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first lift off and set down today


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Well, I finally got back in the air this morning. Logged a total of 2.5hrs, my longest flight time to date, we did have to land to refuel. Did a couple of set downs, flew some circuits, overshot the landing every time. I did manage to hover on my own, operating all controls. I am now up to about 6 hours TT and I still suck, but I can feel an improvement. Also found out just how much heat and humidity matter. We started about 8:00 a.m. with 30lbs fuel and the temp was around 75 and we were pulling around 21lbs manifold pressure. Two hours later with only 15lbs of fuel we were at 25 or a little better and I could actually feel the heli wanting to settle at the previous power settings. I plan to fly again tomorrow and can not wait. Oh yeah, helicopters are the best way to spend $575.00 before 11:00a.m.

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Crawling into bed right after this. And man does my right shin ache, feels like shin splints! Going up again tomorrow, can't wait.

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We started about 8:00 a.m. with 30lbs fuel

 

Did you mean pounds or gallons? 30 pounds is only about 5 gallons of av fuel, which won't last long burning a usual 12-15 gallons an hour.

 

Anyway, sounds like a great flight. Lots of fun when learning, and we are all always learning!

 

Don't be afraid to push that collective down (smoothly, adding right pedal at the same time) on approach if your sight picture tells you that you are going to overshoot the pad. You can always add a bit more collective back in. Just remember to keep that airspeed up (40-45knots usually) so you dont get into settling.

 

Sounds like you're doing great for 6 or 7 hours of time.

 

Fly safe,

 

Goldy

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You nailed it Goldy, airspeed got me every time. I kept focusing on my windshield "spot" and the next thing you know my CFI was saying "watch your air speed", and each time I was dipping below 40kts and out of the green. And yes, I did mean gallons, sorry, rookie mistake. Today was the first time I really got to manage the collective and I was nervous. I will say, it seems like the collective is more responsive than the cyclic. With cyclic, its like input, then center, and wait for the heli to respond. With the collective, as soon as I pull I feel it, and some torque to the right. As soon as I lower, I go down and yaw left. I think the best thing about today was that for the first time I actually could "feel" the helicopter, it was great. Can't wait to be a pilot. Thanks for all the input, you guys (and gals, Lindsey) are about all I've got for a support team. I am still amazed everyday how little interest the general public has in flight, what is the matter with them? I almost feel sorry for them, they are missing out on what is arguably the most amazing thing humans have achieved. My wife is flying to Philly in a couple of days and literally went to the Dr. for a script of Xanex because she is so afraid to fly. Opposites attract, so they say.

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That's great. I love reading stuff from folks like you who have so few hours. Reminds me of why I got into this thing in the first place.

 

Sounds like you're doing ridiculously well for as many hours as you have. Keep it up!

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That's great. I love reading stuff from folks like you who have so few hours. Reminds me of why I got into this thing in the first place.

 

Sounds like you're doing ridiculously well for as many hours as you have. Keep it up!

Thanks ADRidge, I don't know if I'm doing ridiculously well, but I sure feel like it. I love this so much more than hanging garage doors, or being a stock broker, or an advertising manager, or etc. etc. etc....Can't wait to be a pro like the rest of you guys.

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Got in another 1.5 today and did even better at hovering, but not as well at the circuits. On the ground it was not too windy but at 300ft or so for some reason it was a little more turbulent. As a result I had a hard time keeping a straight line and setting up my legs and approaches. As for the hovering, I held that heli so still I had to look over at my CFI to see if he was helping. To my surprise, he had his feet on the floor and his hands in his lap. So far I have had some trouble telling who has been flying the heli. I mean, with both of us on the controls it can sometimes feel like I am not actually doing anything. I guess those are the times I'm doing things the right way. When I am screwing up I know it because I can feel the very deliberate corrections from my CFI. Anyway, I got tired quickly and needed to stop. It will probably be a couple of weeks until I get up again, CFI and heli going to TX for a job, I hope I don't forget what I learned over the last couple of days. Oh yeah, I learned that spinning to the right and/or left while drifting sideways on lift off really freaks my CFI out. First time he really sounded excited. Apparently he has an aversion to dynamic rollover, I guess I don't blame him. I'll keep everyone posted as to my progress.

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You will start to enjoy the ling flights. I did a total of 4.1 on a roundtrip flight down the coast around San Louis Abispo with another student from my flight school during my Com. to build time. It was beautiful along the coast but boy did my but hurt after lol

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Oh yeah, I learned that spinning to the right and/or left while drifting sideways on lift off really freaks my CFI out.

 

Best advise I can give you is do not be in a hurry to lift off or land. Do it slowly, fix each movement before you continue. SO if you start to get light and the nose moves right, add some left pedal and straighten it out before you move the collective up anymore. Little fixes as you get light and then you will pull straight up into a hover, and your instructor will not have so much laundry to do each night.

 

Same with set downs. Eyes out, nice and slow, fly it to the ground. You rush, you make mistakes that you cannot fix in time, roll overs being the most common. No one ever failed a check ride for landing or taking off too slowly. Plenty have failed for trying it too fast.

 

Keep up the good work! Brings back memories of trying to hover.

 

Goldy

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Sounds like good advise, I will be sure to keep it in mind next time I go for practice. And yes, my instructor did have a little extra laundry after our last flight so he will no doubt be glad to see my slow down a bit.

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Exactly like Goldy said, slow everything down and keep you eyes scanning outside. Only thing I would add is relax your grip on the cyclic and collective. Its really difficult not to death grip the controls when you are just starting out, but once you have a nice and relaxed three(ish) finger grip on the controls you will notice a world of difference in your stability. It took me awhile to relax back when I was new and nervous, but once I did my performance was so much better.

I fly 300s so I don't know if that works in a Robbie with the T-bar but I would assume so. Just chant in your head "relax, eyes up and out, breathe, relax, eyes up and out, breathe" etc... :D

 

Its nice to hear someone's experiences just starting out, brings back memories :lol:

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I'm pickin' up what your puttin' down. I have managed to relax on the cyclic and I know what you mean about the "three-ish" grip. I train in a 269 and happen to have large hands so I have already gotten in the habit of letting the pinky hang low and holding on with only the tips of the other three, so much better. I haven't flown a 22 so I am not familiar with the grip on the "T" handle, I'm sure it is small too. It's the pedals and throttle that are my next big obstacle with the collective somewhere in between. Your chant about "relax, eyes out, breathe,...repeat" reminds me suddenly of lamaze class with my wife years ago, it worked for her so, yeah, it should work for me. Thanks for the tip!

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