i went and flew an R22 today. the helicopter was parked on a trailer,
so the instructor insisted on doing the initial lift-off. 15 seconds
later i was hover-taxi-ing to the base of the tower and the video link
below is me doing a hover with pedal turns and a landing, all within
the first 3 minutes ever of flying a helicopter. i seriously doubt any
pilot could fly this helicopter so well, so soon, without training
before hand. interestingly, the R22 really is a pretty touchy heli at
the cyclic, i was surprised and expected it to be a bit "softer."

thanks to american helicopters in fresno, california for accommodating
my special request for an instructor (Dan) brave enough to let me do
everything all at once!

easy link:
http://www.learntohover.com

link to the video:
http://www.heli-chair.com/videos_pup...er_liftoff.wmv

link to american helicopters where i did my training:
http://www.renthelicopters.com

kas