Reply to: Anyone thought about learning to fly?

[foritisme]

My friend Mohammed was learning to fly, his instructor told him he wasn't ready to go solo, but he insisted. The last I heard he had an accident in New Yoork.

[bogeyman]

A word to the wise, take what Threaded spouts with a large pinch of Sodium Chloride as every time he opens his mouth there's definitely a smell of bovine origin to be detected...

Slightly colour blind, I can only fly VFR - Got a nice note printed on my medical card.

Ah ha! Gotcha meaning old puppy!

[Churchill]

Oh gawd! So many pilots on this forum!

Why aren't you lot working in commercial avaition then?

Much more fun, more money, more glamour!

I can't fly a paper plane but my mate up the road tells me it's the thing to do (he flys freight for DHL). Too late for me, but if I was starting again I'd seriously consider flying (fixed-wing or chops) as a career.

Even when you retire, you can make a good living doing tourist flights etc.

A word to the wise, take what Threaded spouts with a large pinch of Sodium Chloride as every time he opens his mouth there's definitely a smell of bovine origin to be detected...

Slightly colour blind, I can only fly VFR - Got a nice note printed on my medical card.

[bogeyman]

When I were a lad I used to be partial to a Bocean t(hey had to put weights in as I was so small and light), and a Swallow, also a Jantar T. My favourite was the Falke T61A.

Oh gawd! So many pilots on this forum!

Why aren't you lot working in commercial avaition then?

Much more fun, more money, more glamour!

I can't fly a paper plane but my mate up the road tells me it's the thing to do (he flys freight for DHL). Too late for me, but if I was starting again I'd seriously consider flying (fixed-wing or chops) as a career.

Even when you retire, you can make a good living doing tourist flights etc.

[threaded]

When I were a lad I used to be partial to a Bocean t(hey had to put weights in as I was so small and light), and a Swallow, also a Jantar T. My favourite was the Falke T61A.

[Mustang]

Does gliding count?

I took up gliding at Uni and have my Bronze C and some of my Silver. I have flown a number of different types ranging from K8's through to Sport Vegas and Astir's. I did a climb to 12,000 ft at Aboyne in Scotland in wave but it didn't qualify for anything as I was dual. We did mental calcs all the time to check alertness since we didn't have oxygen and side-slipped with full air-brake to decend.

Have considered taking my PPL but no time or money at present. My brother flies for a living so I get my fix with him!

[Churchill]

The favourite "jesus" bolt is the one that makes the tail rotor go round... it can take a remarkably long time before impact under those circumstances... and you're very very dizzy by the time you get to heaven.

Drop the Collective ASAP!!! At altitude and sufficient forward speed, it's manageable. The nightmare scenario is a tail-boom strike when you're hovering over a built-up area.

(It always pays to monitor your CHIP lights - cue Threaded)

Btw, for tail rotor - read anti-torque rotor.

As for NOTAR, nice, quiet(er) more fuel efficient. But you wouldn't want that tail boom to fall off!

[hyperD]

NOTAR (NO TAil Rotor) helps I guess.

[~Craig~]

There are far too many "Jesus" bolts* on helicopters.

(* A "Jesus" bolt is defined by the expostulation made by the pilot when such a bolt comes undone/breaks etc. & the fan falls off).

Or you have just enough time to say 'Jesus' before you hit the ground....

[hyperD]

Churchill, can't remember how much I paid as I was training in several locations due to a demise of one of the flying clubs. Also, it was all private so no vAT reclaim.

Trained in Shetlands (windy), Biggin Hill (foggy). Just checked my log book and did 51 hours of training before GFT. Minimum is 43 hours I think. All on C152 and Pa-28s. I'll hazard a guess at £3500 as it was 1991. Fairoaks is showing an all in package of around £8000 for a PPL nowadays.

I think if you have a PPL(A) and decide to do a PPL(H) then the minimum hours are 35 instead 45 or whatever for a whirly licence. This is reflected by the fact you have passed your RT, Nav, Human Factors exams etc

But flying a helo is totally different from a fixed wings and you certainly don't want your fixed wing "habits" encroaching on your helo training.

I believe learning to fly a helo is more difficult (and expensive) than learning to fly fixed wing. The hover is akin to rubbing your stomach clockwise and rubbing the top of your head anticlockwise and changing directions with ease.

Hopefully it's easier to do in real life than in MS Flight Sim 2005...

[Churchill]

How many fixed wing hours do you need before learning to fly helicopters?

None, zero, zilch.

The only advantage that you *may* have is that you've passed your RT, and done all the Trevor Thom stuff before so you can concentrate on the flying.

Hyper, your thoughts?

[Churchill]

I took one lesson.

Couldn't work out why couldn't go faster then 125mph.

What in?

BTW... 249.10 mph is the current Chopper record - In a Lynx - The theoretical max in a helicopter is 250mph...

[OrangeHopper]

I took one lesson.

Couldn't work out why couldn't go faster then 125mph.

[Churchill]

There are far too many "Jesus" bolts* on helicopters.

(* A "Jesus" bolt is defined by the expostulation made by the pilot when such a bolt comes undone/breaks etc. & the fan falls off).

Yup, an aeroplane has a jesus bolt whereas a helicopter is built from them.

Loadsa twirly bits.

Also reflected in the cost of training. Hyper, how much did you pay in total for your single engine PPL? I paid £13k(in 1998) but claimed the VAT as I managed to sign on to the NVQ route.

Where can I put a piccy?

[Lucifer Box]

I put in a couple of hours on the ZX81 flight simulator - does that count?