On Sat, 25 Jan 2014 11:38:16 -0500, Hank wrote:

On 1/25/2014 10:39 AM, Poco Loco wrote:
On Sat, 25 Jan 2014 09:23:27 -0500, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 1/25/2014 8:46 AM, Poco Loco wrote:

On Sat, 25 Jan 2014 04:47:27 -0500, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 1/24/2014 10:52 PM, Wayne.B wrote:
On Fri, 24 Jan 2014 21:12:40 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

I flew a few times with a guy in Florida who had an R-22 until I found
out he was still a student pilot and had not received his full ticket
yet. Another guy in the community we lived in had the bigger, Robinson
R-44 (four seater). He was ex-military and one hell of a chopper pilot.
I took a couple of lessons with him but really didn't like helicopters.
At the time my fixed wing ticket was still valid and I much preferred
flying a Cessna 172.

===

I'd be interested in knowing why you didn't like helicopters. Didn't
know about the R-22 until a few minutes ago and thought it looked
pretty cool. Would it be safe to fly one to the Bahamas?


When I took some instruction in helicopters I was still a fairly new
fixed wing pilot, having received my ticket in 1998. I didn't have a
lot of hours in fixed wing (still don't) and the helicopters were
totally different animals to me. Furthermore, I don't think I was ever
a "natural" pilot if there is such a thing. My flight instructors
always commented that technical types (engineers) like me were often
difficult to teach because we tend to analyze everything too much,
flying "by the book". A helicopter is much more fussy about pilot
inputs and I think requires more of a "natural" feel for the aircraft,
IMO. Plus, I remember the R-22 had very touchy controls, even when
compared to the R-44 which I also flew a few times.

As far as flying to the Bahamas, I wouldn't try it in a R-22 although
maybe some people do. I don't know enough about it. Even in fixed wing
aircraft I rarely flew over water for long because I always wanted the
option of an emergency landing spot somewhere. I know the R-22 doesn't
carry a lot of fuel and I think it's range is about 220 miles or
something like that. It could probably "make it" in good weather but
without much fuel in reserve. Depends on the load it's carrying also.
When I was flying with the guy in Florida the two of us in the R-22 were
technically overloaded but it performed fine.

I think the key words in your question was "Would it be safe ....?"
I never really felt safe with my hands on the bar and feet on the pedals
in a helicopter. :-)

I also took a couple of flight lessons in a different type of helicopter
up here in MA to see if I got more comfortable with it. I didn't. It's
hard for some who learned to fly fixed wing to make the transition to
helicopters.

For me, learning to fly had been a lifelong dream and goal but once
accomplished I realized that I felt much more at home and safer on a boat.

I'm glad I didn't read that before I went to Vietnam!


In avionics, "attitude" is the aircraft's three dimensional position
relative to the earth or horizon.

Properly trimmed and setup an aircraft like a Cessna 172 is inherently
very safe and easy to fly. It naturally wants to assume a straight and
level flight attitude. It takes pilot influence to put it into an
unusual attitude. For example, by it's design it's difficult to put it
into a spin. To me that's the big difference I found in fixed wing
aircraft that I flew and helicopters. It took some pilot effort and
influence to induce an unusual attitude in a fixed wing Cessna. In a
helicopter it took constant pilot effort and attention just to
*maintain" normal attitude. At least it did for me.


Hell, there's a big difference in flying model helicopters and model fixed wings. I think the fixed
wings would be much easier. Luckily this little thing I've got seems fairly indestructible. It's
bounced off ceilings, light fixtures, walls, floors, chairs, etc, but still flies.

This is the model I'm considering. Looks quite like the Cessna 172. It also has the 'SAFE'
technology for an amateur like me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLXuKJesAHLN9sevzQ1naPPO4Ly9FdJj6w&v=tH _fds9EJqY&feature=player_detailpage


My v911 fractured a blade and spit out a ball link last night after a
series of crashes. I'm grounded unless I can find that ball link.

These? Lost inside or out? If I lose something small inside I'll grab a flashlight. Always helps.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/170900050532?lpid=82

Maybe you could get the guy to overnight it.