Interesting or unusual planes?

[fuzzy]

https://youtu.be/huvhc9MGoeA

This was fun!

They let you out on your own?

Nice one Centurion!

[Jakob]

Yeah and I'm getting a lot longer leash now too.
Today was engine failures/autorotations
https://youtu.be/WVPTf_1ucXk

These were (also) a lot of fun to do and a good demo of how a helicopter is still highly maneuverable with the engine out. (granted, we just roll the throttle down so that the rotor just freewheels, but the effect is the same)

[ElyDave]

An F-16 just screamed over our house at about 100 ft. We get quite a few F-15s and Eurofighters as we are in a low fly training zone but that's the first time I have seen an F-16 here.

Dont see those around here either, could you see who's it was, or was it too quick?

[JonBuoy]

Yeah and I'm getting a lot longer leash now too.
Today was engine failures/autorotations
https://youtu.be/WVPTf_1ucXk

These were (also) a lot of fun to do and a good demo of how a helicopter is still highly maneuverable with the engine out. (granted, we just roll the throttle down so that the rotor just freewheels, but the effect is the same)

Why do you pick the riverbed when there are what look like large, flat, landable fields alongside it?

Did your instructor declare them out of bounds for some reason or am I missing something?

[pcolbeck]

An F-16 just screamed over our house at about 100 ft. We get quite a few F-15s and Eurofighters as we are in a low fly training zone but that's the first time I have seen an F-16 here.

Dont see those around here either, could you see who's it was, or was it too quick?

Too quick, didn't see it approach as it came from behind the house. Only saw its underside. It would be helpful if they had nice clear markings like in WWII
Don't think the Yanks have any in the UK so it was probably Belgian, Dutch or Danish.

[Jakob]

With the river bed, we had a distinct (and repeatable) aiming point. It also presented some obstacles and the point was to be as accurate as possible.  So, it makes a otherwise 'technical' exercise a lot more realistic. You wont always have a nice big field to land in and demonstrating that you know how to maneuver and vary the range is an important aspect.
It also means that you're less likely to buzz a farmer, etc and easily keeps you away from houses.

[JonBuoy]

Makes a lot of sense.

Another thought - am I correct in assuming that you did similar exercises pre-solo?  Was this some form of continuation training?

[Jakob]

Yeah, it's a requirement for doing solo. Not necessarily to be good at them, but to know what to do. When the wind is strong enough, we also train them all the way to the ground (at the home base, where the grass surface is known to be flat enough).  If you do them right, you'll end up landing softly with no forward speed, but as long as you land with say, less than 10-15mph forward speed, it will still feel very gentle.

[Jakob]

Just to cap off the week, I had to learn to do log landings.  First was landing with the rear of the skids on a smaller log (branch, really) and then letting the helicopter gently tilt forward until the front of the skids touched and then lower the collective all the way down...hard but doable and felt relatively safe.
Then we did toe-in log landings.  Get the front of the skids on a bigger log, lower collective enough that it sticks, but still keep in the rear of the helicoper in the air (as otherwise you'll strike with the tail rotor, which is kinda a bad thing). Easily the hardest thing I've done sofar. Apparently also 'exciting' for my instructor, as his apple watch HR monitor told him 'workout complete!' as we flew away.
This is not in the official curriculum, but I learned more about hovering in those 10 minutes than I would have done in 2 hours in a 'safe place'.
https://youtu.be/JBwLVwH3tyA

Also did some low level flying exercises which were fun and nowhere near as stressful
https://youtu.be/defAng2YSqI

[matthew]

As a child I remember reading a book that was the biography of a British arm helicopter pilot turned MAF missionary pilot. He was in the far east in the ~1980s (Indonesia / Papa New Guinea) during and after an earthquake and was pretty much the only route of evacuation from areas where the landing strips were no longer serviceable.

However in the book he recounted being in the army after completing his flight training and finding himself as co-pilot to his former instructor. Apparently at a low altitude, and over the landing pad, he repaid all the surprise engine out drills and wound the throttle back on the instructor.  Cue a bumpy landing and an irate instructor.

[Jakob]

I would love to do that to my instructor...

Found an old picture of one of the helicopters I have been flying. This is from the day it was first delivered...in 1957

[Jaded]

You suit that raincoat. 

[Steph]

An 82p Kindle version of a "20 hardback. Rather dry, but it has huge amount of detail about WWII fighter performance, including reports on captured German kit. A real plane geek book.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=flying+to+the+limit&crid=GMW5C87SUL0Z&sprefix=flying+to+the%2Caps%2C151&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-apa-p_1_13

[Hot Flatus]

I would love to do that to my instructor...

Found an old picture of one of the helicopters I have been flying. This is from the day it was first delivered...in 1957

Just as well that metal fatigue isnt an actual thing

[Cudzoziemiec]

Is that Benny or Bjorn?

[Hot Flatus]

 

[Steph]

Is that Benny or Bjorn?

Neither.

Agnetha was having a bad hair day

[Cudzoziemiec]

Is that Benny or Bjorn?

Neither.

Agnetha was having a bad hair day

Don't be silly! Agnetha was blond, that must be Frida.

Actual fact:* one of them – Agnetha or Anni-Frid – but I can't remember which, was terrified of flying to the extent that it seriously limited their touring.

*I read this in a TEFL book way back when I was doing that, so it must be true.

[Jakob]

Learning how to deal with stuck pedals/tail rotor.
This was more fun than it looks

https://youtu.be/UA51nAfmhQk

[fuzzy]

Is that Benny or Bjorn?

Neither.

Agnetha was having a bad hair day

Don't be silly! Agnetha was blond, that must be Frida.

Actual fact:* one of them – Agnetha or Anni-Frid – but I can't remember which, was terrified of flying to the extent that it seriously limited their touring.

*I read this in a TEFL book way back when I was doing that, so it must be true.

Agnetha

[Jakob]

New parking spot

[mrcharly-YHT]

that looks like the landing might have been a bit nerve-racking

[cycleman]

Bloody helicopter parking on the cycle trail    

[JonBuoy]

Jet suit trial for Great North Air Ambulance paramedics:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-54341378

[Jakob]

that looks like the landing might have been a bit nerve-racking

This one was actually relatively easy, as there was no obstacles and a relatively straight approach. Also being my first 'side hill' approach I lined up quite far out
https://youtu.be/y78766Dn3bc
Obviously a bit unnerving with the hill on the side, but I knew we had enough room, as I was in the backseat of a Jetranger landing there a few weeks back .

The confined area approaches and departures are easily by far the hardest thing on the course and since 95% of the work here involved operating in confined areas, it's a large part of the course (Whereas a UK helicopter student wouldn't even get close to doing anything like this).