Some of the things i learned my first year as a student pilot!

[thrilsekr]

Anybody try mounting on of these on the back wall (or somewhere) on the r22 to record flight instruction for later review?

 

http://www.goprocamera.com/index7.htm

 

That in addition to the mic setup would be pretty sweet.

[West Coaster]

No parts or puddles. Upon liftoff, move to one side and look below the helo, if there are no parts or puddles you are good to go.

 

Unless you're flying a beat up old helicopter from Canada with 30,000+ hours in the aircraft's logbook. If I see no oil under the machine I know it's run dry and needs topping up!

[RkyMtnHI]

Anybody try mounting on of these on the back wall (or somewhere) on the r22 to record flight instruction for later review?

 

http://www.goprocamera.com/index7.htm

 

That in addition to the mic setup would be pretty sweet.

 

 

yep, we stuck that suction mount all over the helos, extremely versatile, but in some places it shook too much.

 

dp

[RkyMtnHI]

cleaning and waxing your blades can get you an extra 1" of manifold pressure..

 

(from robbie course)

[Hedge36]

Anybody try mounting on of these on the back wall (or somewhere) on the r22 to record flight instruction for later review?

 

http://www.goprocamera.com/index7.htm

 

That in addition to the mic setup would be pretty sweet.

 

Duct tape it to your helmet.

 

You ARE wearing a helmet, aren't you?

[RkyMtnHI]

This is one way we use the digital video camera, the kit comes with three or four different mounts. this one is just sewn to the brim of the hat, you can see the cord from the mic under my chin and wrapped around the camera mount.

 

Having the camera mounted like this works really well, except you have to remember it's there and not jerk your head around. It will however teach you just how well you do your instrument checks, if the video is going round and round! :-) it is nice as where ever you look, you video, even if you look outside and/or down.

 

this is left seat in the 333.

 

dp

[DynamicallyUnstable]

Ok, first off, I want to say that this is a GREAT post and a terrific idea and spreading the good ideas through the student industry will only make the skies a safer place to be. Very Cool.

 

I could think of a few things off the top of my head that haven't been covered yet.

 

- Learn how to get Radar Flight Following. Especially on your first (and possibly every) solo. Not something to rely on and get lazy with your scan but nice to know that there is another set of eyes watching out for you. They will give you traffic alerts and will be there for you RIGHT NOW if you have an emergency. When I was a student, one time we had flight following and my instructor chopped the throttle and let me ride out an auto from about 3k' to about 200'. While in the auto, we got a call on the radio saying something similar to, "helicopter 24Z, I see you are losing altitude quickly, is everything ok?" How PRICELESS would that be in an actual emergency, especially as a STRESSED out new solo student pilot? It also lets search parties know almost exactly where you are and immediately instead of 30 min after your intended landing (if you even filed a flight plan).

 

- Ask your instructor to let you establish a nice stable hover in a large area with room to move. Now close your eyes. He'll/she'll be right behind you on the controls so that when you are about to plant it into the ground (thinking you're doing a pretty good job holding your spot) they can have you open your eyes and see the mess you've made. It's a great way to demonstrate just how dangerous white/brown out can be.

 

- The recommendation of the mountain course...GREAT advice. You'd be shocked at how limited you'll be the first time you're in true high DA. It can be somewhat simulated by your instructor with him holding the collective to limit how much power you can pull while you attempt to make an approach. BE familiar with how to do a power check and never hesitate to do one in practice, or any situation where you feel power could be even a little limited. It could really save your can.

 

- Always fly looking for "your spot." Know where you're going to go when that engine quits at all times. Know what you just flew over so that if the area that the engine does quit over DOESN'T have a decent spot ahead of it, you know that the wide open field you just passed would work out great! Know where the wind is coming from so that it's all part of your master plan.

 

- If your instructor feels comfortable with botched AUTO recovery, practice them often. Chances are that if that engine quits, you're not going to be expecting it. You're not going to be set up with the instructor saying "3-2-1." You're going to get low RRPM, you may bleed off AS while looking for your spot. The last thing you want to do is look at your instruments after finding your spot and see that your RPM is in the bottom of the green and you have 40kts IAS and you don't know what to do! What does your RRPM do if you nose it forward to get your speed back? You'd be surprised at how many PILOTS think it goes UP! What's another way to get that RRPM to come up?? BANK it. Just know what to do through practice.

 

- Play hit the spot. Your instructor chops the throttle and tells you where to go. Make your spot. VERY good practice incase you are limited as to where you can go!

