Oops!

It has jus occurred to me in the process of trying to edit some old video files of flying that I have neglected to post about my first flight in the EC120 Calibri.
My Brother-in-law Matthew and his wife Aline were back from Australia for a short spell visiting and had dropped in on their way through from a week in Cornwall with my other Brother-in-law Chris. Matthew has had a passion for flying for a while now and dabbled in the arts of flight simulators and Chris is pretty much up for anything. Aline on the other had was a bit apprehensive, understandable really seeing as I hadn't yet qualified as a pilot. So it would take some good scenery to win her over.
Because I wasn't type rated or qualified I had Chief pilot Gary with me. He introduced himself the the three in the back once they were strapped in. "Hi folks, I' Gary, I'm here because Chris doesn't have a type rating in this aircraft however Chris will be doing the flying." I piped up as I climbed in , " this is probably not a good time to let you all know I've never flown this helicopter before" this was met by nervous laughter. "No, really. I haven't flow this before".... Silence.
We got G-SKPP fired up and then we were off. A wobbly start compared to the Schweitzer as everything was so responsive and tight.
After clearance our route took us south from the airfield to the coast and then left towards Hurst Spit at the western approaches to the Solent. We crossed the narrows and swing round for a couple of orbits over the famous Needles Light house then back along the coast to the west past Sandbanks, and orbit over Old Harry Rocks. From here we mad a shortened route back for a rejoin from the west as some thunder clouds were coming in from the west and had the ability to cut us off if we continued out current track.
As we approached the airfield Gary instructed me to do a low flyby of the offices at Bournemouth Helicopters where Sally and my son Basil were waiting for us. This went down well in the back and gave Sally a fright on the ground. From here we did a tight couple of orbits then we had a quick low level to north of the airfield without telling Matthew Chris or Aline. This could have gone one of two ways. 1- no issues 2- Alina vomiting down my back. Fortunately it resulted in No.1! We finished off with a low pass into a rapid climb and then stall turned and headed back to land at Company.
As we shut down the guys in the back were very happy. Aline said it was really good...apart from the last bit. I think if that had been at the start of the flight she would have asked to get out.
All in all a very enjoyable flight and what an incredible aircraft to fly. All I have to do now is rob a bank, win the lottery or start busking at the local shopping centre to afford the type rating.
If you get the chance to fly other craft if even for only one flight, grab it with both hands and run. It really enriches your flying experience. Not just when flying the other aircraft but also when you back to your rated craft. You see it in a different light and it can help you appreciate the handling characteristics and 'witticisms' of the design.

Right this may well be my last post of the year, he's I know I've been totally rubbish with posts and also posts of any flight academia merit, but I will endeavour to sort it out. I'm changing jobs at the end of January from a full time instructor to being a full time Helmsman (the person in charge of the lifeboat for rescues) on a shift pattern so I'll have some more free time in between shifts.
My game plan is to start studying for my commercial during this job so while studying I'll share the love and any handy tips etc.
If you have anything you want to tell everyone, tips tricks, things to be awair of or just some stories of your experiences flying or training then pop into the Your Say section and type as much or as little as you want.

Safe flying!

Bit dusty...

Just posted another video I found in the archives which I forgot to put on.
You can find it in the Video Hangar titled Flight 23 17.04.11.
 It was a short session  at the end of a training flight where my instructor Richard did some hover skills with me. For fun factor more than anything else I had just been doing Flare turns and emergency stops along with some sloped landings so all very tense, so this was a bit of a wind down.
Ive also put on my last flight which involved some solo time after several flights with passengers.
Some times its nice just to get out there and enjoy the flying on your own without having to do the sight seeing and get down to skills consolodation and getting to grips with your own abilities and limitations in a safe controlled and un pressured way.
The video looks a bit short and un planned in my manouvers however for the sake of getting the video down to the track music time and not to bore the viewer to death watching a whole hours worth of flight, ive edited it to the interesting bits. For example the low level flying was only conducted after four progressively lower circuits looking at the site and ensuring a safe flight and also no people or hazards around.

