Simon Robbins wrote:

I thought about trying a few circuits in FS2004 but decided
I ought not to fly my helicopter sim too soon before trying it again for
real.

A very good idea. If you had a real helicopter setup I would say you
might benefit from practicing step by step procedures but don't confuse
your self.

So, I arrived just before midday as the haze had lifted revealing a
7/8 cloud ceiling at about 1800 ft. The wind was a bit strong, around 20
knots. That'll scupper the hover turns I'm supposed to learn today I
thought! Great, I'll get to practice something easier, consolidate my
learning a bit. No chance! As I was soon informed, the Schwiezer 300 has
no crosswind limitation so we're going for it anyway...


Si, after you get in some good practice you will discover that a
helicopter can fly quite well in some high steady state winds that would
make some uncomfortable in a small fixed wing.

It gets to about 70 degrees and then wham! Jump on that
pedal or you're totally out of control. Then again at about 170 degrees the
tail fin gets caught and wham! again. So a few sloppy left and right 360
degree turns and I was knackered.


It will all come together soon. You will be surprised.

I found myself gripping the cyclic with a
death grip for the first time in my training. I've been really good and
light on the control until now, but every muscle in my body couldn't help
tensing up as I struggled with those turns.

Saltine crackers!! grip the cyclic grip with 2 fingers having a saltine
cracker under both fingers. It will break that death grip problem.



To give me a bit of a break we then headed out away from the field to
practice some autos. After the mental battering hover turns had given me I
actually found normal flight both easy and harder at the same time. I felt
comfortable aiming for direction, altitude and airspeed, but I also had to
consciously remind myself of Attiude, Power, Trim, and Power, Attitude, Trim
for the climbing and descending. I really felt like I needed an easy hour
just practicing the basics! But alas, it was straight into auto practice.

An IP should recognize when a student has gone into overload and should
taper off into some review work for a short while. That your IP is
feeling good about your progress and ability to learn says good things
about your flying.



That's it, another 2.5 hours in the bag, now 8.4 total. Another 2 tomorrow
and then it'll probably be a week before I can fly again because of work
commitments. (Though I've managed to wangle a day at Helitech'05 at Duxford
on company business!) Now to try and relax those knotted muscles with an
exceedingly hot bath!!

Si


It sounds like you are really doing well. It's all worth it you will
see.

--

boB,
SAG 70

U.S. Army Aviation (retired)
Central Texas - 5NM West of Gray Army Airfield (KGRK)