 

- Fly as many DIFFERENT models as you can. Do this AFTER you get solid in the one you start off in. If your school has 22's, 300's, 44's, etc, try to do a checkride in each one. This will be nice when you go for that job and not only does the potential employer know that you can fly this machine but that you can fly it to standards. Gives them a warm/fuzzy.

 

- Do stage checks with other CFI's. You'd be amazed at how many things you may pick up from another CFI. It could be his style of teaching that makes you finally "get it," or something that your CFI doesn't even teach. You never know.

 

- MESH with your instructor. If his teaching style doesn't match your learning style, don't be afraid to request a new instructor. You are spending lots of money and if there is no sync, the learning WILL be hampered and that is only going to cost you more $$ and frustration.

 

- Try to fly into different types of airspace if its available. Fly into a Class B or C if there is one around. If you don't get comfortable with them as a student, they will only intimidate you later when you are SUPPOSED to be a professional pilot.

 

- Be comfortable flying at night! I can't believe how many CPL pilots I have met that have the MINIMUMS for night and have NO interest in doing it because it makes them nervous! Fly AT NIGHT!!

 

- ALWAYS have 2 things on you...a watch and a pen.

 

- Preflight with a rag. Wipe as you go. It'll possibly show some issue that was covered by oil, grease, dirt, etc. ie: hairline crack in something AND it'll show your CP that you CARE about the AC you're flying. Helps to keep it clean.

 

I'll add more if anything comes to mind but keep them coming guys/girls.

Edited January 27, 2009 by DynamicallyUnstable

[AngelFire_91]

I just thought of one....

 

During some day or night flight when the tower isn't very busy, Ask for a light gun demonstration. Most times they will do one for you as long as they're not busy. How many of you have ever seen what the light gun signals ACTUALLY look like. It might suprise you!

[heli.pilot]

Great post, DynamicallyUnstable. I like the suggestion of pre-flighting with a rag - that will also enable you to tell how much that "slow leak" really leaked when you do your post-flight.

 

The only thing I can think to add right now is to make sure that you file an IFR flight plan at some point. Pick a clear weather day, file an IFR flight plan, and fly it (using a view limiting device). It's easy to go through and get your instrument rating having never flown any actual, and consequently never filed, activated, or flown on an IFR flight plan. It's good to learn how to contact ground control, get clearances, taxi instructions, fly a SID or ODP, the whole nine yards. In helicopters, it's easy to get focused on just departing VFR from the ramp, then putting the hood on and flying approaches. There is a lot more to instrument flying than calling approach from 10 miles out and asking for vectors to final!

[RkyMtnHI]

Ok, first off, I want to say that this is a GREAT post and a terrific idea and spreading the good ideas through the student industry will only make the skies a safer place to be. Very Cool.

 

I could think of a few things off the top of my head that haven't been covered yet.......

 

 

Wow, great stuff for an Unstable guy!!

 

I especially liked the part about flying different helos.. Specifically the part about sticking with one ship until you become good in it or finish your rating.. especially before private. It is great to be comfortable in all sorts of ships, BUT if you switch a lot in the beginning it will cost you much more money and time, even some frustration. There are safety issues too, the checklists are different, stuff in different places.. Emergency procedures that are even different.

 

a great example; in an auto in a 300, after flair you pull a little collective... in the R44 it's just the opposite.. things like this could be pretty important for a low timer in an engine out.

 

I also liked the part about using a rag to do preflights, folks, please do not wipe your oily hands on the carpet of the expensive helicopter!! And by wiping off the oil on every preflight you might get an indication of more problems.

 

Another thing that i was thinking about, (if i covered this before sorry), but it won't hurt even so.. It’s pretty important, especially for newer pilots; Do not assume that everyone is taught the same, or follow the same procedures that you do. Do not assume that the person you are flying with has completed the preflight like you would, or checked the same things like you would. On a two hour night cross country i flew with another pilot with much more time than i. One of our instructors had just landed and knowing that we were going xcountry had called and requested 20 gals of fuel for our ship. When i was getting my stuff together i looked outside and saw my copilot preflighting as the truck pulled off from fueling the 300. in the 300's the gauge is in the right tank, and many times the fuel person adds to the left and it takes a few minutes for the fuel to equalize between the tanks, SO, it looks like you have less fuel than you do. Being comfortable with this issue (another mistake to not make), we hopped in and took off... we noted the low fuel but knew it would go up after it equalized. About thirty minutes out we noticed that the fuel didn't seem to be looking right, we were half way to our destination and continued on.. some of the things that were going thru my mind was "we have a fuel leak", "the gauge is broken", "oh %$#& we're getting ready to make an emergency auto rotation over Denver, at night!!", there were more, but you get the idea... i kept expecting the engine to quit at any minute. i was thinking that if the gauge wasn't working, maybe the low fuel light wasn't either. Many things go thru your mind that are nonsense, but the most important thing here is that you are spending time thinking of things that might go wrong and not paying attention to the things that matter. As we called to enter Centennial airspace the controller very nicely said "helicopter 101AP, please vector east and we'll call your southbound" you can imagine how we felt, thinking they were going to keep us in the air for more time than we had.. turned out that she cleared us to land very quickly after and we had no issues. Upon landing we got out with a flashlight and looked in the tanks, both were pretty low.. we expect that we only had about 40 more minutes of flight before empty. Way too close for me in any event, even in the daytime. So, as we were refueling we talked about the issue.. i called the fuel company and asked them how much they added, the answer was 10 gallons. Then i asked, "how much did we ask for?" There was a long silence and then some words i can't mention.. then she said " i am very sorry, you asked for 20, I don’t know how we got that mixed up”.

