Scares - How did you deal with them?
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Eddie, flight hours - About 55 hours fixed wing, just about go and do the exams when Type1 Diabetes got the better of me in 2004 and I was grounded. After 3 years of trying to prove my status, I was classed as a type 2 diabetic and therfore could go back flying to PPL level. A friend of mine was just about to start heli training, so I went to the school to have a look for myself and was pretty much hooked. So I started at the beginning in Jan 2008 doing my heli training. Over the course of just over 1 year. Jan 08-Feb 09 I have about 50 hours total including the required solo work. Ive passed all my exams and all thats left is to do the skills test and Ive got my PPL(h).
I know that when you ask a question on PPrune, its like playing Russian Roulette, you just never know the opinion/answer you will get. However in my experience in the past, pprune has been invaluable.
4ft and Whirly, Thank you for your input, sharing your experiences and your advice. I have pretty much decided that I will go back and do a few more hours dual and get that missing confidence back then pass my skills test and be proud of my PPL(h). I have pretty much decided that on looking back at it myself, I did the right thing, but I just overdone it a bit.
Guys, thank you so much for your input. It is really appreciated.
I know that when you ask a question on PPrune, its like playing Russian Roulette, you just never know the opinion/answer you will get. However in my experience in the past, pprune has been invaluable.
4ft and Whirly, Thank you for your input, sharing your experiences and your advice. I have pretty much decided that I will go back and do a few more hours dual and get that missing confidence back then pass my skills test and be proud of my PPL(h). I have pretty much decided that on looking back at it myself, I did the right thing, but I just overdone it a bit.
Guys, thank you so much for your input. It is really appreciated.
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Good on you airbourne
pprune offers alot of experience from those who have gone before you
and everyone has made (and still makes) mistakes !!
It is how we learn---by making mistakes, the trick is to learn from them
and doing them with an instructor can help you identify where you have gone wrong.
an old expression comes to mind
That which does not kill us, makes us stronger
regards
Pv
pprune offers alot of experience from those who have gone before you
and everyone has made (and still makes) mistakes !!
It is how we learn---by making mistakes, the trick is to learn from them
and doing them with an instructor can help you identify where you have gone wrong.
an old expression comes to mind
That which does not kill us, makes us stronger
regards
Pv
Join Date: Nov 2007
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I've had a few "interesting" times in a helicopter in my 170-odd hours. It's not alot by any stretch of the imagination, but I've managed to have an engine failure at a hover and I got into LTE once. The engine failure was no big deal. It was over before I knew what happened, really. Slight yaw, erratic RPM's, throttle chop, shut down, grab the next helicopter down the line. That was bad fuel.
LTE... well, that was my own dumb*** fault. Scared the crap out of me. Recovered, landed, smoked about five cigarettes in a row, called up my instructor (I was solo) told him to come get the *&^$-ing helicopter and fly it back. We had a few beers once I stopped shaking, and I got back in it the next day.
The absolute worst thing you can do after an interesting moment is to walk away and stop flying for any amount of time. It gives you too much chance to over-think what could have been, etc. Analyze what happened, identify your mistakes, don't repeat them. Most importantly, get back in the helicopter ASAP. If you don't bend anything, and you don't kill anyone or scare em too badly, I don't see a problem, honestly. This is in the training environment, mind you. Out in the real world, I'm sure you'd have hell to pay, but that's why you should try to make sure you screw up alot as a student, and rarely as a professional pilot.
I've also had two cessnas and a navy trainer try and fly into me. Not really much you can do at times, but never quit flying the helicopter. Ever.
LTE... well, that was my own dumb*** fault. Scared the crap out of me. Recovered, landed, smoked about five cigarettes in a row, called up my instructor (I was solo) told him to come get the *&^$-ing helicopter and fly it back. We had a few beers once I stopped shaking, and I got back in it the next day.
