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I should have known that there would be an aviation thread here.. Got my PPL 20 years ago in the UK. Flew a bunch. Got broke. Stopped flying. I now live in Canada and just sat my PSTAR and radio license today and have now fullfilled all the requirements to apply for a Canadian PPL. (including currency). To add to that, I start on my CPL(H) next month 
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Jun 10, 2020 02:27
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 04:29 |
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PPL ASEL, Rotary student. Here in Canada, the CPL(H) can be done as a straight 100 hour course. Supposedly the reasoning behind this is that instructors need min 250 hours to actually instruct, so most go out working first, before they come back to instructing and hence, supposedly, have a lot more experience. This also means that many of them still have industry contacts and often help you getting in touch with places. The downside is that finding your first job is hard and you usually end up as ground crew for 1-2 years before actually getting a (full time) flying job.
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Jun 11, 2020 19:28
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I hated those compasses. It'll point you in the general direction, but no more than that. Slightest movement in the plane makes it swing 30 degrees either side. Combined that with doing XC's in a Tiger Moth on a hot summers day and it's virtually useless. (No heading indicator).
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Jun 18, 2020 20:29
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Sagebrush posted:Passed the written test with a 97% Which test (wtg, regardless!)
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Jun 23, 2020 00:09
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Officially started ground school for my CPL(H) today. Wont actually go flying until I finish the current work project (13 more work days!).
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Jun 23, 2020 07:11
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xy0GMyfGu6s&t=27s Kamov any day  Supposedly they can be flown without a license and are essentially just considered aerial tractors
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Jul 3, 2020 03:39
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New office! First official lesson as a helicopter student. Went pretty well. Instructor was hands off after handing me the aircraft after take off until about 20' off the ground on the approach. Hovering starts tomorrow (and apparently the rest of the week).
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Jul 14, 2020 02:57
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Shhh!
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Jul 14, 2020 03:27
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 I'm absolutely suffering here...I want to go back to my window less office and 14 hours days.
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Jul 15, 2020 00:48
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Yes. The school has 5 of them.
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Jul 15, 2020 02:33
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I'm flying with Chinook Helicopters in Abbotsford (CYXX). 5 minutes from the mountains (10 in the 47 ) https://www.chinookhelicopters.com/ They got Bell47s, R44s and Bell206s. (and apparently, a 505, which I haven't seen yet). Things are still a bit covid-restricted, so they're trying to minimze movement around the facility. Current plan is to do most of the training on the 47s and then get an endorsement on the 206. (You need 10 hours for an type endorsement here in Canadaland). It's a full time course, so flying every day. Helicopters feels like magic. That initial pick-up and translation simply doesn't feel real. With planes, you get the angry acceleration that tells you that things are about to happen, helicopters simply just starts floating.
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Jul 15, 2020 05:16
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I'm just gonna spam some more '47s here, mmkay?
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Jul 16, 2020 01:14
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1 week in the book and I can now officially hover a helicopter. Hardest thing of the week was hydraulics failures...that was a serious workout.
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Jul 18, 2020 03:49
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First solo done!. Glad to have gotten that out of the way!.
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Jul 30, 2020 19:06
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PT6A posted:That's awesome, congratulations! You're already fixed-wing licensed, correct? How did this compare to your first first-solo? The procedure is a little different. First we picked up some weight bags and flew into the infield and dropped them. The instructor spent the first 30 mins beating me up on landings. Pick-up, land, pick-up, land. That last 1.5' of the landing is my biggest issue at the moment. Then he jumped out, loaded the weights and had me pick up and land 3 times. Unloaded the bags, he jumped back in and we flew 3 circuits, before he jumped out again, loaded the bags and let me do a circuit on my own. The attitude in the hover (and slow flight) is radically different without the extra person, which is why they make you hover/land a few times first. The circuit itself is simpler. We fly lower/tighter (and at our airfield, more of a triangle). You can fly the approach as slow as you like. Sure, ideally, it should be a constant deceleration from cruise to 0 over the landing spot, but for first solo purposes, you take all the time you need and I took it pretty slow  . I think this is really the main difference. Same with touching down. You can take all the time you need.The solo circuit itself, it was just a big blur. I was honestly worried that he wouldn't let me go, as my landings weren't awesome and I was probably more anxious than I normally would be. Also my first fixed wing solo was 20 years ago and I had a 15 year break between the last time as PIC and today.
