Which book?
 

Guys, I'm an ATPL f/w about to embark upon a PPL(H). Which text book...Pooleys or Wagtendonk? Or neither? Or both?

Anyone got one they are getting shot of?

David

I don't know about Pooleys, but I too am an ATPL(A) doing my PPL(H). I bought Wagtendonk, and read it cover to cover once. The weather was bad one day a month later, so I thought what the hell, I'll try the exams. I passed them both, so the book must have been adequate.

The only thing I will say about the book is that the author clearly does not know what the coriolis effect is. He seems to think it is another name for the conservation of angular momentum.

Which is better? A blond or a brunette?
 

Depends on what you want it for. To pass an exam or to fly a helicopter with insight and skill? Dont know about Pooley's, but I'd rate Wagtendonk high on the theory side, and Coyle (Cyclic and Collective) high on the applied side. There are many others which I have found useful as well. A recent thread solicited recommendations on books on helicopter aerodynamics - you might search for this for a number of useful books. In the event of a fire in which I could save just one of my helicopter books, it would be Coyle. I recently made the transition from plank to helo, and Coyle's book took some of the mystery out of it. Highly experienced helo pilots might consider Cyclic & Collective too elementary, but as someone relatively new to helicopters, I found it a goldmine of practical info that might have taken many years to discover from first hand experience.

That being said, you wpould probably do well to own a shelf of helo books, as no single one does it all well.

Don't bother with the Pooley's - it's riddled with mistakes. :=

One word of caution though. Depends on which side of the Atlantic you are taking the test. There are quite a few differences in terminology (eg:Tail Rotor Drift vs Transalating Tendency; Ng,Nf vs N1 and N2 etc). That might be a little confusing to the beginner. But if you grasp the concept and have an instructor explain the similarities--- piece of cake.
I would recommend Shawn Coyle's book too. I use it as a refresher a lot and it is very easy reading.
I have tried Ray Prouty too :eek:. NOT recommended for the beginners or the faint of heart and short attention span.
Alt3

If you want something that specifically covers the (UK) PPL(H) syllabus, check out Phil Croucher's PPL(H) book - I forget exactly what it's called, but I believe Transair stock it. Or you could PM him directly and ask (he posts here as Paco).

If you struggle with Wagtendonk a bit, try Principles of Helicopter Flight by Jean-Pierre Harrison. It's a bit hard to find, as I believe it's out of print, but it's far more readable than Wagtendonk, and covers some stuff that he doesn't.

Books
 

For the UK i found Wagtendonk quite sufficient for the PPL(H)
For the ATPL(H) P of F(H)exam Shawn Coyle's Cyclic and Collective together with Wagtendonk were quite sufficient for me to get 93%.

I would recommend them both , I personally don't think a great deal of the Pooleys book.

Chester:ok:

Thanks guys. Indeed, paco has PMd me.

As for Blondes and Brunettes, well, I once met these sisters downroute ...:mad:


david

edited ps...

The paco book seems to cover everything, i.e. too much. I dont really want to pay to read HPF, Nav, Met etc. My light aero stuff is up to snuff as an instructor. I really want the dynamics. I have looked for the cyclic and collective and it's not available on Amazon, surprisingly. It is available from the states but that seems a long way to send a book. I'll keep scouring the UK shores for a copy. Thanks again.

whyisitsohard,

I've got the Pooley's book.......it's a bit difficult to read for a trainee.

As for the other 2 books, you can get them both from www.flightstore.co.uk......Cyclic and Collective by Shaun Coyle for £24.95 and Principles of Helicopter Flight by W.J. Wagtendonk for £11.99.

After reading the posts on this thread I may have to invest in both of them too!

I think Pacos book is worth having just for the bits that you don't know about, yes it has some stuff that some of us aren't interested in but the PofF stuff is good, I can't remember if there is any peformance stuff in his PPL one but that is woth having the Professional book for as a reference.

Shawns book is excellent, but a bit too much for the newbie student. I read it when learning and didn't understand half of it, now I find it an invaluable reference when teaching or revising.

You are bound to find some bits that you don't understand or disagree with, the good thing is that you can always email these guys and I'd bet that if its wrong it gets changed in the next edition. The same cannot be said for some of the older texts produce by some national authorities which are quoted as Gospel and still wrong.

But you will have the advantage of the author as a regular contributor here on this website, under his own name.

This one by John Fay is pretty good too:

AbeBooks: Search Results - the helicopter and how it flies

VeeAny:
I'd appreciate knowing which bits of the book you found difficult - always looking for improvements.
Any others who have suggestions also welcome to pm me.

How deep do you want?

"Rotary-Wing Aerodynamics" by Stepnieweski & Keys

ISBN 0-486-64647-5

if you can find a copy, as it's been out of print for years, Jean-Pierre Harrison's Principles of Helicopter Flight is about the best basic one I have read. PM me for an alternative source for Shawn's book.

Phil

Shy,

Don't feel bad....I have heard Shawn did not understand half of it when he was writing it!:oh:

SASless, I don't feel bad - I haven't read it, I was quoting someone else :p

Shame that Jean-Pierre Harrison book is out of print! If anyone know where I can get a copy i'd be grateful of the info please!

Whatever happened to the "Blue Book" that Sikorsky put out.....kinda thin....not more than about a hundred pages....and written so even US Marines could understand it. I found it to be a very good explanation for concepts we all need to understand.

Perhaps Nick has one stashed away with the cover cut off it as it might be considered enemy propaganda by his new Bosses.

The FAA Rotorcraft Flying Handbook is worthwhile too, regardless which continent you learn to fly in.