The Aviators Thread

MRC · Jun 20, 2024

Saw this today passing by at 4000'. Too high to identify visually but the unusual engine noise got my attention and FR24 supplied the ident.

https://www.key.aero/article/uk-percival-mew-gulls

DoctorEvil · Jun 21, 2024

This looks rough as....

@Mad Dog You remember days like this, when you're so glad to set foot on your ship again?

Mad Dog · Jun 21, 2024

DoctorEvil
This looks rough as....

@Mad Dog You remember days like this, when you're so glad to set foot on your ship again?

Yeppers…we had a few days (and nights) like that…needless to say, it was somewhat “sporting” to get on the deck. I will say that we did have the luxury of the RAST (Recovery Assist, Secure and Traverse) system which involved a cable/winch that pulled us down into a bear trap…the recovery in the video that you posted did not involve a RAST system.

Jones in LA · Jun 21, 2024

DoctorEvil
This looks rough as....

@Mad Dog You remember days like this, when you're so glad to set foot on your ship again?

Yowser! My palms were sweaty just watching that.

Mad Dog · Jun 22, 2024

Jones in LA
Yowser! My palms were sweaty just watching that.

Yeppers…same here, dude. Since they didn’t have the luxury of a RAST system, it’s more difficult getting it on [and keeping it on] the deck. Basically flying formation with the ship…and anticipating the various pitches and rolls of the ship while getting the helo on the deck can be tricky…and the winds at the back of the ship can be unpredictable due to the superstructure of the ship. Add night to the equation and you might just drop a deuce in your pickle suit. 😁

Jones in LA · Jun 25, 2024

For those who have been following my now 2-1/2 year-long saga of learning to fly, today was a big day for me: first solo flight!

Out of 1.6 hours flying today, 30 minutes were in solo flight, only 2m off the ground, staying within a 20m X 20m box. I spent 30 minutes continuously picking up, setting down, and hovering.

For you fixed-wing types this may not seem particularly glorious, but for me it was full-value adventure. In a helicopter as small as this, flying without a second person on board changes the handling of the aircraft dramatically: about 15% of the total weight is suddenly gone, and the center-of-mass shifts significantly to the rear. I was surprised how different it was flying in this configuration. But I made definite improvements in smoothness over the 30 minutes of solo flight.

My next solo flight will be similar, but with cross-winds and tailwinds added, and if it looks like I'm steady enough I might get a few circuits in the pattern.

All the self-doubt I experienced early on, and the six-month grind with the FAA to get a medical certificate now seem far back in the rearview mirror.

8100_RPM · Jun 25, 2024

Mad Dog
Yeppers…same here, dude. Since they didn’t have the luxury of a RAST system, it’s more difficult getting it on [and keeping it on] the deck. Basically flying formation with the ship…and anticipating the various pitches and rolls of the ship while getting the helo on the deck can be tricky…and the winds at the back of the ship can be unpredictable due to the superstructure of the ship. Add night to the equation and you might just drop a deuce in your pickle suit. 😁

Did you ever do that up in the Bering Sea?

DoctorEvil · Jun 26, 2024

@Jones in LA
Congrats on your first solo flight! Great to see all that hard work pay off. May I ask who took the pic for you? It's a good one.

JimInOz · Jun 26, 2024

I echo the congratulations.
The first solo is extremely challenging, both physicaly, technically and mentally.
I remember my first solo in a Cessna 150 too many years ago. My "RAAF Loan" kid leather flying gloves had turned green from sweat and my armpits felt like swimming pools, so I can understand your immense sense of satisfaction once you shut down.

Jones in LA · Jun 26, 2024

DoctorEvil
@Jones in LA
Congrats on your first solo flight! Great to see all that hard work pay off. May I ask who took the pic for you? It's a good one.

Thanks @DoctorEvil !

My instructor took the photo...rather the video -- what I posted is a screen capture of the video from my phone. The intent was to get my very first solo pickup on video, which he did. My pickup was really crappy, in fact the video shows my instructor quickly backing away as I drift forward more than I should have.

Jones in LA · Jun 26, 2024

JimInOz
I echo the congratulations.
The first solo is extremely challenging, both physicaly, technically and mentally.
I remember my first solo in a Cessna 150 too many years ago. My "RAAF Loan" kid leather flying gloves had turned green from sweat and my armpits felt like swimming pools, so I can understand your immense sense of satisfaction once you shut down.

Thanks @JimInOz !

After returning to base my instructor apologized for not having champagne available for the traditional post-first-solo dousing. I told him not to worry because I was already drenched from nervous sweat (and from sitting for 30 minutes in a plastic bubble with zero airspeed and a 35 degree (C) outside temperature).

Jones in LA · Jun 26, 2024

@DoctorEvil , here's another screen cap from the same video. It's cool the way the second aircraft is situated in the scene, but I didn't post it at first because I was worried that it might be turned into some kind of Fake News/Click Bait.

I can imagine the title: "Helicopter Gets Skid Stuck in Tree, Airplane Avoids Collision!"

In reality, the "tree" is a cellular antenna cluster disguised as a palm tree, and is located about 400m away. And the airplane is departing from a separate runway, while I hover over an adjacent taxiway for which I was given clearance to do from the Tower.

Mad Dog · Jun 26, 2024

8100_RPM
Did you ever do that up in the Bering Sea?

Yes, sir.

Mad Dog · Jun 27, 2024

A big congratulations regarding soloing, @Jones in LA!

I envy you…during Navy helo training, our solos were not solos…we went with another student who was also soloing. We had to have two pilots so that one pilot could switch the radios while the other pilot was flying. You inspired me today to look in my old Navy log book and find my first helo “solo”…which was with Ensign R. Elly on 11JAN88 in the TH-57C…see pics below…and again, congrats, sir!

Jones in LA · Jun 28, 2024

Thanks @Mad Dog .

That logbook is so cool! Looking at it again must have brought back a lot of memories. For context I grabbed this image of what may have been your trainer model. What I'd give to fly something like that! (actually, I know what I'd have to give: about $1,500/hour).

Image credit: Wikipedia

DoctorEvil · Jul 1, 2024

Looks like a Qatar Airways bird. Oops!
Reminds me of one of the rules for members at my old flying club:
"No excuses will be accepted for taxiing accidents" 😁