A thread to talk about full scale flight?

[Wayne]

Yeah, good luck to me finding any rotorcraft around here for rent!  All I could find in fixed wing was a single C172 within 80 miles and she's $100/hr without insurance.  I have been working on trying to get a rider on my exec umbrella policy that would cover hull for about 2 weeks now.  Wx is getting nice, so I'm going to have to get something figured out soon!

[BMann]

Oh, yes, any kind of GA is not cheap, and for rotor, these days, it's gonna be an R-22, unless you luck up and find a 300, or better, an old lady 47G2. And as for even thinking about training in a 206B, you'd best hit all six numbers on Powerball to pull that off, lovely chopper, but rent is ridiculous, last I heard, $1000 and up, so, cheaper to play with the R-22.

I did mine years ago to sort of prove a wager: Did my RC experience help any? Loads, well, I did cheat, I already had my PPF and instrument, so, the basics were already there. Forward flight? After you settle down, you'll swear it's a Citabria or J3. Okay, we don't use the pedals in FF. And much tighter "orbits", you fly in much, much tighter in the pattern.

My biggest "goof" when learning to hover? I kept putting the RIGHT skid low. Wrong! The R-22 turns the mains CCW! So, lower the LEFT skid. Ah! There we be! Not the prettiest hover, no, but on the second lesson, I did have both feet and both hands working the thing. And yes, all my "lessons" gained on the old GMP Competitor worked, I was flying sideways, walking, the whole nine yards.

And so nice. 70mph, 750 AGL, where most planes are screaming the horn at you, you're just putting along, smirking. A view from your toes to your eyebrows, too. Just have to learn to keep that left eye roaming the intake and that one light! (Clutch alarm, we know what that one means....!)

Expensive, yes, but loads of fun? Big time!...until the instructor cuts the needles on you...LOL!

[Wayne]

Haha, yeah, I'm an instrument instructor and one of the most fun parts of my job was to cover up various instruments on the panel or click off the master while my students were shooting approaches!  That was back in the day you could do that (before glass cockpits).  Always fun to chop the throttle and watch them sweat...Hey, I had to go through all that on my way up, so it's just paybacks to the next gen of aviators!   

[BMann]

Yet, it may save your life!

My friend's late father gave me my PPFL check ride. Old timer from WW2, yeah. He was not happy that I was not spin-rated. Years back, it was mandatory.

I asked, would it help me? He said, if I got into a spin, it sure would. Well, after the ride, I rented a Citabria and we went out over the swamp for a short class in spins. I do not like aerobatics, but, inside the hour, I could do 2 to the right, 2 to the left and clean recovery. Fully spin certified. Never once had to use it, thankfully.

But, that was his thinking: Anything that gives a pilot an edge, do it, learn it. He aimed me at instrument classes, which I took and passed, and this was long before those sexy Garmin toys.

Yet, coming back from Florida with a friend, he'd bought a PA-28-181, fully loaded, and yep, just a few from the house, the ceiling went blooey. And he wasn't instrument! I was! I got us on the horn, changed over to IFR, and soon, I was flaring over the numbers....in some pretty thick fog.

Neat. IFR works. Imagine that. So, you keep messing with the students, make them learn!

And remind them what my first instructor always said: "There ain't no shoulder to pull over to up here, sir."

[Wayne]

Yup, I used to shoot approaches to 200' & 1/2mi (actual condidtions) all the time.  Lots of snow squalls to deal with up here in the winter...

Going for my CFI I had to demonstrate spins on the check ride.  I did not do much aerobatic flying, but most of what I did was in the Citabria.  I loved doing rolls and loops.  We held her inverted at the top of the loop.  This was all after I had about 500hrs of "normal" flight, so it was so cool to all of a sudden be able to fly upside down!  We did competition level spins 4 or 5 turns, entering and exiting the spin on the same heading.  Seemed easy in the Citabria.  Spins in a Cessna are pretty much just let go of the controls and it flies out - no inputs needed.  Actually I found it very difficult to even hold a 172 into a spin more than 1 to 1 1/2 turns.  Oh yeah, and for my CFII it was not required, but we did do spins both ways under the hood!  Now that was a treat!  Ah, the good 'ol days...

[Nuttcaze]

Modern Marvels - Sirkorski CH-53E Super Stallion Helicopter Video Clip

[Wayne]

I hope to be getting some hat cam video from my biannual flight review on Saturday, hopefully a couple of landings in a C172.  I realize that is not earth shattering, but...  Ha! I was going through the manual the past couple of days trying to get V speeds down and emergency procedures and realized that I have to now, once again, remember carb heat!  It has been probably 15 years since I flew something non fuel injected, turbo charged, or turbine!  Talk about a fall from grace!   

[BMann]

Sounds like somebody got a wee bit spoiled to those kero burners......

[BMann]

And since we are showing off the "full size" ladies....the one...the only....47D!

Rotorfest 2008 - Bell 47 Demonstration (1)

I was a brat when these were the rage, my first ride in one, and yep, my first attempt at holding the sticks, too. The Harley of Helicopters!

[Dozer379]

 

  Oh Yeah !!!    Love these vids.   

[Wayne]

Ok guys, here are a couple of the boring vids from this morning.  I am editing the in flight vids now cuz you don't wanna sit there and watch all of it.  I will put in a couple take offs and most of the landings and a couple of aborted landings.     I had an AWESOME day of both full scale and RC flight today!

Cessna1.wmv

Cessna2.wmv

[Wayne]

Ok, here's the first flight video, a simulated engine out / emergency descent to the airport.  Few interesting notes I posted in the vid along the way:

Spiral and engine out approach to 3CM - Cessna 172

[Wayne]

Ok, here is the second video with some landings mostly.  I have to process and cut the R-22 vid and post later today!

Cessna4.wmv

[Wayne]

Had a nice little flight last night:

Highlights of my latest C172 adventure

[Wayne]

Ok guys, we have another full scale flight on the books today.  My daughters first flight lesson at age 6.5!  You think I'm joking?!  Here are some pics.  I am still editing and uploading video, but you will see, she was left seat and got plenty of stick time and instruction along the way...





I have to say, that is probably the most clean, well maintained, and beautiful 172 I have ever messed with!

There was a heli sitting out over at the heli school, the office was wide open, but no one around    He was out on a flight lesson with someone in the other heli.  I was really hoping to at least get in the bird and get a feel for her.  Oh well, another day perhaps.