Size, Shape, Surrounds, Sun, Slope, Surface, Safety, Spectators

I'm sure those training or trained have similar processes prior to low flight and landing procedures.

Music is called 'Winner' by At Dawn We Rage

I'll try my very best to get on top of the missing videos and fit them in where they should be. I'll also get some missing pictures in where they should be too.

More to follow God willing

Safe flying out there!

Helicopter Enthusiast’s Facts...

The Helicopter:  Aircraft Most Likely to Commit Robbery and Extortion.

Every Helicopter Enthusiast, usually in the beginning stages of this crippling disease, wonders why the skies aren’t buzzing with thousands of helicopters flitting to and fro to every roof top in sight.  This confusion decisively retreats the first time a grinning flight school representative points at the part of the brochure showing their “reasonable rates, human organs accepted.”  Reality can be devastating:  helicopters burn bales of money, and not everyone is Bill Gates’ legitimate heir, so not everyone gets to fly helicopters. Yet helicopters are allowed to fly unsupervised, so they must perform some valuable community service that leaves them free to rob helpless helicopter groupies. 

Let’s review the basics.

Helicopters can fly really, really slowly, so slowly that they appear to hover in one spot. This is just an optical illusion. Helicopter Pilots use this trick to convince gullible tourists that they should spend all of their vacation money to sit in them! Most airplanes, on the other hand, can’t do that trick because they’re afraid. Flying slowly is very dangerous for airplanes. What airplanes do well is fly faster and farther than helicopters.

To summarize:

Helicopters – slow

Airplanes – fast.

Now let’s look at the things that are best done slowly.

Because helicopters are able to fly so slowly, they can land in very little space. So the best reason to use a helicopter is if you have to pick things up or drop things off where there’s no room to build a 3,000 ft. runway. 

Flying slowly is also helpful when you’re trying to see things that are hidden in tight spots and you have to fly close to the ground. This is the best technique for getting the best view of, say, bathers at the nude beach in La Jolla, California. Just don’t fly so low that the police artist is able to accurately reproduce your face from the “naturists’” testimony.  Hint: always wear a disguise when flying.

‘Remote Sensing’ (the politically correct term for Aerial Photography) can also be done from helicopters.  Generally, though, helicopters are best when you want to get close-ups of your subject, e.g. the La Jolla nude beach, and not when you’re trying to map out the Australian Outback in 3-D. Airplanes are best used for large area surveys and mapping by making overlapping photo transects at pre-designated altitudes and at pre-determined speeds. Using mounted cameras with a variety of film choices, they can fly straight and level for long distances so that the photographs have minimal distortion. This way precise measurements can be made from the photographs of nude beaches.

The distance that you have to fly is also a consideration. If you’re not going farther than a helicopter tank of gas, or you’re not landing at an airport, you could probably blackmail someone into paying for a helicopter. 

If, however, you have to land and refuel a helicopter when an airplane can get there faster on one tank and there’s an airport at the destination, then you’ll have to be satisfied with getting crammed into the baggage compartment of a Piper Cherokee.

Finally, if you enjoy picking things up with long cables, dangling them below you, and dropping them off in strange places, then the helicopter is the only way to go. Airplanes refuse to do this kind of work because it’s not “safe.” 

Unfortunately for helicopters, things like trucks, horses, and cable yarders sometimes can get to the same places a lot cheaper; the only advantage helicopters have in this situation is speed. Time to play up the “time is money” aspect of economics.

To summarize:

1 Helicopters demand lots of money. They don’t care how they get it. 

2 Find rich parents. If you have to, put yourself up for adoption and review applicant’s tax returns carefully.  3 Always wear a disguise when flying.

4. As a helicopter enthusiast, you first have to admit to yourself that you have a problem; only then you can seek help, which is the first step towards recovery.

Helicopter Enthusiast’s Facts from http://helicopterwise.co

A good question ....

An old Pilot sat down in Starbucks and ordered a cup of coffee.

