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Just found out about this interesting Chinese variant of the MQ-8 Fire scout UAV helicopter, one thing I notice is the strange rotorhub. Anybody have any details on this interesting helo? Look closely at the MQ-8 Fire scout compared to the Chinese SVU-200 Rotor hub design, if you look closely it has no pitch links, I think they're hidden inside the shaft, like the swiss marenco helicopter. Very interesting

There's been a lot of talk recently about electric airplanes and possibly also rotorcraft and I was wondering if you guys think it's total bogus or potentially viable? I've heard that lithium ion batteries have less energy density that newspaper!

January board. Stats, match yourself up, help eachother through, smack talk, etc... Good luck.

I am 16 years old, and I want to begin flight training. I originally wanted to be a fixed wing pilot, as they make significantly more money than helicopter pilots, at least at the airline level. However, I was only able to get the special issuance medical from the FAA. I have read that the major airlines only hire people with "unrestricted" medicals. If this is true, then I may never reach airline-level salaries anyway. In this case, the salary advantage of fixed wing may not apply to me, which is why I'm now considering rotor-craft training. It is hard for me to say which one I prefer, as I have only been in one helicopter. I am more familiar with airplanes, and the training is a lot cheaper. However, because the training is more expensive, there are fewer helicopter pilots. This means it is probably easier to find a job, especially considering I have medical conditions. Helicopter airlines might be more lenient. If it weren't for the medical conditions, I would just go for fixed-wing. I can't be sure that major airlines would hire me with this special issuance. It would be nice to have a definitive answer to this, as it's a tad risky to spend thousands on flight training to no avail. Even if they would hire me, it's probably a good idea to try and get the unrestricted medical. I'm not sure if I can, however. So, what should I do?

Well the 2 years that the FAA gives us Flight instructors is slowly creeping up on me. My certificate does not expire until May 2015. I am worried by the time I am hired I wont build enough time with students to override my expiration. I realize that I still have quite a bit of time but I just want to make sure I got all the info I need. Any tips or info you guys and gals have is much appreciated! What have you done ? Thanks, Ross