Igor Sikorsky & self taught flying

[bugdevheli]

IGOR SIKORSKY obviously taught himself to fly a helicopter and somehow remained intact. Given the knowledge we have gained, do you think it is possible to master the art of flying a helicopter without tuition. Any machine used would obviously have to be on a long tether or restraint in order to make such an attempt legal in the UK. Any suggestions as to how to progress once hovering has been mastered would be welcome. The objective would be to fly around the perimeter of say a football pitch, and achieve translational lift and an altitude of ten feet or so. Thanks Bug

[Good Vibs]

Ask any beginner helicopter pilot what he thought of his first minutes/hours attempting to hover. This should be your answer.
Straight & lever...perhaps. Hovering....good luck!
Ask your friendly Insurance Company if they would ok this idea!

[Whirlygig]

Given the knowledge we have gained, do you think it is possible to master the art of flying a helicopter without tuition.
Yes, but it may cost a lot in broken helicopters ....ask Hogg :}

Cheers

Whirls

[fling-wing_1]

Homer Bell (the guru of the Rotorway/Helicycle fraternity) taught himself to fly in one of the early Scorpions he built.

A long tube through the skids and a short tether getting progressively longer as his skills improved did the trick.

So yes it can be done but is not generally recommended and I would imagine even Homer would concur with that sentiment.

He's a great gent to talk with. Look him up on the google or some such and give him a shout. :ok:

[krypton_john]

Ask him. He's often chatting over at Rotorway Owners Group (http://www.rotorwayownersgroup.com)

[Jack Carson]

I was fortunately provided with an opportunity to attend a ceremonial 100th birthday celebration for Mr. Igor Sikorsky in Connecticut on May 25 1989. It was billed as a gathering of pioneers. Most living helicopter pioneers attended from around the world. Among those attending were Frank Piasecki , Alan Bristow, and Marot Treschenko (sp?), the head of the MIL helicopter design bureau. We all toasted our founder with some great vodka, straight from Russia. As Sergei explained, “It was truly a magical evening”. The reason I bring this up is, at the celebration, Sikorsky displayed color movies from the Sikorsky archives, of Igor’s many unsuccessful attempts at flying the VS-300 during development. What most of us are use to seeing is videos of the near final product. It was truly a trial and error process. To develop a flying machine and to teach oneself to fly it is truly a chapter from the Right Stuff. I would recommend a pay as you go system, unless you have plenty of disposal cash on hand.:ok:

[SimFlightTest]

If you're serious about learning to fly without actually flying, invest in a high-quality simulator. I've known several peoploe (myself included) that were able to hover a helicopter after spending time only in a simulator. Granted, the amount of time spent in the sim was quite high (sims are our job), but it worked.

Unfortunately, for a private individual the cost may be prohibitive.

[slowrotor]

The simulator can help in learning to hover. But hovering is not that difficult to learn by practicing within a few inches above the ground.

The real problem is learning the transition from high altitude to hover for landing. In this case things can get out of control.

I would get some instruction before going high.

[SimFlightTest]

I would agree with slowrotor. The way the bottom drops out during an approach to hover can catch newcomers off guard. Lucky for me, overtorquing the sim doesn't cost a dime.

[Shawn Coyle]

I know two people who taught themselves how to hover a helicopter. Both still alive and none the worse for the experience. Both learned on Rotorways.
Evidently Rotorway used to produce a book on how to do it (I'd gladly pay for a copy of that if anyone has it!!).
Long involved process, but one of the aforementioned pilots said that after the process he decided to take a lesson in an R-22 and amazed the instructor by being able to hover very accurately within seconds of taking the controls.

[jackx123]

7j40cNKgniA (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7j40cNKgniA)

[bolkow]

I imagine it would be much the same as learning to fly a large radio control helicopter. They begin with hovers and a system attached to the skids to help prevent a hard landing. I also imagine flying a full size that you are actually in, should make it easier after that point.

[dammyneckhurts]

Summer of 1991 in Northern Canada I land in the bush at a Logging Operation and there is a Rotorway Exec sitting in the ditch beside the road.

I ask whats the story on the helicopter and it belonged to one of the heavy equipment operators. Turns out he often flew to work instead of bouncing miles and miles down a bumpy gravel logging road.

He bought a partially built Rororway, finished it off himself and taught himself to fly it. Never had a lesson, never did any emergency training much less an auto....was scared to fly more than a few hundred feet AGL cause it seemed safer.

He had been doing this a few years at that point..