As he sat sipping his coffee, a young woman sat down next to him.

She turned to the pilot and asked, ‘Are you a real pilot?’

He replied, ‘Well, I’ve spent my whole life flying biplanes, Cubs, Aeronca’s, Neiuports, flew in WWII in a B-29, and later in the Korean conflict, taught 50 people to fly and gave rides to hundreds, so I guess I am a pilot – what about you?’

She said, ‘I’m a lesbian. I spend my whole day thinking about naked women. As soon as I get up in the morning, I think about naked women. When I shower, I think about naked women When I watch TV, I think about naked women. It seems everything makes me think of naked women.’

The two sat sipping in silence.

A little while later, a young man sat down on the other side of the old pilot and asked, ‘Are you a real pilot?’

He replied, ‘I always thought I was, but I just found out I’m a lesbian.’

I've just got my ducks in a row and seen a missed message on the 'Your Say' page from an Aron Dahl. I'm putting the reply here as it may be of use to others as well as the reply wouldn't let me reply with so many words. 4096 characters max...didn't realise I had written so much. Anyhew, I digress...

Arn Dahl - "Hey! I have been watching your videos on Youtube and they are very good. I am looking to start flight training in a few months. I am saving up money to get my private and then save up for the commercial. What rating are you planning on going to? Also any tips for a beginner looking to start flight school would be greatly appreciated!"

Firstly Aron my apologies for the delay in replying. Many thanks for the kind words on the YouTube videos. I hope they are of use to you during your training. 

One of the biggest tips I can give you is get to know your school before you sign on the dotted line for training. Speak to the staff, ask if they will give you a tour of the facilities and more importantly the aircraft. The way they look on the outside can often be a true reflection of how they do business. Ie if they look scruffy from the outside, chances are they are scruffy at how the operate. This is not always the case but will give you a good taste of what to expect. See if they would allow you to do som shadowing of a working day and get a sneak preview of how things are run. 
If there is a local flight club, pop down and have a chat with people and see if there are any views on the training school you plan to choose, however, the nature of the industry and the competition may lead to biased opinions or lies to bad name the school. With this in mind take other peles views as being very subjective and from that take an overall view from the collected data. Don't rush into picking. A school that is 20 minutes drive away as opposed to one that is 1 hr away may not be the right choice so do your homework well. 
The next thing is plan your finances as you don't want to start as keen as mustard and then run out of funds just as you are getting good at it. I can costs lots more money together back into it after some time off. Hold back starting till you know you can make a clear sweep at it. 
Take some spending risks when it comes to training material and additional equipment like personal head sets and GoPro camera equipment. As much as smoke of it seams like a luxury it can make the difference in understanding what is going on and prevent complicates during your training. For example, I skimmed money from my funds in the region of three flights worth to buy a set of Lightspeed headsets (http://headsets.lightspeedaviation.com/productline/zulu-2). Not to be swanky or show off but to stop myself getting ear infections which naturally stopped me from flying till it cleared. This in turn cost more money as I had to get my hand back into flying having been off sick. The second example is the GoPro camera. In the region of $280/£280 depending on source, but the ability to review your flight straight after flying and seeing what your instructor was saying was right is no end valuable. Even now as a qualified pilot, I still regularly rematch my flights from start to Finnish and pick holes in my own flying and Learn from it. You see things on video your not aware of while flying. The same goes for keeping a log of what you do each lesson. Hence why I've done this blog. Review is a great learning tool. With the learning material, apps for mobiles and iPads etc are incredibly useful. There are also an incredibly huge source of boox that can help. Some don't present the information properly for a new pilot, instead being written almost by pilots for pilots which doesn't help. There are many good ones though. And obviously blogs are a great source if help. Check out the links page for some good ones I use even today.
The next big one is do your theory lessons and exams early leaving you more time to fly and properly 'learn' to fly without worrying about if your coms are ok or your flying within the law. I left some of mine too late and it cost me many extra flying hours just to keep my hand in. Get them over and done with and enjoy the rest of the flights up to your exam. 
The last one I'll say here is 'ask questions'. Don't ever be afraid or embarrassed about asking the same question more than once as well. If you don't ask you get. There are countless people out there on blogs and forums that can get the answers you need. And as sure as the sun comes up in the morning, someone will have asked the same question as you before. It's all out there. 

