jmerryman Posted June 3, 2007 Posted June 3, 2007 After too much wind yesterday, today was great wx - went up, did a pattern, confirmed that I could still fly the aircraft, air taxi to the runup area and then time for the moment of truth. Flew .5 PIC after 22.3 hours dual. Special thanks to my instructor Marcus from Pegasus Flight Academy at Linden, NJ for making it possible! John Quote
Goldy Posted June 3, 2007 Posted June 3, 2007 After too much wind yesterday, today was great wx - went up, did a pattern, confirmed that I could still fly the aircraft, air taxi to the runup area and then time for the moment of truth. Flew .5 PIC after 22.3 hours dual. Special thanks to my instructor Marcus from Pegasus Flight Academy at Linden, NJ for making it possible! John Right ON ! You gotta move that cyclic quite a bit left in the ol R22, dont ya ?? Congrats..fly safe and take the safety course as soon as you can after your PPL. Goldy Quote
jmerryman Posted June 3, 2007 Author Posted June 3, 2007 Right ON ! You gotta move that cyclic quite a bit left in the ol R22, dont ya ?? Congrats..fly safe and take the safety course as soon as you can after your PPL. Goldy Thanks!Yep - I noticed the nose-high attitude even more than the lateral cyclic input - that and all the "extra" power. I am looking forward to taking the safety course as soon as I get the rating (and as soon as a slot is open!) - sounds like fun. John Quote
FLHooker Posted June 3, 2007 Posted June 3, 2007 jmerryman, Congrats to man! Looks like a damn good time! I can't wait until I get the chance to truly solo a helo!! CHAD Quote
jmerryman Posted June 3, 2007 Author Posted June 3, 2007 jmerryman, Congrats to man! Looks like a damn good time! I can't wait until I get the chance to truly solo a helo!! CHAD Thanks Chad!Enjoy your solo in the big bird - The CH47 must be a real blast to fly! Quote
palmfish Posted June 3, 2007 Posted June 3, 2007 (edited) Congrats on your solo Jmerryman! You're well on your way to a brave new world. Unfortunately, the good old days of flying single pilot in the Army are long gone. I was a cavalry scout pilot for many years and flew single pilot PIC in the OH-58 until the very end (when the enlisted aerial observer program went away). There's nothing more thrilling than leading a platoon of OH-58's and AH-1's on a recon mission. Single pilot, nap of the earth, bounding overwatch, doors off - good times. Now I fly Chinooks, and it's a whole new world. It's got the strength of a beast and the manners of a pussycat - and don't forget the autopilot! Edited June 3, 2007 by palmfish Quote
TheLorax Posted June 4, 2007 Posted June 4, 2007 congratulations friend, soon i shall follow in your footsteps; tread lightly, for you tread on my dreams Quote
jmerryman Posted June 4, 2007 Author Posted June 4, 2007 Palmfish - Single pilot in the OH58 sounds like an awesome job, as does the big Chinook. Thanks!Fastlane - thanks!Lorax - thanks and good luck on yours! John Quote
FLHooker Posted June 4, 2007 Posted June 4, 2007 Yeah, even when we fly the TH-67 during primary, we don't do 'true' solo time. We fly a total of 6 traffic patterns with your stick buddy in the other seat. Fun, no doubt, but definitely not solo time. Certainly can't go solo in the Hooks! Got to love that aircraft though. Absolute blast to fly. palmfish, what unit are you with? CHAD Quote
palmfish Posted June 4, 2007 Posted June 4, 2007 (edited) Yeah, even when we fly the TH-67 during primary, we don't do 'true' solo time. We fly a total of 6 traffic patterns with your stick buddy in the other seat. Fun, no doubt, but definitely not solo time. Certainly can't go solo in the Hooks! Got to love that aircraft though. Absolute blast to fly. palmfish, what unit are you with? CHAD I've got to admit, it was a little unsettling the first time I flew an aircraft completely solo - No one else looking for traffic, nobody to catch any mistakes/omissions you might make. And then there's solo IFR - a whole new dimension to solo flying. In the military, we take for granted having another pilot sitting next to us helping with the radios and/or controls while we review/brief an approach. Managing the flight/cockpit all alone was probably the most difficult part of my fixed-wing instrument add-on training. I'm a reservist in A Co 5/159 Avn. What about you Chad - active or reserve? How much longer until you get your wings? Edited June 4, 2007 by palmfish Quote
