Still Flying Abby ?

[ThePope]

Was just searching through the forums for something and came across a post you made last year saying your learning to fly choppers.

Are you still training or have you finished. As aviation is a huge passion of mine I'd love to hear how it's going for you, how you're finding the experience.

Do you have any time on fixed wing or just rotary. Never flown one myself but I'd love to have a run for a few hours to see how they handle compared to fixed wing. Alas my budget these days can't stretch that far

[artlover]

Maybe it was Abby flying the chopper in the Christiana video...

[ThePope]

yes perhaps artlover,
Not entirely sure though but I think Mr D spliced that in in post production. If not, the machine is making a very odd manoeuvre when it first comes into shot. Then again maybe I'm seeing things

[Philos]

I don't believe heavier-than-air machines will ever fly.
. . . .

What? Where? When? Damn, I must have dozed off for a minute.

[artlover]

Philos, there is an organization over here called the Man Will Never Fly Society. Their motto: Birds Fly, Men Drink. It is pretty much an excuse for a bunch of journalists to get ripped, but I admire their spirit.

I think the chopper was added in, too. I need to use the smilies more often.

Helicopters have many advantages, but as I have heard second hand from a Cessna pilot, they don't have enough wing. If the engine stops, you will experience an extremely vertical glide.

[alexbee]

Helicopters have many advantages, but as I have heard second hand from a Cessna pilot, they don't have enough wing. If the engine stops, you will experience an extremely vertical glide.

Not if the rotor is still spinning, it has a lot of energy that takes a while to decay. Helo pilots practice something called autorotation which allows them to land light as a feather with no engine.

[Abby]

Helicopters have many advantages, but as I have heard second hand from a Cessna pilot, they don't have enough wing. If the engine stops, you will experience an extremely vertical glide.

Incorrect - a loss of power means you can enter autorotation, where you still have quite a bit of control and can land quite safely.

Obviously, you're going down fast, but the rush of air through the wing/s makes them turn, and while they are turning you can change the pich and thus have control. The main rotor is mechanically linked to the tail rotor, so that spins as well, despite loosing power. I myself was learning autorotation when I stopped my lessons, as I did not have enough time.

I hope to be able to pick it up again some day.

a

PS, at least with a helicopter, you can see more than a foot of sky from the front windw...

[ThePope]

allows them to land light as a feather with no engine.

Seen quite a few of the RAAF boys practicing auto rotation landings here at Canberra. Light as a feather is not the first thought that comes to mind

[ThePope]

...
I myself was learning autorotation when I stopped my lessons, as I did not have enough time.
I hope to be able to pick it up again some day.

oh you can't let it end there, it be a sin, a BIG one
just think of all the magic out of the way locations you could get yourself to, could even take advantage of time in the cruise to introduce the models into the mile high club. Ahh, the possibilities are endless...

PS, at least with a helicopter, you can see more than a foot of sky from the front windw...

do I detect an air of superiority there

[RedDruid2]

My ROTC days reminded me that auto-rotation only works if you have enough altitude to start with. Too close to the ground and it's compressed spine time. And as the US army has proved again recently there is no better way to illustrate the incrediblly large number of parts that a helicopter has, than to land one in an uncontrolled manner. I would think auto-rotation is something handy to know, but not something you'd want to practice a lot.

In defense of helicopters though, there is nothing cooler than sitting inches from a 5 ft square open doorway as you speed along at tree-top level. It's a thrill and a half.

[ThePope]

G'day Red,
Is that Royal Officers something something ?

[BigSpud]

Reserve Officers Training Corps

One example

[ThePope]

ta BigSpud
btw: the goarmy link goes nowhere, is dead

[Yealith]

I really like helicopters. Been on a couple of flights over the years - once even had the experience "steering" a Bell 206 Jetranger, man that was fun. ....... if it only wasn't that expenisive to fly them

I'm a little of an expert in building and flying radiocontrolled modelhelicopters, it's a great hobby ......... beside watching nekkid girls ... Autorotations can be performed quite "easy" on R/C helicopters too, in fact it's a manoeuvre one should learn at an early stage - it "saved" me more than one model after an engine failure.

Oh yes, helicopters are cool. Abby, you definitely should keep at it. What about a fotoshooting with a helicopter in the background or inside the cabin? I say girls and helicopters fit greatly

[BigSpud]

ta BigSpud
btw: the goarmy link goes nowhere, is dead

works for me. Maybe you have an Air Force Browser?

[alexbee]

Seen quite a few of the RAAF boys practicing auto rotation landings here at Canberra. Light as a feather is not the first thought that comes to mind

Well ..... Maybe after they've been practicing for a while

[ThePope]

Autorotations can be performed quite "easy" on R/C helicopters too, in fact it's a manoeuvre one should learn at an early stage - it "saved" me more than one model after an engine failure.

be a very expensive hobby without that skill Yealith

[pjay]

your learning to fly choppers.

I can't believe no-one has taken advantage of the double entendre possibilities here!!

[flingwing]

Incorrect - a loss of power means you can enter autorotation, where you still have quite a bit of control and can land quite safely.

Obviously, you're going down fast, but the rush of air through the wing/s makes them turn, and while they are turning you can change the pich and thus have control. The main rotor is mechanically linked to the tail rotor, so that spins as well, despite loosing power. I myself was learning autorotation when I stopped my lessons, as I did not have enough time.

I hope to be able to pick it up again some day.

a

PS, at least with a helicopter, you can see more than a foot of sky from the front windw...

Sorry for getting out this old thread, but being a helicopter pilot myself and not being able to imagine doing anything else, I have the tendency to search every forum I join and find people with the same interest. Who would have thought that one of these people is Abby herself.

As Abby mentioned above, the view from a helicopter is terrific, normally not above 1000 ft above the ground, and anyone having the chance to go for a ride, be it in the USA (Grand Canyon, Alaska, Hawaii, Niagara Falls) or I am sure near any tourist destination around the world, should do so. Believe me, it will be worth the money (even though I admit some operators overcharge, but thats the case in all tourist spots)

For everyone being afraid of climbing into a helicopter because of the above mentioned, ask yourself this: Would you in case of an emergency rather hit the ground on board a nice, large comfortable Boeing that needs at least a speed of 150 kts or more and will have that speed once hitting the ground and everything in the way whilst slowing down, or would you prefer a helicopter, that even without engine power can autorotate and land on an area not much larger than the helicopter itself and touch down as soft as a regular landing.

For Abby I hope, you will be able to pick the flying up again, because, as a student of mine used to say and usually everyone who has tasted flight agrees, it is the most fun you can have with your clothes on.

[Abby]

For Abby I hope, you will be able to pick the flying up again, because, as a student of mine used to say and usually everyone who has tasted flight agrees, it is the most fun you can have with your clothes on.

hahaha, nice one. Not had a chance yet, hope to in the future.