I wish you the best of luck with starting your flight training and if there is anything I can do to help don't hesitate to ask.

It's been a while...

Just a wee video to get me back into posting and let you know I'm still alive. Until my next post (very soon) play safe and have great flying

This is the sort of thing that keeps me busy at work so I can't really grumble about not having a lot of time to fly as its pretty cool what I get to do on a daily basis

I've at last managed to get a program to edit my videos however I can't get the mid vid words to appear doing it on the IPad. I'll try put the narrative in the YouTube description box. 

So here's a wee taster of my wife's first helicopter flight. A gusty turbulent day and all the emotion, anxiety and excitement rolled into one made for a not well feeling Sally.

  

I'll let you add your own caption here
 

 We had to route back to Bournemouth rather abruptly in case the flight gauges got 'intimate' with her breakfast. Poor soul, but she did really well and hasn't ruled out flying again.... on a very very fair weather day.

Would passengers for then next flight from Bournemouth...

15.07.12 O'Hare Approach Control: "United 329 Heavy, your traffic is a Fokker, One o'clock, 3 miles, eastbound." United 329: "Approach, I've always wanted to say this... I've got that Fokker in sight." Today was tha day I took my first passenger up. Yes the first person brave enough to be the first person to fly with me and not get paid to be there. Richard (Fathead - Long story(eluded to in previous post)) was the victim and to be fair took on the tasking admirably. After a p flight brief that pretty much consisted of "don't touch this because if you do we'll die a hideous painful death and if you touch that we'll die a hideous painful death and if you touch that you're liable to start screaming like a little girl shortly afterwards".

This seemed to do the trick and he touched nothing. It was to be a standard 'tourist flight' out to the north then west over Blanford Forum request routing to the south crossing the approach path for runway 26 to Wareham and then a little twist over Corfe Castle and Swanage then back to the airfield.
The weather was good, the visibility was good and there wasn't too much traffic up. It was in all forms a good flight and to top it of Rich was like a kid in a sweetie factory. I think it made his as he was grinning like a Cheshire cat. I was very nervous taking my first passenger especially someone who was not a pilot. Being the one in total control is a big culture shock having spent so many hours with someone to give you reassurance if nothing else. Roll on the next flight and the next victim.

It all seams to happen at once...

14.06.12 Its like when you want a bus and you cant get one then when you're not ready for one you get three at once.My waiting for one was waiting for my license to come through from the CAA. I was expecting it to take a few weeks however I hadn't planned on it being sent by FedEx recoded delivery and the FedEx slip that was left when I wasn't home to sign for it to land inside my shoe basket which sits almost below the letterbox. I had to call up the CAA and found out they had sent it so I got it with 30 days without flying. Where I fly from you have to have flown within 28 days to be able to fly-for-hire. If not you have to do a check flight with he of the team to make sure you can actually fly and safely. I appreciate the need for this however it is still a bitter pill to swallow having to fly my first flight as a qualified pilot, under the supervision of someone.Just as I thought I was going to get to fly my second son was born. " my three busses at once" moment. Obviously I'm not upset by that in any way, however this did add time on to my time not flying. But the weather was stunning so all in all an amazing time. My fantastic wife gave me shore leave a few days later and my In-Laws came to offer support although he was two weeks old at this point and doing well. the weather was rubbish with low cloud and rain coming in, but there was enough of a window to do a few circuits with of the Bournemouth Helicopters team and a play on the HTA doing landings takeoffs, sloped ground and some other slow speed manoeuvres. It was good to this in 22 knots of wind as it made me feel happier i hadn't forgotten how to fly in such a long time away from it all. A few things were not as polished as I would have liked, namely coms and I developed a need to turn to starboard/right for most turns which makes it easier to run away in the turn due to loss of tail rotor authority. Obviously not a problem had I been flying the EC120. All was ok but small things like that could lead to something bigger depending on the circumstances, weather etc. Tip for flying - don't forget the basics regardless of how much technical stuff you are cramming into your head.This paved the way for another flight so I booked another for this Friday 22.06.12. This was going o be my first flight without supervision and I was due to take a good friend Richard (AKA Fathead - Long story)for a flight. The British weather being the way it is and the British summer being, well, pretty much like autum and winter managed to cancel all chances of flying

