@Jones in LA as someone that graduated from a fixed-wing professional pilot training program you are going to be all excited once you get your license and start thinking to yourself, maybe I should invest in a helicopter. Let me be the the first to give the the advice my instructor gave me.

"If it floats, flies or F$%kS...Rent it"

Congratulations in taking on this endeavor.

 

Thanks @TLIGuy, and I intend to follow your advice

 

@Jones in LA …quick question…if the R22 engine fails and you have to enter an autorotation, does the Nr still droop like the speed of heat? Even though it was 30 years ago when I did the 1.0 in the R22 with the CFI, I sort of remember that the Nr bled off pretty quick if you didn’t dump the collective fast…as in you had about 1 or 2 seconds to recognize the engine failure and dump the collective. Is that still the case?

 

I haven’t got near that far in my training, but from what I understand, what you say is still correct — you’ve got 1-2 seconds to react before rotor stall could occur, and during an autorotation descent rotor RPMs are extremely sensitive to small changes in pitch.

 

The rotor system is still very low inertia. It's a chief reason the SFAR exists on Robinsons. In essence, yes you'd better get that collective down or you won't have enough rotor rpm to successfully autorotate when you get to the bottom. Scary thoughts for us fixed wing types...

 

So on Saturday it was third time lucky (weather issues) and I had flight in the T6 Harvard Wacky Rabbit. I was planning a sedate trip with a chance to try the controls (I am not a pilot) but the pilot for the day (an airline Captain and also regular warbird pilot) persuaded me to go for the full Battle of Britain experience. He talked through battle scenarios and the pros and cons of different manoeuvres. It was a real eye opener to see the impact of 3 or 4 G in a manoeuvre for a novice like me. It has also made me feel even more respect for warbird pilot’s past and present. We tried max -rate turns, a Split S, Rolls, loops and a ½ Cuban with a victory roll at the airfield. The only roll I could not try was a sausage roll after we landed (but I soon got my sea legs back). I can’t even imagine how those young pilots managed to fly, fight and focus perhaps 3 or 4 times a day at the height of hostilities in WW2. A fantastic experience and highly recommended (T6 Harvard Ltd in the UK). I went for a Freese 53 and a UK2292 (6B/159) which I guess is no surprise. I will put a thread up at some point.
.

 

What a treat! The T6 is on my list. So is the B25. I was fortunate to have a chance at flying the P51 for about 40 minutes. Beautiful machine with excellent control harmony

 

That is a proper plane with a lot of power. The Harvard was very light and responsive on the controls. It is so sturdy you have a lot of confidence. The pilot says it handles like a Hurricane (slower of course). This one is 73 years young and starred as the Zero in Empire of the Sun (with heavy makeup) so is a film star. I also channeled the fact the North American also made the X-15....

 

Wow, what an experience @Omegafanman ! Thanks for sharing it with your OF mates.

I could listen to vintage radial engine start-ups all day long

 

The guy I was flying with in the Mustang told me the T6 will slap you harder than the fighters they were training kids in the T6 to fly. Mustangs, Corsairs, P38s, P47s, etc. They all are allegedly better-mannered than the T6

 

It was very well behaved on the day but I was lucky to have a very experienced pilot. Doing a bit more digging I can see they have the potential to bite a bit ….
.

 

Thanks for sharing this. Sounds like a ton of fun and I'm envious. I'll have to keep it in mind if I'm ever in the UK again. Did you get any "grey out" pulling 3-4 G?

 

There is a cockpit video and at one point I do nod down for a split second so I might have switched off for a brief moment. I did not suffer any colour distortions but I did feel very heavy. I could not raise my arms ups for a watch shot at some key points. I better understand why some jet ejection seats have triggers on the head rest and seat level. The pilot was excellent and kept shouting squeeze at the key points (squeeze your lower body) I think you just need to master that technique and would get used to it - the pilot was fine. I imagine everyone will still have a physical limit / it is tiring to fight gravity. It highlighted why they were so many accidents when returning to base in the war (gear up / stalls etc) the drop in adrenaline + mental and physical exhaustion after a sortie and the rapid pressure changes must have been hard to overcome. I did feel a bit queasy at one point but he just gave me control and cracked open the canopy a bit which sorted it so we could carry on. It was surprisingly warm given there is no heating and a nice smell of oil from the engine. It was also very noisy but the headsets worked great. Some manoeuvres are much easier so they can tailor things to your limits. A 90 year old did a barrel roll on the same day to keep my efforts in perspective :0)

 

I used to hit up our pilots every chance I could for a ride and found that most of them had only one mission in mind.
"Make the pax chuck".
After my first trip in an Aermacchi MB-326 I found out that you could hold the button down on the G suit regulator, so after that, as soon as the knuck said "Hey, check this out" I'd push the button down so my suit inflated before the fun began.

 

Some hairy landings for your viewing pleasure. Make sure you check out the A380...
https://fb.watch/cskkR4o6Pw/

 

I have been wearing my Flightmaster for 51 years. I’ve flying for 56 years and still at it. I’ve been a flight instructor since I was 20 years old. I still have a current flight instructors rating, but seldom use it, family mostly. Thinking back I could teach people to fly, serve in the military, but not have an alcoholic drink legally. It still makes me smile. It is kind of a shame that pilots won’t wear their Rolex GMTS in the cockpit, that’s what they are for. If it get scratched, oh well, that what the Rolex Service Center is for. When I’m not wearing my Flightmaster, I wear a Rolex RG DD and don’t worry about it much. Watches are made to be worn in my opinion, I know, I get it, not everyone agrees with me. In any case, happy flying no matter what watch you choose to wear.



Flightmaster certainly looks like it has been used but not abused, and I think of it as having history.

 

I'd love to wear a Rolex GMT in the cockpit. Just can't get a dealer to sell me one and I refuse to spend 3x MSRP in the gray market

 

Hey, welcome to the forum. Your point about teaching people to fly but not being able to drink legally reminds me of some fighter pilots in WW2. They could fly a warplane with a 2000hp engine but couldn't legally drive a car!

Agree with you on the Rolex GMT. Such a well designed watch for long haul pilots crossing multiple time zones frequently, especially the GMT2 with the skipping 12 hour hand. Love the ones with the aluminium bezel as they looked like real tool watches. I'm kicking myself for not picking up a second hand one before this Rolex craze kicked in. I'm guessing some pilots not wearing their GMT in the cockpit could be for fear of scratching it, but also because in some places where they're stopped over it could get them mugged or killed.

Also, pardon my ignorance bit what is a Rolex RG DD?

 

Rose gold Day Date

 

I am researching a few RAF pilot watch stories (all as a hobby / not for profit). The first one is just published.
It’s been a privilege to research the late test pilot wing commander Falk and talk to his surviving family. He was quite a character, a consummate professional and they are rightly very proud of his many achievements.
.

https://www.fratellowatches.com/breitling-chronomat-roland-roly-falk/

.