FLHooker Posted June 4, 2007 Posted June 4, 2007 palmfish, I know what you mean about the solo thing. I solo'd in the fixed wing when I was 16. In the hooks though, we do take it for granted, until the IP plays dead. Which makes it interesting with the stack of radios and all the damn required calls we have to make. As for the wings, I start nights in the 47 next week, after that SERE C (not looking forward to that) and OBC... total of about 3 months left! The end is near!!!!!!!! I'm a Guard guy out of Jacksonville, FL. B Co Det 1, 1-111th CHAD Quote
palmfish Posted June 4, 2007 Posted June 4, 2007 (edited) palmfish, I know what you mean about the solo thing. I solo'd in the fixed wing when I was 16. In the hooks though, we do take it for granted, until the IP plays dead. Which makes it interesting with the stack of radios and all the damn required calls we have to make. As for the wings, I start nights in the 47 next week, after that SERE C (not looking forward to that) and OBC... total of about 3 months left! The end is near!!!!!!!! I'm a Guard guy out of Jacksonville, FL. B Co Det 1, 1-111th CHAD You bring back some fond memories Chad. When I went through Rucker (Class 89-02), we completed 8 weeks of OBC first, then did flight training from start to finish. Primary and Instruments in the Huey, then multi-track (aeroscout for me). Once flight training was complete, we got our wings and went home. Oh yeah, SERE training for us consisted of some classroom academics and a survival book (berries and plants you can eat, how to build a shelter, etc.). Welcome to the brotherhood. Edited June 4, 2007 by palmfish Quote
FLHooker Posted June 5, 2007 Posted June 5, 2007 Thanks palmfish, I appreciate it! I love the Hook community, I have met some great people! Lucky us, they are letting us go through SERE C. There has been rumor that rated pilots aren't being grandfathered in with the SERE C, any truth to that? Quote
palmfish Posted June 6, 2007 Posted June 6, 2007 (edited) Thanks palmfish, I appreciate it! I love the Hook community, I have met some great people! Lucky us, they are letting us go through SERE C. There has been rumor that rated pilots aren't being grandfathered in with the SERE C, any truth to that? Yeah, back when I was in Scouts, I never believed I would "get soft" and fly hooks. Now I'm older and wiser and wouldn't have it any other way - it's an amazing bird. When I did the CH-47 qual course last year, there was no mention of a requirement for attending SERE C. Don't ask, don't tell is my philosophy... Edited June 6, 2007 by palmfish Quote
zemogman Posted June 6, 2007 Posted June 6, 2007 Congrats...I'll be soloing soon...I'm happy for you! Quote
mechanic Posted June 6, 2007 Posted June 6, 2007 Congrats... I wish I was soloing instead of having to work so much..... This forum keeps my hopes up. Congrats again Quote
jmerryman Posted June 7, 2007 Author Posted June 7, 2007 Thanks, Zemogman & Mechanic - good luck & safe flights to both of you. Quote
FLHooker Posted June 7, 2007 Posted June 7, 2007 "get soft" and fly hooks. That's funny. I actually met a guy the other day that just finished up the 58D course, and was upset that he picked 58's. He was saying he saw the hooks flyin' around the AO everyday and wished he went there. I am certainly happy with my choice. I actually got a chance to go into the 60 sim tonight and fly it around. Felt a little tight in the cockpit, and didn't really feel like it had the handling that we have. A buddy of mine is actually in your unit, he's almost done with everything down here. His name is Tab, great guy. CHAD Quote
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