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Jul 30, 2020 22:01
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Actually, one huge difference as I'm prepping for my first nav trip...any note taking will have to be done left handed. (So I'm now practicing at least writing down numbers left handed).
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Jul 31, 2020 01:29
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I've had worse Monday mornings...
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Aug 20, 2020 02:35
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Reztes posted:Outstanding. Having now done (practice) forced landings in both fixed and helicopter, I'll take the helicopter ones any day. Hell, how many PFL's have you done all the way to the ground in a fixed wing? (Not on the runway). Same with emergencies in general..got an electric failure? Even fire? Well, we'll just land. Also this: " Helicopter crashes, however, are less likely to kill you: The fatality rate in helicopter crashes is 1.3 deaths per 100,000 flight hours versus 1.4 deaths for aircraft in general." https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2009/10/why-are-helicopters-always-crashing.html
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Aug 20, 2020 05:34
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e.pilot posted:I’ll just take two engines thanks. Well, hopefully I'll get to that too https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qp0eMORDVc
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Aug 20, 2020 06:10
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yellowD posted:Hey Aero goons, dropping in to say thank you. A bunch of you made some really awesome and helpful effort posts in response to my questions way back when. After 3 instructors (one ghosted), a pandemic shutdown, and 75 hours, I got my ticket about a month ago. It was the check ride from hell but I made it. Congrats!
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Aug 27, 2020 06:39
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Starting on confined areas...this was supposedly a beginner spot! https://i.imgur.com/cu0KOqK.mp4
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Aug 28, 2020 05:54
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I'm getting my helmet next week! Most of the instructors wear them, but this guy has a previous neck injury, so he doesn't wear one any longer. Stats are in general in favour of helmets. They also help with noise reduction and visors makes it easier to use glasses (which I kinda need to read some of the small print on the maps, despite easily passing the sight test at the medical)
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Aug 28, 2020 18:34
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Captain Apollo posted:Link to the kickass clip on visors to hats. I'll ask..the school is providing those. Bunch more confined areas today. This was was particularly tricky. Although the area and approach was easy looking, the wind swirling around the mountains meant the wind changed direction 3 times on me and I only noticed one of those during low recce. Still didn't die, though. https://i.imgur.com/NOpNGY3.mp4
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Aug 29, 2020 02:54
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Animal posted:That’s awesome. I wanna fly helicopters in a place like that. It is nice...although most of the time I'm too busy to actually enjoy the scenery!. I'm now officially halfway through (assuming I test within 100 hours) and this week was a huge step up in difficulty. It's not just the flying, but understand terrain, it's possible effect on wind and leanring to read the wind signs. And at the same time, I also have to fly more precise and have a lot less room for error and it isn't the kinda 'well, we just go around' kinda margin, it's "You'll crash and die" kinda margin. I suspect the thing that surprises most people when they start flying, is just how power limited helicopters actually are. (I kinda surprised me). Power management is #1 priority. This is turning into a bit of a mind dump, but I'm just realising how much more work is left and how I need to step up the focus level to get there. ImplicitAssembler fucked around with this message at 05:52 on Aug 29, 2020 |
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Aug 29, 2020 05:17
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Captain Apollo posted:Yeah also don’t trees block the “good wind” so sometimes it’s hard to lift back out of an area if you get too blocked in? Well, you initially judge 3 things, suitability (Does it look like you can land a helicopter there), wind (roughly estimate) and power available. Power available, is based on the amount of power it took to hover at your initial take-off and you then ltake the altitude of the landing area into account. Then you do a low recce, 3-500 feet over the landing site and judge: - size: confirming that a helicopter can fit) - shape: does it favour approaches from specific directions, taking the wind into account. - slope: Will it be fllat enough to land. - surface: Ground effect is strongest over concrete tarmac, gravel/rocks will take away some power, grass even more. Snow, mud, etc means you might sink in, get stuck. - surrounds: Now that you're lower, you'll have a better idea of how tall the obstacles are and again use that to judge arrival and departure. - sun: will the sun be a factor as you make your approach: Especially in the winter, if the