Jump to content

Altered course


tradford

Recommended Posts

When I showed up at Blue Ridge Helicopters here in Atlanta in late August, my intent was to grab 10 or so hours so that I could presumably jump in the seat of a Mosquito ultralight without killing myself. But as I got into it, it seemed as though each hour of instruction lead to a new challenge that I felt compelled to conquer.

 

Ground taxiing was great, but what I really wanted to do was to hold a steady hover on my own. Every time I felt that I was getting close - I'd spin off into the wild blue after a couple of seconds. I really beat myself up - thought that maybe some folks were doomed to never get it.

 

Then came the day that I stuck and held. Wow! That day was huge! After that, it seems that some milestone was surpassed every few flight hours. I've got somewhere around 40 hours now and I occasionally get to fly a brand new R44 - even on photo tours (with a master CFI in the left seat), but hey, I'm doing the flying!

 

I've been stressing big time over the PPL written test - studying almost every day and doing my best to memorize tons of data. And yesterday - I took the shot and scored 95%. I couldn't believe it! I would have soloed by now if the weather didn't suck, but that will happen on my next flight in a week or so.I've gotten to the point that I can actually see some light at the end of the tunnel.

 

Not really sure why I'm doing it, but I have to say that I'm really enjoying the journey. I know that most of you have already lived these experiences, so you know what I'm talking about. There's a certain mystique about flying helicopters that makes it that much better. My family and friends are in awe. Just wait until they get to take a ride!

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You know, the other day after reading about some guys interest in experimentals, I dove into checking them out. I was dumb founded that no PPL was required to fly them. I know about the ultra light planes, but you know, they sorta mades sense, as they really are not to hard to figure out.

 

But! After having gone through exactly what you did, trying to master the helicopter, a man has to be 5 short of a six pack to think it safe to just buy an experimental helicopter and live to tell about it. These machines are not easy to fly, and honestly it has been a rewarding journey learning, and the hardest challenge of my life.

 

Congrats on your test and good luck on your check ride coming up!

Edited by WolftalonID
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

"How hard could it be?" - Famous last words of more than a few, I'm sure. Definitely glad you stuck with it. I would hate to have heard you balled it up thinking 10 hours was enough to "get it."

 

And you're right. It is a journey. Every bit of it challenging and rewarding. Congrats on the solid written exam score. Keep it up and you'll be a certificated pilot in no time!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"How hard could it be?" - Famous last words of more than a few, I'm sure. Definitely glad you stuck with it. I would hate to have heard you balled it up thinking 10 hours was enough to "get it."

 

 

 

This guy almost accomplished it...lol

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uI4d5AeAi7g

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was finally able to solo last Friday. Perfect day for it. I nailed a GoPro camera to my forehead and filmed the experience - four closed traffic patterns and a little hover work. Not sure if this link will work - but here goes.

 

www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=701203363223667&set=vb.100000020281811&type=2&theater

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Congrats on solo. And ignore the people who say if you took the other route you would have by now balled up your experimental and died.

You might have only injured yourself badly and become a paraplegic. Maybe even a quadriplegic.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Yikes! What a day! I decided it was time to take my first solo flight away from the airport since the weather was basically perfect. It's funny how I've always had a fear to overcome throughout the journey. I was afraid I'd never learn to hover or be able to understand some of the folks in the control tower. I figured I'd be a really old man before I could solo and the written test - "Please Lord, just let me pass!"

I got past all that and now my concern is getting lost. Today was my opportunity to check one more fear off the list. My ship de jour was 3-4-kilo, the oldest bird in the fleet and very modestly appointed (no on-board GPS). I figured this would be a great test for my new Nexus-7 tablet running the Garmin Pro aviation GPS app. I stuck it to the windshield just above my right knee and almost close enough to see if I alternated between my aviator sunglasses and my 1.5 magnification reading glasses that I'm required to carry per my Class III medical certificate. Buckled in, cockpit checks, takeoff clearance from the tower, and away we go!

I took off to the west, since runway 25 was active, and turned right for a North/Northeast heading towards the Habersham County airport. Less than 15 minutes into the flight, my tablet became unreadable (it's hard for a rookie to fly a helicopter and make display adjustments at the same time). I had the map so screwed up, I couldn't tell where I was, let alone where I was going. A few minutes later, the suction mount let loose and the tablet dropped beneath my feet. Great!