The absolute worst thing you can do after an interesting moment is to walk away and stop flying for any amount of time. It gives you too much chance to over-think what could have been, etc. Analyze what happened, identify your mistakes, don't repeat them. Most importantly, get back in the helicopter ASAP. If you don't bend anything, and you don't kill anyone or scare em too badly, I don't see a problem, honestly. This is in the training environment, mind you. Out in the real world, I'm sure you'd have hell to pay, but that's why you should try to make sure you screw up alot as a student, and rarely as a professional pilot.
I've also had two cessnas and a navy trainer try and fly into me. Not really much you can do at times, but never quit flying the helicopter. Ever.
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Small update. Went back, did loads more dual, then loads more solo. Confidence returned and then FINALLY......got my PPL(h) on Thursday of this week! I am a happy happy man! Oh, I am also broke now!
Hey Congratulations airbourne,
Well done!!!!
Another thing never forgotten, like your first solo.
Good luck with the rest of your flying.
Regards,
BH.
(Witha a CPL(H) somewhere around the place.)
Well done!!!!
Another thing never forgotten, like your first solo.
Good luck with the rest of your flying.
Regards,
BH.
(Witha a CPL(H) somewhere around the place.)
Last edited by Bullethead; 10th Apr 2010 at 08:27.
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A story was told to me by one of my first flight instructors. During WWII he was instructing on Tiger Moths - did a dual spinning trip with one of his students and sent him off for the solo spinning sortie. But the instructor's next trip was at the same time, so he went to the area where the solo spinning student was practicing. And watched the solo student get in to a spin and not recover. Fortunately, the Tiger Moth had a relatively flat portion to the spin, and that's where it hit the ground. He saw the student get out of the wreckage and promptly went and landed next to the student, kicked his own student out and took the original student back up to do more spinning. He maintained that if he hadn't done that, the student wouldn't have ever flown again...
You could that sort of thing in those days.
You could that sort of thing in those days.
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Congratulations, both on your PPL and your willingness to learn from your mistakes and asking others about them.
I learned a lot from asking questions and listening to my "elders" and reading stories like "I learned about flying from that" etc.
The only stupid question is the one you did not dare ask. That is not to say you won't get many stupid answers, though..
Important is to prepare yourself by using "what if.." scenarios and thinking them through with the benefit of your knowledge, experience and that of others who may have "been there, done that, changed the underwear.."
Happy landings
I learned a lot from asking questions and listening to my "elders" and reading stories like "I learned about flying from that" etc.
The only stupid question is the one you did not dare ask. That is not to say you won't get many stupid answers, though..
Important is to prepare yourself by using "what if.." scenarios and thinking them through with the benefit of your knowledge, experience and that of others who may have "been there, done that, changed the underwear.."
Happy landings
Purveyor of Egg Liqueur to Lucifer
Was going to post a bit more, but then realised the dates. 
Jeez airbourne, some skills test that must have been
Congratulations, and remember that every day is a learning day, even for the old scrotes amongst us here.
Jeez airbourne, some skills test that must have been
Congratulations, and remember that every day is a learning day, even for the old scrotes amongst us here.
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Reminds me of when I was a student (about 20 hours in) taxing across the airfield a gust caught us and I was really struggling with (over) control quite close to the "plank" parking area. I said "you have control" my instructor said "f_ck off you are in control".
I sorted it.
In the debrief my instructor said "you are easly good enough to fly in those conditions, you didn't need me you just thought you did and one day you won't have the luxury of an instructor, when flying your 1st line of defence must always be self reliance".
I was always so much more self reliant after that, to the extent that on my skills test I was asked to land in a confined area. After surveying it I refused, citing a combination of wind direction, tightness of site and lack of exit route. I was congratulated on my decision but assured we could have landed there (went back later with instructor to prove it !!!). I passed.
I sorted it.
In the debrief my instructor said "you are easly good enough to fly in those conditions, you didn't need me you just thought you did and one day you won't have the luxury of an instructor, when flying your 1st line of defence must always be self reliance".
I was always so much more self reliant after that, to the extent that on my skills test I was asked to land in a confined area. After surveying it I refused, citing a combination of wind direction, tightness of site and lack of exit route. I was congratulated on my decision but assured we could have landed there (went back later with instructor to prove it !!!). I passed.