(insert picture from rain radar here).This being said, the day was not a total loss as I got a call from the BH office to ask if I was free to do a spot of movable ballast duties and go up in the EC120 (G-SKPP). The Robinson R44 had done a commercial trip outta the Isle of Wight taking some clients to a large stately home and from there they wold go to the isle of Wight festival. Sadly e starter motor gave up the ghost and decided its mortal time was done. This happened when It's pilot Nick decided to start up and fly back to Bournemouth after offloading the client's luggage. A hasty flit was made in the Schweitzer by Olli to collect Nick leaving the R44 on the island overnight. not a major problem however the landing pad had to be cleared for Sky news helicopters coming in th Ernest evening and the weather was closing in (see above). The plan on receiving the call was for myself Ollie, Gary (see earlier training posts), Len and the mechanic to fly outin th EC120 with a new starter motor fix the broken one and then bring back the R44 and the EC120.

All good apart from the gusting 40 knots tail wind. From Bournemouth airport to the landing site would normally take about 30 minutes from rotors turning to rotors stopped. Because of the significant tail wind we managed rotors turning to rotors stopped in 17 minutes. It was. Then a mater of leaving the mechanic to work his magic. Thisa called for a cup of tea and a small spot of Len bashing (teasing). After 30 minutes the parts were changed and all good to go. My self and Gary took the R44 and the others piled back in the EC120. I felt initially pleased as I hadn't been in the R44 before, however........ 40 knots head wind and turbulence, a two bladed aircraft that is naturally prone to low gee effects such as the happy story of mast bumping "A phenomenon to which helicopters fitted with semirigid rotor systems, teetering types, and underslung types are susceptible. In this phenomenon, the fuselage begins to right roll in a low-g or zero-g condition. If a lateral cyclic is applied to recover from the right roll, the mast bumps against the hub and may break in the process. The main rotor also can hit the tail cone. Mast bumping is caused by an incorrect pilot response to an abrupt, unexpected change in the helicopter’s pitch-and-roll attitude. These changes may be because of a low-g maneuver, engine failure, synchronized elevator failure, or tail rotor failure. Mast bumping can be avoided by making smooth, gradual control movements by the cyclic aft to recover low-g conditions. Thereafter, the lateral cyclic should be applied to recover from the right roll"So, to avoid the low gee effects from the turbulence we had to fly considerably slower than the normal 110 knots cruise speed. Our ground speed sas about 40 knots which I think is almost a record slow. Gary was fitting to keep her steady in flight but did a fantastic job. Something that only years of experience and thousands of flying hours can give you. He kindly said he would love to give me the controls but couldn't as it was a little 'fruity'. I wasn't too bothered with my knowledge of mast bumping. GSKPP was back way before us but it was a fantastic experience. I would recommend any training and new pilots to do the same and take advantage of trips like this with the company you fly with. It builds trust and a broader understanding of what happens in the flying community. If your flight training drop into the have your say section and let everyone know how your getting on and any good tips of links you have come across. If your not training then share your experiences and flights as well. The more the better.I'm doing this on my iPad at the moment so I can't get the pictures up where i want them so watch this space and like the videos I'll add them in as I can. Also some recommendations and discussion on iPads and flying to come. Safe flying folks

Result!

