And So It Begins...

Here is the first of my Blogs about my Helicopter Training. 

I have been very fortunate  blessed that my circumstances have changed recently and I have been gifted the fantastic opportunity to pursue my life long dream of flying helicopters. After a close start in 1998 when the Aeronautical Science course I was booked on was cancelled due to lack of students, my path took a change of direction and I ended up boatbuilding, teaching Outdoor Education, volunteering and latterly teaching in the Rescue Industry. Now I'm squeezing into a busy life my helicopter Private pilots License.

 I began my training with my first lesson on Saturday the 29th January 2011.   

The date is a bit behind where I'm at in my training. My excuse is a simple one. I had to get my head into the Helicopter books before working out how to make a blog. So here i am at 10.4 hours worth of flying. the first 1.3 hours I have logged are in fact trial flights which were gifted to me as birthday presents. As I flew during these the time counts towards my total flying time. 

So why am i keeping Track of my flying times?

Well its pretty simple. To get qualified as a Helicopter pilot you have to have a legal minimum of 45 hours flying. it doesn't stop there though as there are a few theory exams to sit and an Airman's Medical that has to be passed before you can be let loose ripping up the sky. All of this takes a fair amount of time flying, studying, staying fit and getting to grips with the fundamental fact that helicopters are inherently unstable aircraft that take a lot of skill to fly well. at this stage I'm happy just to get it moving never mind with any skill or merit. That comes with time.

I'm doing my PPL(H) training with a local firm called Bournemouth Helicopters, a very well established flight training centre with a team of very experienced and skilled Instructors and great team of support staff. the aircraft I'm flying at this stage is a Schwietzer 300 CBi. A light Two seater helicopter designed for the American Military to train helicopter pilots. They are built like Landrovers and very capable craft. A fantastic training platform.  

 So for now enjoy the first recordings of my training posted on YouTube. The first two clips were filmed on Sunday 27th February on my second flight of the day. The morning flight had been fraught with intermittent showers and low clouds which progressively got worse as the day pushed on.  By the grace of God alone the sun parted just long enough for me to get these clips before opening the heavens and dumping an ocean on Dorset. The flight shows skills advancements from hovering into transitional flight. this is a tricky process as the aircraft is being affected by a multitude of changes in pitch, yaw, altitude, speed and attitude to name but a few. Any actions to correct any one of these makes a slight change to all the others and so it begins, the constant adjustments to prevent the Helicopter making friends with the ground. 

The videos have notes throughout to help explain what is going on. 

Part1

Part 2