Originally Posted by Gas Producer
I once had a Qantas captain turn up at the school in which I was instructing and tell me he would like to experience hovering a helicopter.
I explained to him we normally like to do a bit upstairs first before getting close to the ground. He told me he had spent a lot of time flying model helicopters and understanding the principles and aerodynamics of rotary flight.
So, I yielded. First pedals, then collective, then cyclic then all together. From the point where I first gave him control of the pedals only to the point where he had full control of the machine was probably no more than 15 minutes, and his hover was rock solid.
Would this Quantas pilot have thinning hair, be/was blond and slightly portly...not shy and retiring in the slightest...if so it sounds like someone I know and has, in fact, about 5000 chopper hours. Initials wouldn't be BL by chance?
NC43