I hope this finds you all well and surviving the miserable weather we are having and are forecast to have. All very rubbish for flying but good for the garden I might add. I've been a bit bad in not keeping up with the blog. Work commitments and house preparations for child No.2 have taken up what little time there was between flying. I've missed four flights prior to this one however they were mostly gap fillers to make sure I was not forgetting how to fly in my time away from flying being sent around the country with work to teach Casualty Care to RNLI Lifeguards and lifeboat crews.

 I have just had my final flight test with a CAA examiner. Excusing the pun, I’ve passed with flying colours. I would like to say it was all plain sailing however there were a few hurdles along the way. The flying as a whole has by the grace of God come very naturally. The 600 plus hours flying on flight simulators over the years has without a shadow of a doubt been fundamentally the reason for the ease to which I’ve taken to flying. Many factors however have been immensely difficult to get to grips with and the biggest of them all has to have been the sensations of flying. Simulators on the computer can give the audio and visual stimulus to a very respectable level however unless you pay for very sophisticated sessions in professional simulators you’ll never recreate the movements. To add insult to injury I cant stand roller coasters and this is the closest thing I can liken it to. This has become more natural although I still don’t like roller coasters.
 On Monday 16th I arrived at Bournemouth Helicopters to sit my skills test. The weather was perfect and the skies not too busy. However the Examiner dropped the bombshell that he could not take my exam as I had not sat my Communications practical test. A major set back especially when the flight school had told me I did not need to sit it prior to my skills test. And this was quite right going by CAA publications in a book called LASORS. When called the CAA even quoted LASORS and said it was not required. The examiner wouldn’t budge due to information sent to him and other examiners from their seniors that all paperwork had to be present prior to sitting the skills test. A day for which I had moved heaven and earth to get off from work, wasted. A new date was planned, Saturday 21st, for the skills test and the Friday before I booked y communications practical test. Friday saw a trip to Henstridge airfield, home of the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance, and a very quick 15 minutes sat in a storage cupboard wearing headphones and speaking into a small plastic box later I was qualified to use aviation radios.
 Saturday came after a day of rain on Friday and I didn’t think the flight would go ahead. What I can only describe as the actions of divine intervention, the clouds parted like the Red sea and stayed with beautifully clear skies and light variable winds all the way though to the point at which I landed at the end of the test. Then they formed again and it started to rain. The start of the flight was not without its wonders. I really spot on bloke called Ray Jones and an incredibly skilled helicopter pilot. He weighed in at around 18 stone and his stomach was in regular contact with the cyclic (main stick control) during manoeuvres. this is not meant to embarrass Ray or make fun in any way shape or form, but simply to make note of some...limitations I had during the flight. Namely full control. Our all up weight was at the limits of the aircraft but this added to the test process and let Ray know I had done my correct weight and balance and centre of gravity calculations. This weight all up would have been fine assuming the fuel is limited to keep us within the wieght limitations. Due to the fuel being positioned aft of the main rotor mast and to the port hand side (left), the aircraft was dipped slightly forward and to port. Not a problem as it is easy enough to compensate, however as we flew the amount of fuel decreased thus reducing the weight aft of the mast resulting in progressivly more aft stick and ergo more stomach time for the cyclic.
 On leaving the airfield we set course for a location picked by Ray during my flight planning stage (because this was a formal exam flight I'll not mention names) during which I had to hold my pre calculated course and altitude and also speed. I've always found fine adjustment tricky and I'm forever chasing my tail to achieve level flight. Alter one control and it knocks the other three out of balance. Ray gave ma a tip I hadn't heard before of setting about half friction on the collective once I was at level flight, thus stopping over movement of the collective and tired arm syndrome. From here I could fine adjust my height by moving the cyclic forward or aft. This would give me an alteration in airspeed however this would be averaged out over the track and would hold little consequence to the final track time. It is so simple and makes so much sense. By only using half friction you could still push through it and lower the collective should you have to. Half NOT full friction!
