work. Changed my plans. I think I will build a kit car.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

The hardest helicopter to fly today is the Osprey. Osprey pilots will tell you that during transition, there's a moment in time where there's not enough rotor lift to be a helicopter anymore and not enough forward motion/wing surface to be an airplane. They say if your a pilot you can kind of feel that moment and its mildly disconcerting, and there's nothing you can do about it except hope the computer gets it right.

That whole aircraft scares the living daylights out of me because it cannot auto-rotate in a power loss. Instead the Osprey is a giant lawn dart.

 

[ray66v]

I have experience in both fixed wing, and rotorcraft.

There is no question learning to fly an airplane is easier.

I could give just you the controls of an airplane with no instructions, while in flight on a clear day, and you could continue along without much difficulty, because most airplanes have something called inherent stability.

Doing the same in a helicopter, would result in a loss of control, within a short period of time. This is because helicopters have almost no stability.

Learning to hover a helicopter, is like learning to stand on the ball, on top of a flag pole, on one foot, in the wind. It is a balancing act. It requires you to sense and correct, without even taking the time, to realize it happened. It takes time to develop those skills, but most people can learn to do it.

Find out if you have a flight school near you, that offers helicopter instruction. They usually have something called a "discovery" ride, for a nominal fee, where you can see for yourself.