Two Weeks Deep

Yes, it's already been that long - two whole weeks of flying. After only 7 rides, I've progressed from barely being able to hover to flying a multitude of approaches & take offs. The number of life-and-death encounters per ride have decreased from a dozen to only 3 or 4.

Here's what I don't understand: I can take off and land with minimal problems, but I can't park the damn thing! That's right, the hardest part is setting it down exactly on the parking pad. If you thought that parallel parking a car was tough, try doing it with a helicopter!

Despite my setbacks, I'm loving this job. I can't think of anything else I'd rather be doing than buzzing around the tree tops with the doors open and the windows down. All I have to do is stay alive!

Some More Huey Action

For those of you wondering what makes the Huey so legendary, watch this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeBcTV5-5E8&feature=fvw

However, it looks like you'll have to go to Australia to experience it.

First Flight

It started out early this morning at 0430. But the early start was well worth it, because I finally got the chance to take the controls in a helicopter - and not just any helicopter, but the legendary Huey.

There's a lot of prep work involved before you get to the fun part of flying. I'll spare you details because it's not very exciting. After crawling all over the aging bird, fingering every bolt, and reading countless gauges, we strapped in and prepared to start her up.

It's pretty cool sitting behind the controls of a 1963 helicopter with over 20,000 hours of flight time. It makes you wonder how they keep something this old in operable condition. How many 1963 Chevrolet's do you see on the road today?

Despite her age, the Huey's engine whined and the rotor blades began to turn. Suddenly you're bouncing in the seat as this beast comes to life. Loose grass starts flying and all others noises are drowned out by the whomp-whomp of the rotor blades.

You couldn't wipe a smile off of my face as we lifted off the ground into a hover, as if we were riding some 7700 pound magic carpet. The instructor gave me the controls and said "keep the aircraft four feet off the ground with the nose fixed on that tree over there." After a few seconds, I was lucky if we were even 50 yards from the point where I assumed the controls. We were all over the place! After a few tries and some "oh-sh**" calls, I was able to hover comfortably for day one.

A half hour was all we had, but it was 30 minutes of my life that I'll never forget...and I am exhausted. It took every ounce of concentration to keep that helicopter from hitting the ground or drifting in the wrong direction. Let's hope that my proficiency builds fast.

Another Week Down...Who has a Dollar?

This week was pretty much a repeat of last week - more academics - more school. It's all going to come to an end on Tuesday when I go up for my "dollar ride."

Some of you may be wondering, what is a dollar ride? Here's how it works. After a student pilot receives his first ride, he gives the instructor who flew with him a dollar. The dollar is personalized by the student, thanking the instructor for their first ride.

Sometimes the dollar accompanies a bottle of booze or parts of the aircraft (if the flight really went wrong.) For example, the dollar I gave to my instructor for T-6's had two tires with it. (I landed pretty hard and maintenance had to replace the tires.)

This tradition dates back to county fairs of the early 1900s. Barnstormer pilots charged a dollar for customers to ride in the front seat and act as if they were the pilot.

For those of you wondering what this dollar ride will be like, it will NOT be like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9ZUXNeBoHo

She's Old but She Cleans up Nice

In the process of learning about the various systems on the Huey, I'm also getting a history lesson on the way things used to be. This helicopter is nearly an antique.

The Huey was first accepted by the Army in 1956. What were you doing in 1956? I wasn't even a thought at that time.

Smoking was allowed while flying the Huey until the late 80's. It was disbanded because there were too many burn marks on the floors. The Hueys we fly still have ash trays in the dash.

The clock on board must be wound up for power. Needless to say, the only digital item on this helicopter is my wristwatch!

Back to School

Well, I don't have much excitement to pass along. I can pretty much sum it up that I'm back in the classroom.

This past week has been nothing but academics. Academics are synonymous with books and numbers. I'm developing a new vocabulary. Trunnions, bearings, hanger assemblies, fairings, gate valves, solenoids, cams, driveshafts, and tachometers are tossed around in most of my conversation.

I'm not doing any flying yet - not until I memorize a bunch of obscure numbers about the different systems on the aircraft...oil pressure limits, when do certain valves open and close, how much weight can you carry...the list goes on and on.

Even more of a mind boggler is figuring out how the engine produces power. I won't even try to explain it to you. The picture of the 1400 horsepower turboshaft engine above speaks for itself.

Any pilot knows that there are certain situations in which he must be able to react quickly if he intends on living through the experience. In other words, he must be able to recognize that something is going wrong, diagnose what is wrong with his aircraft, and then react appropriately. These actions become even more important when you are low to the ground - a place where helicopters spend most of their time. So not only are we learning a bunch of numbers, but how to react to a bunch of "oh - sh**" scenarios.

Fortunately, our instructors make up for the lack of excitement during the day. Most of them flew in Vietnam. One instructor has been flying over 50 years! That's twice my age. These guys know the Huey like they know the back of their hand. They know my questions before I can ask them - seriously. It sure beats learning from slides on a computer.

The Huey

As I draw closer to hitting the flight line, I should explain to you all what I'll be flying. If you saw my first post, you'd say the UH-1N "Huey." That's close, but I messed up. To be correct, the model is actually the H model rather than the more recent N-version.

Regardless, the Huey has a long standing history of use across all service branches. Most of you will recall its use in the Vietnam War. In fact, some of the birds we're flying here are recycled from Vietnam! Yes, these boys are old. You can supposedly see bullet holes on parts of the skin. Now don't worry about them falling apart. The maintenance shop here meticulously takes care of these fragile birds.

Anyways, it's pretty awesome to know that I'll be flying something that was flown in combat four decades ago by pilots younger than myself. In fact, the Huey is the only trainer in the USAF that is a warbird (i.e. flown in combat). This helicopter is a piece of history . It's legendary. Let's hope that I don't spoil her reputation.

Find lots of pictures and information about the Huey here:

http://www.aircav.com/huey/uhgal01/uhgal01.html