Once over my designated location I had to track crawl to a secondary location about 18 miles away. I chose a main road and followed this which by the luck of the draw was as near as damned it the same bearing had I drawn a line from point A to point B. Result! En route we would come close to some military unmanned aircraft operations as noted in the NOTAMs. However on calling the Airbase in question 3 times I got no answer So blind called my intentions and carried on. Once at location B and having proved this was where I was supposed to be we tuned into the nearest VOR frequency, Southampton SAM - 133.35, and did some flying to and from set radials. Once that was done it was 'on the hoof' planning time with a divert location picked that I had to take us to once I had found out where we were. This went well and once over the location Ray gave me a divert to a location marked on an OS map. Fortunately I have had a lot of practice with OS maps doing mountaineering and also volunteering with Dorset Search and Rescue team. This went really easily. Now the time came for the foggles and some instrument flying. 180* to port and then 180* to starboard followed by climbing turns in both directions. I then held my course straight and level for a set period of time before being able to remove the foggles.
 As we directed back to the airfield Ray told me he was feeling sick and just wanted to get out of the aircraft. " I don't like these helicopter things, I want out. Put me on the ground please". So that was that. I I had to find a suitable site to land and let him out. Where we were there was nothing but rolling fields. I had to fly two miles to find anything flat. After doing a couple orbits looking at the seven S's (Size, Shape, Surrounds, Slope, Surface, Sun) I made my approach and got us into the hover. This went ok however once I finished my test Ray pointed out I had forgotten to do my power check. School boy error. However I had done a power check as we took off from Bournemouth and I had verbalised what I was doing so he was happy that I was awaire of the aircrafts limitations. On the way back to Bournmeouth airport I was asked questions about mid flight emergencies and what actions I would take. Then it was time for the Auto rotations. I was prepared for this but I was not prepared for the full down autos. Yes all the way to the ground and running along the grass/Tarmac. I had been given a couple instructor demos of it in the past but I had only ever taken it to the flare and then recovered at about 10 foot, so this was going to be interesting. If I'm honest I was nervous. "engine failure, enter auto rotation, 3,2,1,go" down went the collective back came the cyclic and a bit of right pedal, maintain 55 knots, look for ground traffic, all clear, wait for the flare window, wait wait, 'double decker bus', flare flare flare, mind the tail, level and run on using collective to cushion our decent and dance on the pedals to keep us straight....... Phew! I survived. A bit scruffy but I survived! I let Ray know that was the first time I had done a full down auto, so he said lets do a few more then. Result!
We did three more and fortunately they got better each time. Once back in the hover Ray said "right end of test" and toke control and very swiftly he took us to Bournemouth Helicopters where we got into a hover and I was instructed to land. Which I did and was very happy that it was one of my best landings to date. Quite abruptly Ray told me to do a normal shut down and he would see me inside. Oh. That sounded a bit too clipped and abrupt for a pass. I started to get my doubts as I couldn't tell how I had done. It took about ten minutes to shut down. Ten minutes of sweating. As I went into the office at Bournemouth Helicopters my instructor Carl was waiting. "well?" he asked. "You know as much as me" I said. Through I went to the classroom where Ray was doing paperwork. Dead pan expression, no signs of emotion. "Right, I've done your paperwork, I need you to sign here. Oh and we'll done you've passed" he said with a big beaming smile. Rotten bugger. Very amusing though and what a relief.
 The test as a whole was very relaxed compared to other tests which helped and the weather made for a very enjoyable flight. Even though it was a test I also got lots of handy tips and skills from Ray. I look forward to flying with him again in the future. He flys on average 10 different helicopters a week through training or examining so I'm sure our paths will cross again.

 Now this may seem like the end of a blog and the closing of the book, however it's just the end of the chapter. A new one begins and I'll try to keep my flights updated here. My view is to go commercial and aim for the final goal of Search And Rescue (SAR) pilot. A long road and there will be lessons on the way I will want to share with you all. Also please use this blog for sharing your experiences as well. If I ever manage to get a good video editor I'll post all my previous flights in the relevant blog spaces. Keep an eye on the video hangar as they will be there too. Until the next blog or I hear from any of you, have safe flying and I look forward to hearing how your all getting on Rescue Shrek/Chris