On Wed, 5 Mar 2008 03:34:16 -0500, "Eisboch" wrote:


"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
.. .
On Tue, 4 Mar 2008 21:14:11 -0500, "Eisboch" wrote:


So I started helicopter flight lessons. Always wanted to learn how to
fly a helicopter properly - I had some 'copter time, but nothing
formal.

Now I'm looking at buying a 'copter instead of a car. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-crY07TXhVI

Found a used one with really low hours.

An R22 is good, but an R44 is better. Make sure you investigate the status
of the rotors. There was a problem with some of the R22 composite rotors
that resulted in them being officially grounded until the rotors were
replaced. This was 2 or 3 years ago.

The guy we bought one of the Florida houses from had an R22 and he took me
up a few times. I didn't know it at the time, but he was still a student
pilot .... had not completed his flight school or received his ticket yet
and was not supposed to be carrying passengers .... but it was cool. His
R22 was grounded due to the rotor issue and he ended up selling it.

The CFI went over the 'copter with me and mentioned that and one other
issue they had with the tail rotor, but apparently after the two
fixes, there has been nothing since. Pretty solid aircraft.

Good luck with the lessons and chopper purchase if you decide to go for it.
(Damn, now I have the itch to go rent a Cessna).

I haven't flown fixed wing in a long time. I seem to have an affinity
for flying 'copters for some odd reason - they suit me.

It's a blast in any case. To tell you the absolute truth, I'm a
little big for the R22 and was thinking of the R44, but this might be
a good incentive to drop 50 pounds. :)

I love the R22 - I could land it in the back yard easily - I could
land it on your driveway without any problems. :)

The only thing I can't quite justify is purchasing one outright. I
might take an hour share in one for a couple of years until I get a
feel for whether it makes sense to own one or not.