Starting flight training and all thread

flyinmomof3

flyinmomof3

Learning to fly....but I ain't got wings.
I start my flight training on Monday. Does anyone know of some good readings to hold me over the weekend? Or good links? I will be flying the R22, but anything that you think may interest me would be appreciated. Even if it's a good story about someones flight...I would love something about how the mechanics of the helicopter work. I know I will be learning this, but sometimes there's articles or books out that are an easy read and a good supplement.

Thanks in advance!
 
Re: Starting flight training on Monday

Chickenhawk? It's not like she's going to be flying eight ship formations with overlapping disks, Mike. :D

Seriously though, if you want some basic helicopter knowledge for the weekend the rotorcraft flying handbook has it all. I'd specifically focus on the following basics to give you a head start (your instructor will go over all this of course):

What do the cyclic, collective, and pedals control?

What is torque effect and how is it compensated for?

What is translating tendency and how is it compensated for?

What is dissymetry of lift and how is it compensated for?

What is retreating blade stall and what conditions cause it? How does the pilot know it is happening?

And that's probably enough for the weekend!
 
Re: Starting flight training on Monday

Ian J said:
What do the cyclic, collective, and pedals control?

What is torque effect and how is it compensated for?

What is translating tendency and how is it compensated for?

What is dissymetry of lift and how is it compensated for?

What is retreating blade stall and what conditions cause it? How does the pilot know it is happening?

And that's probably enough for the weekend!
Click to expand...

Thank you! This is perfect!
 
Re: Starting flight training on Monday

Ian J said:
Chickenhawk? It's not like she's going to be flying eight ship formations with overlapping disks, Mike. :D

Seriously though, if you want some basic helicopter knowledge for the weekend the rotorcraft flying handbook has it all. I'd specifically focus on the following basics to give you a head start (your instructor will go over all this of course):

What do the cyclic, collective, and pedals control?

What is torque effect and how is it compensated for?

What is translating tendency and how is it compensated for?

What is dissymetry of lift and how is it compensated for?

What is retreating blade stall and what conditions cause it? How does the pilot know it is happening?

And that's probably enough for the weekend!
Click to expand...

Effective Translational Lift (ETL) would be another good one. It'll really help you understand what you're feeling during takeoffs and approaches.
 
Re: Starting flight training on Monday

The Fez said:
Effective Translational Lift (ETL) would be another good one. It'll really help you understand what you're feeling during takeoffs and approaches.
Click to expand...

Duh... can't believe I forgot that one... add transverse flow too.
 
In it two days...

So far so good with my ground school. Day #2 complete and so far I understand and feel pretty good about the material we've covered. All this reading about the helicopter just makes me want to go fly more...but for now I am super tired. I do have one question...when sharing a restroom with about 24 guys...am I supposed to leave the toilet seat up? :dunno: LOL
 
Re: In it two days...

flyinmomof3 said:
So far so good with my ground school. Day #2 complete and so far I understand and feel pretty good about the material we've covered. All this reading about the helicopter just makes me want to go fly more...but for now I am super tired. I do have one question...when sharing a restroom with about 24 guys...am I supposed to leave the toilet seat up? :dunno: LOL
Click to expand...

To answer your question I would say leave it up so the nasty ones don't pee all over it. What kind of place only has one restroom for 25 people?

Good luck on the flight. I don't discount the ground school or rotor-wing flight theory at all and its important to know, but as you soon will find out it all comes down to moving those sticks. Its been a while but some of the tricks I learned at the start of my flight training are to just to 'think' about about the imputs you want to make to the cyclic as opposed to deliberately moving the cyclic and most likely over controlling it. Also, I found out looking farther out helps than focusing closer in when flying or hovering. More importantly listen to your instuctor, he certainly has more expirience in teaching new pilots than I have.

After your first flight you'll be humbled at first, everyone is. Just don't be humiliated by it an loose faith in yourself. I can only imagine the pioneers who designed and flew the first helicopters were demented souls indeed. I've been around helicopters for 10 years and just looking at them it still boggles my mind that those ugly heaps of metal with protruding wings can actually fly. And when you do finnally get that thing in a stable 5 foot hover you'll realize you're a vastly supperior aviator than any fixed-wing pilot can ever hope to be.
 
Re: In it two days...

After reading and understanding the FAA Rotorcraft Handbook pick up a copy of Principles of Helicopter Flight by W.J. Wagtendonk. It goes a lot more indepth explaining rotorwing flight. ASA also has an Oral Exam Handbook just for helicopters. If you pick up all these books on Amazon it will save you a ton of $$. Sporty's videos series on "So you want to fly helicopters" is good for a basic understanding of helicopter concepts if your an audio/visual learner.
 
3rd day of flight training

Well, the ground school part. i actually get to go up sometime next week. So far we've only covered the flight controls and the engine and such. Good info. Nothing hard to follow, just basic info. We are now moving into aerodynamics for today.

We got a ton of books, The main book is Schweizer, by Jeppesen; the FAA's Rotocraft Flying Book, which in my opinion is very good. An R22 pilot's guide, Two ASA oral exam guides, and the Private Pilot practical test standards. Then of course the FAR/AIM bible.

Nothing else really exciting yet. I know the ground stuff will get more challenging, but nothing yet. The only thing I noticed is the program is definitely geared towards males. Just small things that I have to comply too, like wearing my hair up above my shoulders, which I hate to say is a pain because it goes all the way down my back, not allowed to wear earrings, and I have to wear a school boy uniform, (Khaki pants and a navy blue polo) at least til I get my flight suit. Some of the curriculum is geared towards the guys, which I can deal with, but I find it a little funny. For example, in order to remember the 4-stroke engine's power cycle, they remember by saying cock,suck, spit, and blow... or something like that...I'm sure that's only the beginning. But I really don't mind, I just find it amusing.

Other than that, I definitely am adding diversity to the classroom. Everyone else was in the military and had very similar stories. They are really good classmates though and the structure of the school so far looks really good. Very professional and efficient.
 
Re: 3rd day of flight training

Cock, suck, spit, blow...what??? Sounds like a job description for a prostitute.


It is suck, squeeze, bang, blow.
 
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