sun gets blocked out by a nearby mountain etc, the light might get too flat to judge distances accurately...or if you're landing into a low sun. At the same time you try to pick up better wind signs and plan your approach accordingly. Trees, ripples on water, etc. You then do a dummy approach, flying to the commitment point, ie, if you get any lower you will have to land and then do a max power climb out. This should confirm (or adjust) your observations and it will give you a good idea of how much power you have available to get back out. You then fly the actual approach, but always with the intention to overshoot. You wont make the decision to land until the commitment point. When you then arrive in the hover, you still have work to do. Often the surface is not what you thought when looking at it from 300', so your initial choice of landing spot may not be suitable, so you'll have to maneuver around to find a suitable landing spot. The actual landing then has to be done very carefully, to make sure that the ground will actually support the aircraft and that it's sitting stable On rocks you'll wriggle it with the anti-torque pedals to make sure you aren't sitting on any loose rocks and you'll shift the cyclic forwards and back to make sure it's not rocking forwards and back. Take-off is equially interesting, Before lifting off, you'll decide on best departure. This may change depending on what you experienced on the way down. If you have room to manuever, you'll do a normal take off, ie hover, move forwards into ETL and then lift off. If you have low obstacles, you might do a towering take off, where you'll move forwards as soon as you see the rotor blades clear, or a vertical take-off. My instructor prefers the vertical take-off over the towering take-off, unless you have a clear area to reject your departure.. Lift-off itself also has to be super-gentle, especially on mud or snow, where the skids might stick and dynamic rollover can occur. Had one where one skid was stuck in the mud, lifted one skid slightly out and then had to wait for the mud to release the other skid. Anyways..it's just a lot of new processes to adopt in a fairly short amount of time. Sure, I've been exposed to some of it during the other flying, but none of it has been as critical as it is here and it doesn't really compare to anything I've tried fixed wing.
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Aug 29, 2020 18:30
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Made a little bit of effort: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huvhc9MGoeA Easily my most enjoyable flight so far.
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Sep 2, 2020 03:36
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babyeatingpsychopath posted:Every single part of this is my jam. Hit like and subscribed. Glacial run-off. Glaciers will grind the rocks and the melt will carry the dust down the rivers.
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Sep 2, 2020 15:57
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Practiced engine failures/autorotations today...this was (also) a lot of fun. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVPTf_1ucXk
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Sep 3, 2020 01:25
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Yeah, I have a hard time thinking of a better environment to practice in and the timing has been pretty good. Weather has been good enough to get a lot of my solo done and then early autumn weather will then give me some weather so that I can also learn how to deal with that. We get some basic mountain training and the receeding water levels gives us lots to stuff to play with on the rivers. I'll (hopefully) finish too early to get any snow to play with, but I'm sure I'll get plenty of that in due course, as it seems a lot of the low hour jobs are up north. It's been a really good week already and if I can keep the progress going, I should be in a good spot to test early. Written exam is booked for the 24th and we've just finished all the ground school, so the next 3 weeks will be filled with re-reading everything and a bunch of practice exams.
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Sep 3, 2020 03:58
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Sagebrush posted:Mine also is scheduled for next week and I hope the fires are somewhat burned out by then because it's been 2 1/2 SM FU HZ the last several days. There's ash on the car every time I go outside. I would still have to fly in that...they've sent them with 700' ceilings..(granted, our minimas are easier and we fly a lot slower...and have the ability to stop if needed ).It would still suck, though.
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Sep 3, 2020 23:04
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Got introduced to landing on logs today. This is easily the hardest thing I've done sofar and I probably learned more about hovering and landing in those 10 minutes than I would have in 2 hours playing around in the infield. You have to put the front of the skids on the log and then balance it there. Normally it's done for people exiting/entering areas where the ground isn't flat enough for landing. Video might not be that interesting, but this is the hardest I've worked, probably since the first time trying hovering. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBwLVwH3tyA Also rocking my snazzy new helmet, which I'm sure helped. Actually, the sound is soo much better in this helmet and it's much much easier to talk.
