Ok, wx was on the edge (got a forecast of TS with 30% prob. this afternoon, always waiting for a phone call from my flightschool cancelling todays lesson) but was ok when i arrived at the airfield this evening. I was in time to do some more hover practice (this time with my 3rd FI -not because the other two do not want to instruct me anymore but due to their schedule
- who is actually the chief pilot of the company) but time for the flightschool was almost up for the day (they have a limit at the airfield for hover exercises per company and day) so we decided to do a pattern with normal approach. I took off (making the chopper light on the skids etc.), and i did it slowly not in a rush. I always look at the right skid and was told, it is the most difficult thing to do (maybe some of you can comment on that one?), but if i felt comfortable with it, i should continue to do so.
Arriving at the rwy I was then shown the effect of ETL and up we got with 55-60 knots to 1500 feet. I still have to develop my skill to recognise a nose up attitude of the chopper in time and pushing the cyclic a bit not to loose speed (and not to pull too much after cyclic not to accelerate too much afterwards) because otherwise your flightpath is more like a sinus curve, but ok. We continued the pattern and on downwind we did take a look at the wx in the direction of our practice airfield. Did not look too good so we decided to get back to the hangar to get my door in (left one was already there because of a pleasure flight before, i guess). So another turn and then again left for final to land, full carb heat and descending with 500ft/min, speed back to 60 knots. We came in a bit high and i flared back to 30 knots (do not remember the height from my memory now) and then to a hover IGE at 5 feet. Another thing to get better at: When pulling the pitch i have to remember/learn to push the cylic a bit forward because of the nose up attitude not to loose too much speed too fast and taking a risk of the stinger hitting the ground when you are too low.
Then hovering back to the beginning of the grass rwy and crossing the active, to land near to the flightschool's hangar and my FI put my door in (had the engine at 75%, gov off). Another take off, over to the grass rwy crossing the active and then up we got again. Continued the pattern to our exit point (how do you call that in english? Maybe that's a typical german thing, anyway) and I was told to do a quickstop (which was demontrated in another lessen before). I was a bit too fast to get it back from 75 knots to 30 knots and was told to do the next one a bit slower. Accelerating to 80 knots this time and did a second one. Did not loose or win too much height and was told it went ok. Then a left 360 at 20 deg bank angle (not easy to control height and speed), another one to the right. Up to 2000 feet and then the same again with 30 deg bank angle.
Time flew by and wx got better. We headed back to the airfield and on the way i got a demonstration of a hover OGE at 2000 feet: What a feeling. That is even one more reason to fly a helicopter.
We made the call to the airfield and got in with the same procedures like after the first pattern. Descent planning was better this time and also the flare to a hover afterwards. I got it back to the hangar, put it into the wind and then my FI took controls to position the chopper a bit nearer to the hangar not to have it to move too far when on the ground (they always hangar their helicopters).
We made a detailed debriefing and the point i have to develop most at the moment is my coordination of my feet when taxi-hovering with the pitch because i am oscillating from times with nose going left and right whenever i push or pull the collective and i am not 'in time' with the pedals. Besides from that he was (more or less) fine with what he has seen (always keeping in mind my logged hours so far) and told me, when he began, he had the same probs with his feet but i received a good advice how to work on it (always 'play' a bit with your pedals to see the way the chopper reacts and when).
All in all almost one hour more for my logbook and a nice lesson at the evening with a lot of fun.
Regards,
Ready2Fly