You spin me right round...

... Like a record player right round round round. Not an Indication of a laps in flying ability but more a reference to the skills I did yesterday with my Instructor Richard. After a rubbish flight on the 10th when I last flew with Richard (No fault of his, I was not in a receptive mode) I was keen to let him know his hard work, since the end of January when I started flying, had not gone to hell in a hand cart. To quote Monty Python "..I'm not dead yet...". Once again it was a fantastic day for flying and once again every man, his Donkey and Grandmother were up flying, so I was in full anticipation for a busy afternoon. But by the power of Grey Skull we stayed on the airfield to re visit Advanced Auto Rotations another day and focus on exercise 20 and 21 which takes Transitions and slow stop to hover to the next level of emergency stop from transitional flight using flaring to decrease speed then more 'Sporty' maneuvers much like you see in stunt movies. Well that is what it felt like for myself in the hot seat. It probably looked quite timid from outside the aircraft. The video shows it fairly well. I've tried a new mount for the camera in the form of the suction mount that comes with the Go-Pro Hero HD camera I'm using. It worked a treat. I can hang from my door frame using it so there is no risk of it coming loose even on the curved surface of the canopy. RESULT! After a few runs into wind to get used to transitional flight at low altitude (15 feet) and a slow progressive stop to a hover, we looked at emergency stops using a flare. To achieve this you drop the collective pull the cyclic and push the peddle to keep level, straight and at the same altitude. Quite tricky at my first few attempts with the constant worry about the risk of Vortex Ring developing (See earlier posts for a description). we then progressed onto down wind stops using a 30 degree turn and as you are almost heading back to wind you put in a flare much like the above to stop forward flight. this happens at about 25 foot, therefore a decrease in altitude once stopped is required. Should an engine failure happen at this height it could be 'emotional'. After a few goes I was getting the hang of it to the point we moved on to the next level of Flare, Turn, Flare much like the last maneuver only faster across the ground/through the air, so an initial flare is required to bleed the speed to a more manageable one, then level out prior to the turn and finish with another flare to the stop. Then once again a steady drop to normal hover height at about 4 foot. I was getting a little too comfortable with a couple of them by letting creep in a 40 degree angle of turn. Not intentional but I wasn't to worried about it in the sense of dangers but it was certainly lacking in finesse. All in all a good flight which we finished with some 'fine motor skills'  = more delicate hand eye coordination in the hover. A good way to finnish off the week. Now all I need to do is get my theory knowledge up to the same place my flying ability is at, and fast. I'm in danger of leaving myself behind and taking too long to pass than should be required. I've always been very practical in life and less theoretically directed. mostly as a result of, which I found out in the last couple years, being dyslexic. Thank God for spell checker! Having said that I now have a reason for things in my past but also more knowledge and resources to help myself get through the theory side of the training. Not easy in any shape or form but I am looking forward to the added challenge. So on that note, its off to the books.
Enjoy the video and there will be a few more posts this week after I have my Medical, a few flights and by the look of it a couple of exams. Eeek!