 

The morals to this story:

 

1) ALWAYS watch the fueler adding fuel, (with you watching he's also less likely to drive off with your gas cap or forget to ground the ship). After he fuels, ask him what he put in, then look at the truck to see if it matches. (the dial on the fuel pump that counts the amount).

 

2) keep in mind that you call one person, they call another on the radio and maybe another one comes to fill your tank..... did you ever play that game at a party where you start out on one side of the room whispering a sentence from one person to the next, and by the time it gets back to you it's totally different??

 

3) NEVER think that the person you are flying with does the same thing every time.. they might forget, or not be trained the same way, or not think it is important.

 

4) When in a tense situation, concentrate on the important issues.. i call it mental stamina, something i used to teach in deep diving, stay where you need to be, not wondering about all the terrible things that it might be.

 

Now that isn't to say that you shouldn't be prepared.. just don't focus on the bad stuff.

 

Keep ‘em coming folks… this is good stuff.

[RkyMtnHI]

Ok, first off, I want to say that this is a GREAT post and a terrific idea and spreading the good ideas through the student industry will only make the skies a safer place to be. Very Cool.

 

I could think of a few things off the top of my head that haven't been covered yet.......

 

 

Wow, great stuff for an Unstable guy!!

 

I especially liked the part about flying different helos.. Specifically the part about sticking with one ship until you become good in it or finish your rating.. especially before private. It is great to be comfortable in all sorts of ships, BUT if you switch a lot in the beginning it will cost you much more money and time, even some frustration. There are safety issues too, the checklists are different, stuff in different places.. Emergency procedures that are even different.

 

a great example; in an auto in a 300, after flair you pull a little collective... in the R44 it's just the opposite.. things like this could be pretty important for a low timer in an engine out.

 

I also liked the part about using a rag to do preflights, folks, please do not wipe your oily hands on the carpet of the expensive helicopter!! And by wiping off the oil on every preflight you might get an indication of more problems.

 

Another thing that i was thinking about, (if i covered this before sorry), but it won't hurt even so.. It’s pretty important, especially for newer pilots; Do not assume that everyone is taught the same, or follow the same procedures that you do. Do not assume that the person you are flying with has completed the preflight like you would, or checked the same things like you would. On a two hour night cross country i flew with another pilot with much more time than i. One of our instructors had just landed and knowing that we were going xcountry had called and requested 20 gals of fuel for our ship. When i was getting my stuff together i looked outside and saw my copilot preflighting as the truck pulled off from fueling the 300. in the 300's the gauge is in the right tank, and many times the fuel person adds to the left and it takes a few minutes for the fuel to equalize between the tanks, SO, it looks like you have less fuel than you do. Being comfortable with this issue (another mistake to not make), we hopped in and took off... we noted the low fuel but knew it would go up after it equalized. About thirty minutes out we noticed that the fuel didn't seem to be looking right, we were half way to our destination and continued on.. some of the things that were going thru my mind was "we have a fuel leak", "the gauge is broken", "oh %$#& we're getting ready to make an emergency auto rotation over Denver, at night!!", there were more, but you get the idea... i kept expecting the engine to quit at any minute. i was thinking that if the gauge wasn't working, maybe the low fuel light wasn't either. Many things go thru your mind that are nonsense, but the most important thing here is that you are spending time thinking of things that might go wrong and not paying attention to the things that matter. As we called to enter Centennial airspace the controller very nicely said "helicopter 101AP, please vector east and we'll call your southbound" you can imagine how we felt, thinking they were going to keep us in the air for more time than we had.. turned out that she cleared us to land very quickly after and we had no issues. Upon landing we got out with a flashlight and looked in the tanks, both were pretty low.. we expect that we only had about 40 more minutes of flight before empty. Way too close for me in any event, even in the daytime. So, as we were refueling we talked about the issue.. i called the fuel company and asked them how much they added, the answer was 10 gallons. Then i asked, "how much did we ask for?" There was a long silence and then some words i can't mention.. then she said " i am very sorry, you asked for 20, I don’t know how we got that mixed up”.