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Sep 5, 2020 02:25
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e.pilot posted:The video posted in the other thread is a good analogy of what happens when you don’t do that. WTF? He did just about everything wrong. That video led me to this one as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUDS3QuUWls Who lets these people out solo?
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Sep 6, 2020 00:59
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Granted, I only got 1 hour in a Cessna 152 (When I was first looking at doing my UK PPL conversion), but once the instructor found out that I'd done aerobatics he was like "Hey, wanna spin it?", which I couldn't refuse...but I mean, you had to crank it to get it to go. The place where I've been actually doing my conversion, on DA-20s, is imminent stall only as well. You can barely feel it and unless you're activily anticipating it, I doubt you would notice. I don't understand why learning to recover from a spin isn't taught. The landing one, he's coming in at 100knots. I thought it was a sim first, due to the funky lighting and the behaviour of the plane/pilot!.
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Sep 6, 2020 05:13
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e.pilot posted:A DA20 you had better be ready to correct it or you’ll be getting real close to Vne. Right, but why not at least stall it, with the instructor there to bail you out? Or does it snap that badly? (Ah, a video) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnHjmsSuLYw Seems reasonably well behaved. Recovery looks a little slow, but it's hard to tell how aggresive they are on it. Edit: A little clearer in this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgLPpoXTARU ImplicitAssembler fucked around with this message at 05:42 on Sep 6, 2020 |
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Sep 6, 2020 05:39
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Sagebrush posted:They switched to teaching "spin awareness" training, emphasizing an understanding of the conditions that cause a spin and how to avoid them, and they still require you to know the steps to recover, but you don't intentionally spin the plane as part of PPL training any more. Commercial pilots and up still have to do them, though. Right..whereas I would say that spinning actually teaches how it works and would show what can happen when you use aileron in near-stall flight regimes far better than any talking about it would...or at the very least let the stall fully develop. In my proper aerobatics lesson in the Pitts, I had to stall it as well...then hold it there, in the stall, stick fully back, keeping it upright and on heading with the rudder only. Felt like going down in a very fast elevator!. (Recovery was equally hilarious...just add power, relax the back pressure and it just flew out of it, horizontally).
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Sep 6, 2020 06:11
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Mao Zedong Thot posted:
I'm doing my CPL(H) full time and the rate of progression compared to whne I was doing my PPL(A) is night and day. It took me 18 months to get my PPL doing it in weekends, etc and I'll get a CPL(H) from 0 in ~4 months. The only real cons is that it's a lot of work. Studying/flying in the day time, ground school in the evening. Now that we're done with ground school and are doing final prep for the written exam, it's a lot of studying in the evening as well. We're expected to work hard and while there's help and advice available, there isn't any hand holding. I'm loving it, though. It's been fully immersive and I wouldn't have it any other way
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Sep 11, 2020 22:09
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Just looking at alternative options, I looked up what it would take to convert my Canadian CPL(H) to a FAA one and then get a CFI rating and it's almost nothing? While I'll only have ~100 hours rotor time, when I finish, my previous fixed wing experience counts towards the 150TT I need to convert it to a FAA license and all I need to do is sit a airlaw/communications test. Then the FAA CFI is only 15-20 hours instruction, 30 hours ground and a written/practical?. Seems...very low.
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Sep 13, 2020 05:18
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No, it seems low that I would actually be qualified to teach people how to fly.
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Sep 13, 2020 08:04
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Bah, grounded due to smoke. Won't even get the 1/2 mile needed for infield work
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Sep 14, 2020 19:59
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 04:29 |
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ImplicitAssembler posted:Just looking at alternative options, I looked up what it would take to convert my Canadian CPL(H) to a FAA one and then get a CFI rating and it's almost nothing? Checked with the school today. I will also need a night rating. Still seems worthwhile, though. I could potentially do a fixed wing night rating and then convert that and save a bit, but it would be twice the work. Also need to sit the FAA test in the US, which obviously isn't possible right now...so most likely a post-vaccine thing. I then also looked up what it would take to do an EASA conversion and laughed...(and cried a bit too).
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Sep 15, 2020 02:30
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