Helmets and boots
 

KNIEVEL77
have seen your posts on this thread and the "Yarra" thread, would like to add my 2 bobs worth. I'm not a driver but one of those who are either in the left hand seat or in the back and have been unfortunate enough to have been in an accident and these days, I can say is I'm an advocate of helmets and any form of safety equipment available. One reason I survived, was my trusty Alpha helmet, as I head butted the internal winch before going out the door still attached by wander lead. Without the helmet I would have been dead within the first seconds of impact. These day I'll be the one in nomex, boots, gloves, helmet and any form of restraint, preferably a seat belt. Let em have a giggle at you, but you may the one that is still breathing and able to go out and do it all again another day.

LHS

Nomex & Helmet?
 

I'm just a low hours PPL(H) but I agree wholeheartedly with Whirls. It's a case of horses for courses. The boys (& girls) who do the most risky stuff and live in the avoid curve :cool: need to wear nomex, gloves, helmet etc but for most of us we are far more likely to be 'broken' in a car crash than driving helo's.

FWIW avoid man made fabrics (have you even melted a nylon boiler suit onto yourself :\) and just wear comfortable clothes.

I agree with kiwi chick though that after an hour of hovering practice in the early stages you'll be drenched in sweat - even in "frozen" Newcastle.

Whatever you wear - go fly and never look back, There's nothing like it!

Ian.

Thanks everyone for all of your advice, maybe I will consult the flying school its self and see what they think.

Certainly wearing a nomex flying suit doesn't seem to be any different to wearing a pair of combat trousers and an 'army' shirt except that its joined in the middle so if its going to protect me then why not and Robinson Helicopters supply their own at a very reasonable price!


Many thanks again.

hours helmets and suits
 

Hello KNIEVEL77

your getting lots of good advice - have a bit more

hours - I took about 90 odd hours - this included time that I did not actually need to do ie mountain flying and jollies in a r44 to places such as Goodwood festival of speed, Sandown etc - I treated the learning process as something to enjoy and spent far more than I had ever thought I would - probably 20 hours extra.
(I probably was a poor student as well)
If you have limited funds ensure that you know what the next lesson will cover and review your books and any comments given by your instructors so that you will get the full value from the lesson.
If anyone is learning in a 44 see if you can sit in the back - you can learn alot from someone elses mistakes and it is cheaper.

helmets - I don't wear one but should, been in a fixed wing crash and split my head open - upside down in a full harness bleeding is not fun and it is even worse when the man who rescues you helps you to fall into a ditch full of nettles on the way to the ambulance !

Suits - never worn one and probably never will - I would never take the piss out of anyone who did as it is an individuals decision and I do not think the guinea pig club is taking on new members, I do not know of anyone where I trained who does, although they all stick to sensible clothes and shoes / boots.

My final advice is to use different instuctors, they all have a different approach and you can learn more

regards

Richard

"So i decided to gather the licence money together and buy my own chopper"

Amen to that... so did I.
If you can afford it this really represents the best convenience you can buy.
Especially if you have a large shed to keep it in and a big back garden.;)
Training has to be done at a licensed airfield though through a licensed school.

SB

Ok chaps, yet more good advice but do you reckon that it really is too much money to spend (bearing in mind that it now seems that I may need double the hours i've actually catered for) on a PPL(H) when I really don't have a plan when I pass other than just taking a helicopter out for the odd day for the fun off it?

Or is it worth every penny non matter what the cost!

Lost again, that would be one of my first outings when I pass, to fly to the Goodwood Festivalof Speed (one of the best events i've ever been to) and the F1 at Silverstone.

Keep your advice coming and sorry to the original poster for 'hijacking' his thread!

" One of the first thing after I pass is to fly to the Festival and the F1 at Silverstone" !!!!!!!!!!!! :eek:

Crack On !

E.

Efirmovich, not sure I understand your post!!!!

K77: As you say, the costs are huge and they certainly don't stop when you get your licence. If you want to take a craft out for the odd day for the fun of it, especially with passengers, I would budget for 1 hour with an instructor every month as well, ongoing. That's not a lot, minimal I would say.

I understand Efirmovich's post. Flying in and out of Silverstone is incredibly demanding flying.

Cheers

Whirls

Sorry K77, I didn't mean to take the Micky but the thought of a fairly new pilot going into Silverstone on race day was daunting !

Happy flying,

E.

I thought thats what me meant but wasn't totally sure!

Okay then, maybe our local Croft Circuit might have to do!:hmm:

Just one more thing, Rotorheads seems to have quite a few threads regarding helicopter accidents which sort of puts me off going through the training BUT is it just because i'm now looking out for those threads that there seems to be so many of them?

Whenever there is a helicopter accident, it will be discussed here. The vast majority of the pilots here are seasoned professionals and not only want and need to learn (as we all do) from these accidents but some may well have known the pilot.

When you start training, you will be told about the pitfalls and how to avoid them, you will hear some scary stories and some sad stories. There are some pretty unedifying statistics like the average life expectancy of a PPL who flies into cloud is measured in seconds. If you can manage it, a trip to the AAIB in Farnborough is well worth it; very sobering.

Cheers

Whirls

Accidents? Nah - its just like when you're pregnant you suddenly notice pregnant chicks everywhere. :ok:

Nice colloquialism for "Dead Man's Curve" ;)

It seriously really is the most fun you can have fully clothed. Or semi-clothed.

Or I could say... it really is the most fun you can have with a helmet on :E

PS: as an idea on hours (I'm not bragging here, I promise) I did mine in just under 50 hours but I already had a CPL Fixed Wing. And it was bloody hard work at that! So I think 60+ would be a good indication.

You mean more fun than driving my Lotus Exige around a Formula 1 track..........and I do that fully clothed with a helmet on too!

Abso-fricken-lutely I do!

Low level practice, flying down a river on a beaut summer's day?

Or landing on top of a freight container to test your skills? (which is REALLY hard when you have an instructor pissing themselves at your attempts!)

Or doing a "confined" approach and landing at a trampers hut right in the middle of a mountain range beside a crystal clear river, surrounded by nature and snow?

Or getting right on the spot when doing a 180 autorotation?

I can't think of much better :ok:

You mean better than watching Newcastle United win the Champions League.........do you have 'soccer' in NZ?

Well as i've said somewhere else, I don't drink, take drugs, smoke or have a family, although I am addicted to Ebay, other than having my racing car the only other thing I really want to do is fly helicopters!

I just hope funds don't disappear once i'm half way through my training!

Do we have 'soccer' in New Zealand?! :confused:

David Beckham didn't come over here to play Darts ya wally!! ;)

When was that????????

I must have slept through that!!!!!!!

One hundred annnnnnnndddddddd eighty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!;)