 

The morals to this story:

 

1) ALWAYS watch the fueler adding fuel, (with you watching he's also less likely to drive off with your gas cap or forget to ground the ship). After he fuels, ask him what he put in, then look at the truck to see if it matches. (the dial on the fuel pump that counts the amount).

 

2) keep in mind that you call one person, they call another on the radio and maybe another one comes to fill your tank..... did you ever play that game at a party where you start out on one side of the room whispering a sentence from one person to the next, and by the time it gets back to you it's totally different??

 

3) NEVER think that the person you are flying with does the same thing every time.. they might forget, or not be trained the same way, or not think it is important.

 

4) When in a tense situation, concentrate on the important issues.. i call it mental stamina, something i used to teach in deep diving, stay where you need to be, not wondering about all the terrible things that it might be.

 

Now that isn't to say that you shouldn't be prepared.. just don't focus on the bad stuff.

 

Keep ‘em coming folks… this is good stuff.

[Goldy]

It might be good to add the old quote here as it is quite true.

 

If you as the pilot screw up, you die.

 

If the mechanic screws up, you die.

 

If the air traffic controller screws up, you die.

 

If ATC has not yet vectored you into the side of a mountain, forgot about you, put you on a collision course with another aricraft, launched fixed wings off runways directly into your path, they will. Its uneviable, be prepared for it. Do not place blind faith that they have your back.

 

It's not that they are bad, just sometimes too busy, have systems problems (like no radar) or just plain make mistakes like the rest of us.

 

When in doubt, remind them of your existence or intentions. And EVERYTIME you cant fully hear or understand a command by ATC, ask them to repeat the instruction or warning.

 

The only mid air collision in 20 years in Los Angeles area occurred with both aircraft talking to ATC.

 

 

Goldy

[ADRidge]

Another one that I know has been touched on that I'd like to re-emphasize. You PPL guys, not knowing much about the world of aviation yet, or what your training involves specifically, will rely on your instructor to make sure all of your requirements are met for your checkride. When you end up doing Commercial and Instrument together (if that's your goal) you may have two instructors, pursuing the requirements of two different ratings. One guy may say "why do you need all that XC time? Commercial requirements are only this." True, but maybe you still need X amount of cross country for Instrument.

 

Bottom line:Know your hours, how they break down, what specific goals you need to achieve before you're eligible for a checkride! Relying on other people for that can end up costing you a good chunk of cash.

[RkyMtnHI]

Bottom line:Know your hours, how they break down, what specific goals you need to achieve before you're eligible for a checkride! Relying on other people for that can end up costing you a good chunk of cash.

 

 

well said Drew!!

 

dp

[joeschmoeheli]

Don't be afraid of ATC!!! They work for you.

 

XC flights, call wx brief before ANY flight out of your home airport. You never know when a TFR will pop up

 

Know the FSDO # and use it when you need a definite answer. They work for you, don't be afraid of the FAA.

 

Take a tower tour and a TRACON tour if you have one in your area.

 

Learn to use the GPS like a pro, learn to navigate without the GPS. They break and not all helicopters have them.

 

Use your resources and find as many good resources as you can. Here are some of my favorites:

skyvector.com

airnav.com

aviationweather.gov

wunderground.com

faa.gov

There are many others but there's a start

[Goldy]

Use your resources and find as many good resources as you can. Here are some of my favorites:

skyvector.com

airnav.com

aviationweather.gov

wunderground.com

faa.gov

There are many others but there's a start

 

Joe- let me help you here:

 

http://www.skyvector.com

http://www.airnav.com

http://www.aviationweather.gov

http://www.wunderground.com

http://www.faa.gov

 

and some of mine

 

http://www.rotor.com

http://www.aopa.org

http://www.phpa.org

 

Goldy

Edited January 30, 2009 by Goldy

[Hovergirl]

Make a copy of your logbook. Each time you finish a page, just photocopy it and file it away. May not be an issue, but could really help your blood pressure if/when your logbook gets lost/damaged.

 

HVG

 

P.S. If you, like me, are too lazy to do this, something like keeping the receipts for the flights you made/paid for can let you reconstruct things if necessary.

