Finally getting back into the flight training regime: study, fly, sleep (repeat)! I ended up flying four times this week. It all started early Tuesday morning with my first ride (ever) in a helicopter. About an hour later I got my first crack at trying to fly one, and it’s much more difficult than it looks! I’m now fully convinced that pretty much anyone can hop into an airplane and fly. Helicopters, on the other hand…not so much! Granted I haven’t seen my life flash before my eyes or anything, but I have been very uncomfortable while at the controls attempting to perform maneuvers numerous times this week.Helicopters and airplanes handle about the same while they’re flying around at altitude, but everything else is new to me and different. Keep in mind that by “everything else” I am referring to the environment in which helicopters normally operate: close to the ground! Typically, this is something that airplanes only do during takeoff and landing. The sight pictures, control responses, and procedures in helicopters are very different from everything I’ve experienced while flying airplanes. I’m having a particularly difficult wrapping my head around the concept of “sliding” the helo left or right along a straight line. It’s something you simply can’t do in an airplane. Then again, the ridiculous maneuverability of the helicopter is one of its primary advantages.
So it seems that I’m going through a period of “readjustment” because sometimes the proper control inputs required in the helicopter are the exact opposite of those required in an airplane. For example, this morning I was hover taxiing (slowly moving forward about five feet off the ground) at our practice area and my instructor simulated an engine failure. My conditioned response was to “flare” or pull back on the stick (cyclic controls) like I would do just before an airplane touches down. This was most definitely the wrong control input (my instructor promptly reminded me) as helicopters should ideally be landed perfectly vertically to minimize the chances of rolling over. The moral of the story is that I just need to remember that I’m flying a helicopter now…and not an airplane!
You know, I’m actually pretty amazed how much my instructor has allowed me to fly seeing as I have so little experience or proficiency. Yesterday, for example, I flew the entire approach, landing, hover taxi, and vertical landing at Whiting Field. I’m “amazed” because I felt like I had just figured out how to hover with some proficiency earlier that very flight!
Next week the focus will be on normal approaches and in-flight emergencies, so the learning curve is definitely steep here. I’m a little disappointed that my flight today didn’t go as well as I think it should have, but I’ve got a great instructor who is doing everything he can to teach me. I honestly don’t know how he stays so calm and collected while I’m at the controls. Then again, “they” say the most important part of being a pilot is sounding cool on the radio!
If you’re ever in the Pensacola area and want to see something amazing, I suggest you head over to Spencer Field in Pace and sit by the fence for a few minutes just observing the new guys take their first shot at hovering. You can’t laugh until you try it yourself though!