I figured what the Hell and just followed the Blue Ridge mountains towards South Carolina to where I figured Habersham should be. The Gainesville airport is along the way, so I knew I had a fuel depot if I spent too much time aloft. I flew around for quite a while and never found it. I did find Toccoa, but I'm not checked out to land there. When it came time to find my way back, I used the ship's compass (same model as the one Columbus used to find St. Augustine) and shot for the area in between Lake Lanier and Stone Mountain - both pretty easy to spot even at low altitude. Actually, the Mall of Georgia is my preferred way-point because it's 6.5 miles north of the Gwinnett County airport, so when I call the tower for permission to land, I can tell them where I am (something they always want to know).

I was a little bummed that I couldn't find Habersham so that I could get a distant landing in my logbook, but I did learn a few things about flying a helicopter without someone in the other seat to handle various tasks during flight, like managing the GPS and changing radio frequencies. I suppose it's all part of the drill. Despite all of the distractions I had along the way, the scenery over that part of our state is beautiful. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I didn't have to spend the better part of two hours in a techno-blackout. Time for a technology update. Oh well, like I always say - I'll do better next time!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Study the sectional and look for waypoints on your intended route to and from. This helps just incase that GPS fails or in your case is unreadable and falls to the floor. Glad you made it back safely.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yikes! What a day!

 

I was a little bummed that I couldn't find Habersham so that I could get a distant landing in my logbook, but I did learn a few things about flying a helicopter without someone in the other seat to handle various tasks during flight, like managing the GPS and changing radio frequencies. I suppose it's all part of the drill. Despite all of the distractions I had along the way, the scenery over that part of our state is beautiful. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I didn't have to spend the better part of two hours in a techno-blackout. Time for a technology update. Oh well, like I always say - I'll do better next time!

 

This is a really sad testament of the quality of instruction you received in preparation for solo flight. I’d suggest you find yourself another (competent) instructor before you head out again…..

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have to agree with Spike. You should have flown that flight with your flight instructor and you really should have been using a sectional not a GPS. It is nice to have a GPS for backup but you really need to know how to use a sectional just for the reasons you found out. You need basic flight skills before going on to using GPS's and any other form of technology. It would be the same as teaching you to fly IFR before you know how to hover.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I also agree with Spike & dankaten. Flight schools would be giving their students a big leg up if they included Dead Reckoning & Pilotage in their programs . Sectionals , WAC, and magnetic Compass's have taken pilots around the world for decades.

 

In this day and age if a new pilot doesn't have his GPS and smart phone, they can't find their way to the outhouse let alone a common destination.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I did fly this same course with a CFI just a few days before, so it's not like I was in danger. It's about 35 NM between my home port and the one I was destined for. It's just a small airport that's really hard to see from any distance at all. I had a mid point airport that I can easily find based on landmarks. I always keep an eye on my compass heading, so getting back to the general area is not a huge challenge.

 

I agree that keeping a properly folded sectional within eyesight is a good idea. I'll have it handy from here on out.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I kind of have to agree with the others before me in this thread: DIdn't your instructor teach you how to read a map before sending you out on a cross-country??

 

Couple of things:

 

1) In the flight-planning stage, either at home or at the airport, take your Sectional chart and draw a line between your two points. Something visible in the cockpit - orange highlighter over pencil line works. You know that 37 miles on a course of 040 is going to be just about right. Thirty minutes. Easy-peasy.

 

Then look over your route for prominent landmarks. For your flight there was a *huge* (2,654' msl) antenna with flashing lights on it. That would be *my* first aim-point - because from the point where you finally turned northeastbound after take-off (University Pkwy and Buford Dr) the tower would be exactly on your course.

 

After skirting that tower (I'd pass to the west of it, myself if I was low) you'd want to stay just stay on that 040-045 compass heading. You should/will pass just southeast of the city of Gainesville, GA with its Gill Memorial Airport.

 

From there, it's another 19 miles to the city of Cornelia and the Habersham Airport. You do, what, a little better than a mile per minute in an R-22, right? So...12 minutes...13 minutes and you should be over your destination. There's a railroad and a highway just to your left, and just a little further west beyond them is I-985 which should be unmistakable on a nice day. After passing that tower, if you go 15 minutes and still haven't seen the city of Cornelia, you'll know something is very wrong.

