B407 Familiarization flight
As a warm up for the Bell Academy 407 Initial course in a few weeks, I elected to do a local familiariztion flight prior to heading for TX. The folks at Bell were kind enough to send the training manual in advance, and after spending a few evenings reviewing this, I did 2 hours of dual with a local 135 operator/instructor, covering an abbreviated systems review, FADEC basics (normal & emergency), starting procedure (auto mode only), pick ups/set downs, hovering, hover autos, normal and max performance takeoffs, normal and steep approaches, high speed cruise, confined areas, straight-in autos to power recovery, approach and landing with failed hydraulics, and shutdown procedure. Most of this was more straight forward than I anticipated. (But, I am by no means the master of any of this yet, just wanting not to look dumb in Dallas!) Biggest surprise was the control forces with hydraulics out - like they were welded in place. (I have no prior time in acft with boosted controls, so this is probably old news to most here.)
Overall, quite a machine, and with huge performance reserves, smooth, and quiet. A few disappointments: a bit cramped for a 6'1" pilot, and downward visibility somewhat limited by the panel. But then, love allows one to overlook flaws!
EN48
Last edited by EN48; 10th Jan 2008 at 01:24.