Going solo

[kiwi chick]

You started flying and soloed in a Turbine?????!!

[Tangoromeo]

First Solo

The big surprise for my first solo , (in an R22), was the amount I had to move the cyclic left and slightly forward to centre the C of G once my beefy instructor had removed himself! It was a lot more left than I had predicted beforehand! 'HMM,' I thought, 'so-and so does enjoy his roast beef!!'

The other thing was the the increase in background noise once in the circuit because one was alone. Every little squeak and whistle became more apparent.

That was St. Paddy's day 1989 at the sadly long gone Doncaster!

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!!

[Impress to inflate]

Solo in 5 hours and loved it. 200lb plus instructor lept out and boy oh boy did it feel different. Just go and enjoy, then pinch yourself when you land.

[dubster]

Kiwichick,
UK military do all training on turbines(AS350) from basic to advanched rotory. I went solo in 13 hrs. best day of my life .

[RINKER]

Enjoy your first solo as they say you can only do it once. I certainly remember mine with fond memories at Sywell 1997, my instructor got out after asking for the first time if I felt ready for first solo.I said I was quite happy and I was quiet happy and emotional at the same time as I trasitioned away, remember looking at the empty seat too ! and how much power the R22 suddenly had.The last thing he said before he got out ? " remember it's a big airfield don't feel you have to land too close to me when you land ! " got my own back I purposley landed VERY far from him.He did see the funny side.
R

[spencer17]

@ KiwiChick: That's the advantage of military training

Spencer17

[Heliplates]

Thanks for all the storys so far did'nt expect so much response, I find it hard to believe some one could go solo in 5 hours in such a complex machine though.

Thanks
Heliplates.

[Whirlygig]

Those who solo in 5 hours or less probably a) have a fixed wing licence or b) come from a a military training background where, if you can't hover within the hour, you're chopped!

Don't be disheartened by it at all; they're proably over-compensating!

Cheers

Whirls

[outofwhack]

you forgot c

c) Learnt to fly radio controlled model helicopters first

[IFMU]

Originally Posted by outofwhack

c) Learnt to fly radio controlled model helicopters first

Actually, I recommend doing it the other way around. Much easier to learn to hover in the machine than out of it. Hovering/flying an R/C is everything that hovering a real machine is, plus the additional skill of flying by remote reference. I learned to hover r/c in about 3 tanks of gas, some guys never learn. Of course, the penalty for screwing up is less, assuming you don't get yourself.

-- IFMU

[kiwi chick]

Those who solo in 5 hours or less probably a) have a fixed wing licence or

Dead right, Whirls. I was about to comment about that - I had about 350 (?) hours fixed wing time - and even then I totally crapped myself, lol!

(but I promise I'm not overcompensating, I don't have a small willy!)


PS: u military guys - I'm SOOOOO jealous!!! Lucky things

[John Eacott]

Originally Posted by kiwichick

You started flying and soloed in a Turbine?????!!

One of our local pilots was the beneficiary of some local tax/training requirements, working for a large company who had to spend $$ on training or face a tax penalty.

He got to do his complete training (PPL, CPL, IR) through to QHI on an Agusta A109C For the autorotation part of the syllabus, CASA required him to get into a single, poor chap

[Impress to inflate]

Whirls, no fixed wing licence for me, I would rather chop my old boy off than fly a plank and not ex mil either.

[VfrpilotPB/2]

First Solo 10 hours at EGNH bril Wx and 15 knt wind from the west, felt like I could imagine winning the lottery, didnt stop smiling for days.

Peter R-B
Vfr

[Whirlybird]

The number of hours to solo probably says at least as much about the type of helicopter, the instructor, and the school, as it does about the student. R22s are incredibly twitchy and people take a long time to learn to fly them...but after that they can convert to any other type easily. However, this means time to solo tends to be longer than with other types. In the USA, I believe you're not allowed to solo an R22 with less than 20 hours on type, and some flying schools elsewhere have decided on that too. Also, some instructors/schools are happy to send you solo when you can just about totter round the circuit and hover, while others want to make sure you can do engine-off landings safely, and handle other emergencies. Then there's the weather, how busy the airfield is, availability of instructors and machines etc etc. This means that some people do most of the course before going solo. I did, and it meant I kept getting sent out afterwards to make up my solo hours, being told by my instructor, "Go where you like, but fly slowly as you need the hours!"

But whatever you do, please don't get hung up on hours to first solo; it'll make your flying training very miserable when it should be great fun

[Thomas coupling]

Whirly - far too many posts!! Hope all is well with your activities re: 007.

I have never flown a piston helo! I'm so proud of that!

30yrs later and 7000hrs - my first solo is always my fondest memory.

Let's see now: The average price for a single turbine (per hour) is what: £150. A twin: £400. Average say £300. [Forgetting the big heavies].
That makes Just over 2 million pounds spent.
290 days continual flying.
200lts/hr fuel used = 1.5 million ltrs kerosene.
100kts average = 700,000Nm covered = 30 times round the world.

Not bad considering all that was for FREE

[scruggs]

TC - Rub it in why don't ya

S

[Ms Squirrel]

I am learning in an AS350 and did my first solo at 30 hours. This involved going into a hover for about a minute or so and then landing. I find the aircraft tricky to land so this was probably the most hair raising moment for me thinking that I was never going to be able to come down again (!) Coupled with this I was terrified of being alone, but this has got alot better as I was told it would. I felt the difference in weight quite substantially at first, even though we have alot of weights in the aircraft to try to couteract this. Have now completed just over 4 hours in the circuit and looking forward(!) to the first time outside.

I am very fortunate to have an excellent Instructor who never pushes me beyond what I believe to be my personal limits, that has been essential for my progress.

[Bullethead]

Although your flying career has only one 'first solo' which you never forget there are several other significant equivalent 'first solo' flights along the way.

My first 'first solo' was in a PA28 Cherokee on 30Nov1973 at Bankstown near Sydney. Next was first solo in a Winjeel after I joined the RAAF, then first solo in a Macchi MB326 jet trainer followed by first solo during my helicopter course in a UH1H Iroquois. All these took place in a single place aircraft, though on the helo flight we all had a course mate come along for the ride. Brave man.

All the other types I've flown have been multi-crew aircraft but your first trip in command in them is always a memorable event and a lot more involved than a lap around the circuit. For example my first command trip in a Herc was a multi sector day with eight hours of flying, some at night and several instrument approaches.

Later in my airforce career my first command trip in a B707 was a multi-sector trip over a week, up through the tropics, to Butterworth in Malaysia. The first day of which was like a sim ride from hell with all manner of things going wrong and resulting in a one engine INOP landing in Butterworth.

The next first solo wasn't until years later after I'd left the RAAF and joined my present airline and, on my first trip in command, was faced with an approach right to m . m . minima in a driving tropical rainstorm, in Cairns, followed on the next sector by another approach right to minima at night in a snowstorm in Narita.

These things you never forget but nothing replaces the feeling of your very first solo flight.

Regards,
BH.

[Sgtfrog]

I remember my right leg twitching around the entire circuit!