Humble Pie

usphsfnp

usphsfnp

Well-Known Member
Wow.
Helo's are hard to fly. Well, I take that back- they're hard to hover.
I've got about 250 hrs in fixed wings, and did my first .5 in a helo today, and, man, it's TOTALLY different.
Up in the air, I didn't really get the sensation of "hey, I'm flying!" like to do in airplanes, I was totally focused on controlling the 60,000 moving parts trying to kill me. After a few minutes I could basically accomplish some straight & level, and turns, but it took all I had. I had no other attention for watching altitude, airspeed, other traffic, nav, radios, airspace- it's very demanding- superoverload.
Then the instructor brought us back with a quick autorotation to the airport (awesome!) and we practiced hovering. Holy cow- I think the best I did was keeping it under control for maybe 20sec. After that I was swinging like a pendelum all over the place. I was amazed how the instructor could take my giant mess, and clean it all up in a second or two.
It's hard to know how much cyclic movement is too much, or not enough, or too late, or too soon, man- it's humbling. You'd figure since they are both a means of flying, so there'd be some skill cross over, but nope, not a bit.
Anyway- I still need to finish up my single and multi comercial, and I wanted to give helo's a try, since I think I'd like to eventually fly helo's when I retire, but man- what a difference a rotating wing makes. Amazing.

bri
 
When teaching I tell people to not move the cyclic more than a pen width. Look outside and down the taxi way for a reference. Most students as soon as that thing starts moving they look down right in front of the skids. I can tell because we start moving backwards and climbing. It is funny the hardest thing I learned how to do was hover now I am not even aware of it.
Shane
 
Yeah, I kept moving forward and down, over correcting, not compensating with the other controls, and blowing it. I guess it just takes practice, just like landing a plane, only harder.
When I was only in charge of the pedals, though- I ROCKED!

bri- King of Pedal Turns
 
There comes a time when it just clicks and is automatic from there on. Don't worry you wil get it.
Welcome to the dark side.
Shane
 
usphsfnp said:
Wow.
Helo's are hard to fly. Well, I take that back- they're hard to hover.
I've got about 250 hrs in fixed wings, and did my first .5 in a helo today, and, man, it's TOTALLY different.
Up in the air, I didn't really get the sensation of "hey, I'm flying!" like to do in airplanes, I was totally focused on controlling the 60,000 moving parts trying to kill me. After a few minutes I could basically accomplish some straight & level, and turns, but it took all I had. I had no other attention for watching altitude, airspeed, other traffic, nav, radios, airspace- it's very demanding- superoverload.
Then the instructor brought us back with a quick autorotation to the airport (awesome!) and we practiced hovering. Holy cow- I think the best I did was keeping it under control for maybe 20sec. After that I was swinging like a pendelum all over the place. I was amazed how the instructor could take my giant mess, and clean it all up in a second or two.
It's hard to know how much cyclic movement is too much, or not enough, or too late, or too soon, man- it's humbling. You'd figure since they are both a means of flying, so there'd be some skill cross over, but nope, not a bit.
Anyway- I still need to finish up my single and multi comercial, and I wanted to give helo's a try, since I think I'd like to eventually fly helo's when I retire, but man- what a difference a rotating wing makes. Amazing.

bri
Click to expand...


LOL, my this brought me back to the good old days! I started out flying Helicopters in the Navy. My Primary Helo instructor was great...

I was having a problem learning to hover; I'd get everything under control, but then I would slowly start to creep forward and then it would all come unglued. We did our training based out of Whiting Field in Milton, FL and would fly to several outlying fields to practice. The Primary Helo's would practice mostly at Spencer Field which as you can see is a big mile square field with a tree line on all 4 sides.

My instructor finally got sick of my inability to hover without creeping forward, so he took me right to the edge of the tree line at Spencer with the rotors about 100 feet from the trees, gave me the controls and said, "now let's see you creep forward!"


It worked...

By the time he was done with me I could have autorotated that TH-57 onto the bed of a moving pickup truck...


Kevin
 
The hard thing about teaching people to hover is that I do not remeber what made it click for me. I can just offer suggestions but thats it. I do say "my aircraft," quite a bit maybe thats it. I think they get tired of hearing those words.
Shane
 
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