 

2) Okay, now that you've studied your route, fold the map into a 1' by 1' (or so) square so that your entire route shows on it. Use a 'el-cheapo' Walmart clipboard or just use a heavy-duty paper clip to keep the map folded. I use both, just in case the vents are open and there's a lot of wind in the cockpit. Seriously, even at my hour-level I still do this on cross-country flights over unfamiliar country.

 

3) As you set the cockpit up prior to start, lay the map on the copilot's seat. If you have a GPS suction-cupped to the bubble, EXPECT it to fall off. That's what they do. Sometimes they go right out through the bubble if you're in a 206 and really unlucky. If I had something bigger than a smartphone (like a tablet or something) I'd lay it on the copilot's seat with my paper map. As you found out, it's better to set the tablet up prior to take-off, as some of them take two hands to manipulate in flight.

 

4) Now take-off. It's an easy half-hour flight. Look for that big tower, keep 040 or so in the compass, and then sit back and relax. You can gauge your wind as you come by the tower - I'm sure you know how to do that. Keep the controls frictioned so that you can take your hand off the collective to look at your map or tablet (welcome to the real world of single-pilot aviating).

 

From what you said, you found Toccoa but missed Habersham. This means that after take-off your heading was about 10 degrees wrong - you drifted too far east of course and flew right by Habersham! After I crossed Highway 441 and didn't see the airport I would not have kept going. If I could see I-85 off to my right I'd know something got messed up badly.

 

Sounds to me like you were simply too low. Get a little altitude and you'll be better able to see distant landmarks. Habersham sits at 1,500' msl. You should have been at least at 3,500' so you might've seen it as you wandered by off-course, before stumbling upon Toccoa.

 

Cross-country flying is fun. And once you get the hang of certain things, it's not even that hard. But dude, give yourself as many advantages as you can. Good pre-flight planning, good cockpit organization...and fly higher if you can ;)

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks NR, that's great advice. The tower you refer to is certainly one of my major landmarks since it's visible from so far out. I did a terrible job of pre-flight planning and I agree - more attention to the sectional will certainly be in the plan going forward. I've got dozens of hours working the charts with the flight computer when I was preparing for the written test, so working it out on paper is no problem. I'm so used to using GPS on the ground that it's made me lazy when it comes to navigation. I'll plan the next one using old school. I've also worked out a new mounting scheme for the tablet so it won't be hitting the floor anymore. There's so much information in that thing and I'd like to have it handy and useable.

 

By the way, I installed some of the satellite earth station equipment at the big teleport in Brewster, WA. That was twenty years ago, so I'm sure it's changed. Beautiful place, albeit a bit remote.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I did fly this same course with a CFI just a few days before, so it's not like I was in danger. It's about 35 NM between my home port and the one I was destined for. It's just a small airport that's really hard to see from any distance at all. I had a mid point airport that I can easily find based on landmarks. I always keep an eye on my compass heading, so getting back to the general area is not a huge challenge.

 

I agree that keeping a properly folded sectional within eyesight is a good idea. I'll have it handy from here on out.

 

At student solo level, you should know, having a (current) chart is a requirement. Beyond that, you should have been taught how to correctly fold the chart and display in a manner for ease of usage. Plus, you should have also been taught how to create cheat sheets to supplement your charts. This is commonly referred to as Single Pilot Resource Management (SPCRM). Couple this with you pervious flight with your CFI, reaching your destination would have been cake. Furthermore, flying solo is no place for a “oh well, better luck next time” attitude…

Edited by Spike
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I didn't say "better luck next time". I said "I'll do better next time". There's a difference.

 

That is true and the difference is obvious. Furthermore, you could argue you successfully used pilotage to return back to home base. However, the terms you used to describe your flight such as “I figured what the hell”, “where I figured Habersham should be”, and “I suppose its all part of the drill” and “Oh well” makes it sound like you left it up to chance and thus my reference to “luck”. In my experience, you should always have a plan A, B, C, D, etc and execute said plan(s) to arrive safely at your destination. This is the bases of ADM and something which needs to be taught and practiced from day one.....

