Helicopter-pilot.info - Lessons 6-10

Lesson 6 16/3/02 Hour 4.6- 5.5 Hovering & Landing and take offs
I think this is probably the lesson I have been looking forward to most of all.
Taking off, landing and hovering in a helicopter is what it's all about. A nice start to the day with good weather and I am ready to go. We start with a briefing which goes through all the safety points to check when hovering and then move onto the use of the controls during take off and landing. We start on by attempting some hovering, which as usual is much harder than it seems. I manage to keep the helicopter fairly level which I am pleased with but it is amazing the concentration it tak es to keep it there. To give my overworked brain a rest we do a demonstration circuit around the airfield, which apparantly will be a very large part of the training. Back to the hovering and this isn't too bad, keep your eyes on one point and try to keep straight and level. This is good, I can do this! Time to try a landing. All I have to do is reduce the power and slowly move forward and it will land....by itself....it doesn't need me.
The problems start here. I know that if I am going sideways when we land that the helicopter may tip over. I also know that if when going down I accidently go backwards we may tip over. The common denominator is 'Helicopter and tip over', which I see as a bad thing. Because of the 'over-caution' (is there such a thing?) landing is taking a little longer than it should. I don't seem to want to land without the helicopter being EXACTLY into wind and no sideways movement and if these conditions are not met I go back up into the hover. If I carry on taking lessons then it is going to work out very expensive at a rate of one Landing per lesson!
Eventually it happens and by some miracle we do land. Now it's time to take off. This time I know that if during take off we are on one skid and move sideways we can tip over so again great care is taken. Taking off seems to go the opposite way to landing (obviously), in that I seem to take off as if I have been shot out of a cannon.
I get a comment written on my file after each lesson, this one said (part of it) "landings hesitant". I'm sure there's another file that I don't see that says "we can't get rid of this one"
My comments: I think "landings hesitant" is on a par with "whoops, I think we hit something" by the captain of the Titanic, as one of the biggest understatements ever. I think Heathrow land about 10 planes in the time it takes me to put this R22 down. Not very happy with this lesson. I think I am being very careful so as not to damage the helicopter, doesn't make me a bad person though!

Lesson 7 23/3/02 Hour 5.5 - 6.7 Landings and take offs & Transitions Landing
It seems a little practice on the landings and take off is needed. I think it is the landing I have found the biggest problem to date. My last lesson didn't go too well with regards the take off and landings and I have been thinking about it all week and I'm sure I can sort it out. We start off doing a little hovering and then try to reduce power to land. It seems that I don't have it sorted and after many attempts my instructor gives up and we move onto transitions. Transitions is simply changing from the hover to forward flight or from flight back into the hover. This seems to go well and after a bit of practice I have got the hang of this and it's great to be able to put two things together (hovering and moving off). I think my performance with the transitions gives my instructor some false hope, so we try some more landings. I do manage to land but don't find it easy and find myself fighting against the controls rather than feeling them.
My comments: There are some days when you think that you should have stayed in bed, this is one those!

Lesson 8 3/4/02 Hour 6.7 - 7.8 Transitions..still
It's been over a week since my last lesson and I think this is going to be a 'tidy up lesson'. Still, take off and landings are causing me problems and as I only had half a lesson on transitions last week a little bit of practice is needed on these. We take off from the pads and move over towards the play area, this time we have to wait to cross the main runway. The tower said we can cross after the chipmunk......not a rodent in sight!
Everything seemed a little more relaxed today, I wasn't as tense and it seemed to show through on my flying (I use the word 'flying' very loosely). Both landings and transitions went well and by the end of the lesson everything was coming together.
My comments: After the last lesson, anything would have been an improvement.

Lesson 9 5/4/02 Hour 7.8 - 8.9 Landings & take offs, Transitions, Circuits
Now, THIS, is a lesson I have been looking forward to. Today should put all of the past learning together. If things go well I will be able to take off, transition into the circuit and then come back down, hover and then land....yeh, right!
Upto now my instructor has done the radio work but today asks me to have a go. I'm not sure what language they speak, but it doesn't seem to be the queens English. I made the call to the tower, but from the response think I ordered two special fried rice and prawn balls. Although I try, I fail miserably and pass back to the instructor to get me out of the mess I had made.
After last weeks lesson of hovering and transitions , it seems we can now do some circuits. It may be the next obvious step but it is so exciting to be able to put all of the previous lessons together , even just for a little circuit. (or maybe I'm just easily pleased) After a little bit of practice with take off and landings in the 'play area' I am given my instructions to do a circuit. After a nice take off we go into the circuit to about 700ft. and it all seems very smooth. Half way around I do my 'Freda' check and then 'Hasel' check and then it's time to go back down again to a 'not too bad landing'. In all we probably do three or four circuits which all seem to go well considering I'm a circuit virgin. The flying was a different matter today. I take off, hover and transition into the circuit and fly around quite smoothly. It is a fantastic feeling to actually get something right. Things went so well I even had a little time to look outside at the scenery. It may sound strange but upto now I have been looking at the dials and the horizon and all the things I'm told to look at, but not really LOOKED outside. When things are going this well I wish I had booked a two hour lesson.
My comments: There are some days when you are glad you got out of bed, this is one of those!

Lesson 10 9/4/02 Hour 8.9 - 9.9 Emergency Procedures
Emergency procedures in the circuit I have been studying my book again for this lesson. This lesson is more a memory thing than a flying thing. You have to remember what all the warning lights/gauges do and what to do when they are doing anything but the expected. A cup of tea first and then we find a free helicopter and do the usual checks. I do the checks, start her up, do the radio call trying very hard to listen to the reply....No, not this time. My instructor takes off and I taxi over to the circuit. As I said I have read this section and I can't see it taking that long. Famous last words those. What I seem to have forgotten is that you have to do all the flying as well as doing something about the warning light coming on. It's not hard but it takes practice, concentration and a bit of common sense (not a strong point). We do quite a few circuits with different 'practice failures', each time coming in to do some landings and take offs. The transitions to the circuit are not that good and whatever I try and do things don't go quite to plan. At the end of the lesson the chief Pilot (chief instructor/one step down from God) did mention that he usually does an assessment on students at about 10 hours and next Lesson, Friday, was my lucky day!
My comments: I think my instructor is far nicer than I deserve today, it's all ok but I'm not happy with today's performance.

Lesson 11 - 15