 

Also, keep 2 or 3 copies of IACRA username/login, written test results, licenses as you get them.

[RkyMtnHI]

Make a copy of your logbook. Each time you finish a page, just photocopy it and file it away. May not be an issue, but could really help your blood pressure if/when your logbook gets lost/damaged.

 

HVG

 

P.S. If you, like me, are too lazy to do this, something like keeping the receipts for the flights you made/paid for can let you reconstruct things if necessary.

 

Also, keep 2 or 3 copies of IACRA username/login, written test results, licenses as you get them.

 

 

HVG, so glad you brought this up..

 

since i have been at rtrs there have been three CFI's that came back and asked them to look up all their history... one that had his car broken into and his log book was stolen, another had his eaten by his dog... it could happen so easily.

 

dp

[Parafiddle]

If you are instrument rated, file and fly an IFR flight plan when doing a cross-country flight, even if the weather will be VFR. The longer the flight is, the better. It helps you stay proficient in dealing with IFR routing and procedures so you are more comfortable with it when you are in the soup. Also, you will be provided traffic separation and will be in constant contact with ATC in case something goes wrong. Finally, you have the opportunity to practice an instrument approach at the end when you have the added challenge of being fatigued but don't have to deal with poor visibility. Remember, you can always request simulated instrument approaches which don't have to be flown with a view limiting device if you just want some practice in flying the approach, tuning radios, following approach procedures, etc. Instrument skills are perishable, so don't assume just because you are current by FAA standards means you are ready to shoot an actual instrument approach to minimums.

[RkyMtnHI]

I saw this link and thought it was a great addition to this topic!

 

http://helicopterforum.verticalreference.c...showtopic=11096

 

good stuff!!

 

dp

[beckwith]

not a whole year as a student yet but here is something that I have been realizing of late.

 

get as much advice as you can and be prepared to ignore it. Some people will tell you that learning to fly will be/was like falling out of bed others will say that it is impossible or it will cost you your first born child or something. Weigh everything you read and are told in your own context and make allowances for the circumstances of others when what you get doesn't mesh.

[beckwith]

not a whole year as a student yet but here is something that I have been realizing of late.

 

get as much advice as you can and be prepared to ignore it. Some people will tell you that learning to fly will be/was like falling out of bed others will say that it is impossible or it will cost you your first born child or something. Weigh everything you read and are told in your own context and make allowances for the circumstances of others when what you get doesn't mesh.

[500E]

"it will cost you your first born ", what makes you think they are joking?

[Rick McWilliams]

I had a little event during my long solo cross country. I flew from CMA to SBA to SMA to IZP and back. The R22 performance was less than I had expected. Full fuel makes a difference. After landing at SMA, I realized that I did not have time for a snack at the restaruant. No problem, my wife gave me a bag of cookies. My favorite, oatmeal cran raisin with orange zest. Once out of SMA airspace I would have some cookies. I could not open the ziplock bag with one hand. I moved the bag to my right hand on the cyclic. I could grip the flap between my thumb and the stick grip. It took much more force than I had expected to open the bag. As it opened the cyclic stick moved very rapidly to the right about 4 inches, the helicopter rolled about 30 degrees at a rate faster than I had ever seen. The helicopter recovered easily. My apetite for the cookies was greatly enhanced by the shot of adrenaline. What if I had opened the bag by pulling the flap back? Scary thought.

[Hovergirl]

I had a little event during my long solo cross country. I flew from CMA to SBA to SMA to IZP and back. The R22 performance was less than I had expected. Full fuel makes a difference. After landing at SMA, I realized that I did not have time for a snack at the restaruant. No problem, my wife gave me a bag of cookies. My favorite, oatmeal cran raisin with orange zest. Once out of SMA airspace I would have some cookies. I could not open the ziplock bag with one hand. I moved the bag to my right hand on the cyclic. I could grip the flap between my thumb and the stick grip. It took much more force than I had expected to open the bag. As it opened the cyclic stick moved very rapidly to the right about 4 inches, the helicopter rolled about 30 degrees at a rate faster than I had ever seen. The helicopter recovered easily. My apetite for the cookies was greatly enhanced by the shot of adrenaline. What if I had opened the bag by pulling the flap back? Scary thought.

 

Another great piece of advice... whatEVER you can get done on the ground before you take off, do it on the ground! Frequencies in standby, kneeboard neat and tidy, a couple of pens where you can get them, anything you can anticipate. Everything is at least 10x harder if you're trying to fly a helicopter at the same time...

 

Glad things turned out OK for you, Rick!