 

Lastly, don’t misinterpret my opinion as a dig on you. It’s meant to inspire you to demand more out of your flight school. You are the customer and paying for a service which apparently failed you. And, yes it’s completely acceptable to make a mistake but by your description of what occurred, this mistake was 100% preventable. Preventable basic mistakes which could be rectified with a simple half-hour ground lesson….. Shoot, you got it for free here on VR......

Edited by Spike
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Spike, I'll start by an admission that your critique and criticisms can come off as somewhat derogatory, but at the same time - I sincerely appreciate any advice I get from you veterans, regardless of how delivered, that I'm sure is meant to help me become a better pilot. Forums like this are invaluable when such a huge repository of knowledge and experience (like yours) is brought to bear.

 

Your assessment of the words I used in my "adventure" is fair enough. I'm a creative writer and I can't help but put a flair of drama in my narratives. Certainly not to suggest that I don't take my flying seriously, but 90% of my flight hours have been flown in that general area, so navigating by obvious landmarks is pretty easy on the return. I will endeavor to gain precision in my pursuit and identification of distant targets.

 

I spent part of my day today planning my next journey (on a sectional) from my home airport to a small airport 57.5 NM to the east/northeast. I'll calculate the magnetic heading corrected for wind speed and direction at the time of departure. I'll do my best to maintain a constant airspeed (a bit challenging for me at times) and estimate my ETA at each of them. I learned a few things on my last trip that will help me do a better job of on-board resource management. With practice, I'm confident that I'll get there.

 

Thanks,

 

Tony

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So you're going to Elbert County, eh? This one's even easier. So easy you could leave the GPS at home!

 

First, go on www.skyvector.com and click on charts, then select the Atlanta. Left-click on Gwinnett Couty and select it. Then find Elbert County and left click/select it. Bingo-bango, Skyvector will draw you a nice purple line and it'll tell you that it's 88 degress for 58 nm. You don't even need a whiz-wheel or calculator to figure out that it's 45-50 minutes, right? 55-60 with a headwind. (Now draw the same line on your chart.) Magnetic variation in this area +5 degrees.

 

Look at the route. Zoom in and out as you please. If you mouse-over the Barrow/Winder airport a little weather box will open. Do the same for the airports that have colored dots over them (like Athens) to check surrounding weather. (The color of the dots tells you something at a glance.) Gotta love Skyvector!

 

So take-off and put 090 in the compass. Athens' airport elevation is 808 and Elbert County is 602. So 2,500 feet *should* be high enough (although I personally would go higher - 3,500' if the clouds allow). Your course will take you eastbound to Winder (pass over the north end of town) and then north of Athens. You'll want to cross the big Highway 441 north of Athens but south of the 2,049 foot tower with the white flashing lights. Then keep going east. The airport is just southeast of the town of Elberton. If you get to the big lake (Richard Russell) turn around because you went too far.

 

Keep your paper chart on your lap in a "track-up" orientation so you can follow along as you go. Don't obsess about maintaining a constant airspeed. Just hold a constant power setting and altitude and the speed will work itself out. If you really want to concentrate on something, try holding a constant heading. It's tought for a helicopter that always seems to be yawing back and forth.

 

And be sure to relax! Cross-country flying is fun with the right preparation. This little 60 mile trip will be a piece of cake. Have fun!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Definatly have a CFI or two...check your flight plan for accuracy. I did part 141 training, and if my flight plan was not right my instructor wouldnt let me fly it. My first solo had so much smoke in the valley, I didnt see more than 5-6 miles. My preflight planning actually helped so much. I wasnt familiar with the on board gps, so I didnt rely on it. I flew my headings to the time I had calculated, made inflight adjustments of speed to fix times, had sectional landmarks as my course change locations, and the airport appeared like magic in front of me.....(second trip there, first in smoke conditions as well with my cfi and my flight plan was flawless the first time).

 

The pilot flight plan sheet by ASA is a great tool for organized flight notes to flight plan with.

My CFI often asked me to NOT use my gps to make me learn the charts, and basic navigation. It came easy to me and he knew that, so he challenged me all the time, and he often stretched my skills.

 

 

Speaking of using gps to find the shitter?.....one local airport has coordinates for theirs posted by the fuel pump! Hahah

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...