I had a trial lesson today!

I had an hour introductory lesson in an R22 today and loved every minute of
it. I've flown r/c helis and simulators for years so I was expecting to
have a lot of control familiarity, but I wasn't expecting it to be so
exhausting! The instructor introduced the controls to me one at a time and
I flew for most of the hour by cyclic alone, returning to the field every
quarter of an hour to give me another control to handle in the hover. After
45 minutes I was sat there 6 feet off the floor with all three controls
holding a messy hover. I was very surprised by just how sensitive the R22
is. I barely had to flex any leg muscle at all to move the nose and cyclic
inputs were barely perceivable. I started to loose it after about a minute
in my "hover" and suggested the instructor might like control back. "No,
you can get it back" was the reply and I did, albeit with a little more
over-control, oscillation and wobbles. After that I got to rest my aching
hands (no matter how many times I tell myself to loosen my grip and relax,
two minutes later I was pumped up gripping for life again!) and he showed me
what he could do: backwards figure-8s at about 30 kts, plus a 2000ft auto
with a 720 degree turn in for good measure. Exhilarating!!!

Si

"The OTHER Kevin in San Diego" skiddz "AT" adelphia "DOT" net wrote in
message ...

Your hovering sounds a lot like my 1st go at it. White knuckle grip,
overcontrolling, the taste of cheap upholstery in the back of your
throat. Still a great kick in the ass!

Yeah, it sure was exhilarating! I kept having to remind myself that with
practice it will all get a lot easier! It only served to strengthen my
enthusiasm for learning professionally, putting career viability concerns to
the back of my mind. The CPL(H) might just be something I have to do as a
life experience, and screw the future!

Si