Originally Posted by
Ascend Charlie
Remember that an aeroplane is dynamically stable, and wants to fly. A helicopter is dynamically unstable, and wants to crash.
I think helicopter pilots like to perpetuate the idea that helicopters are really difficult to fly. Some years ago I was offered the chance to fly a Bell 47 from the right seat. I knew the owner and he knew I had recent time in airplanes and gliders. I had only been in a helicopter once before and that was in the passenger cabin with no view of the pilot or the controls. I made the first takeoff without any demo. With only about 30 minutes on the controls I performed takeoff, hover, hover turns, departure climb, approach to hover, and landing all with no intervention from the owner. The only part I remember being at all difficult was keeping the rpm in the power band since the required coupling of collective and throttle had no equivalent in my previous flight experience. It didn't take long to get the feel of that.