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