Yesterday was one of the more noteworthy training days. My usual training aircraft is a Robinson R22 two-seat helicopter, but it has been out for maintenance and inspection for a few days, and rather than skip a training day (which is difficult for me to get onto the calendar in the first place) I opted to fly its larger sibling, the four-seat R44. With nearly double the horsepower of the R22 but only two skinny guys on board, I suspected flying the R44 was going to be a lot of fun. I was not disappointed -- I just had to be careful about keeping the speed down while in the airport traffic pattern, as it had a tendency to run away pretty quickly.
Here's a shot of one of the R22s I train in...
...and here's a shot of the R44 I flew yesterday.
The R44 has hydraulically actuated flight controls, and since this was my introductory flight in a new aircraft, I was tasked with flying it for a complete approach and landing cycle with the hydraulic system switched off (as a contingency procedure). I felt like I was wrestling an alligator trying to get the thing down to the ground and keep it pointed straight. Another comparison would be driving a 1970s full-size American sedan, with the power steering pump disabled.
Overall I was surprised by how easy of a transition it was flying a larger, more powerful aircraft -- I expected to fumble around a lot more than I actually did.
