By CyclicAuthority on
2/6/2012 2:25 PM
Well it has been awhile since I have made an update, so I figured I would let you know how things were progressing. At the end of last summer, I did indeed get that turbine training … in fact I got a lot more. I flew the LongRanger back to CA with the Chief Pilot, then spent a couple of hours in the JetRanger with him going through EPs and such until he felt comfortable with me flying it. He also gave me a quick intro into Ag flying. We dropped down into the 5 foot high 60mph swath runs, did some Ag turns, etc, mostly to see if it was something I might be interested in. Of course, if it involves me in a helicopter, much less flying it, I am interested...
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By CyclicAuthority on
8/1/2011 2:59 PM
Well ... I'm not building any time, but I am getting some great experience. I have been working as crew for a 133/135 operation this summer in a 212 and in a 206L. By the end of the summer, I should have 200+ hours sitting next to the 212 pilot (I get to fly occasionally, so a handful of hours will be loggable), and 100+ hours sitting next to the 206 pilot (no dual controls unfortunately). The operation is working primarily between 5000 and 9000 feet in the mountains, so I am getting to see how a couple of 30 year veteran pilots fly under some pretty tricky conditions...
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By CyclicAuthority on
4/3/2011 7:17 AM
Well, I am 15 months into my CFI career, and it is going pretty slow. It started off good, but in the last 6 months things have slowed to a crawl …
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By ronwhitney on
11/3/2010 8:43 AM
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By CyclicAuthority on
7/19/2010 9:51 AM
I can't decide whether to be discouraged or empowered by what I read on the JH Forums. I started flying helicopters because I love flying, and I didn't want to spend the rest of my life tied to a desk. Then I read the forums, and there are so many unhappy people in this industry. Not just unhappy, but down right hateful of this industry from what I can tell...
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By CyclicAuthority on
7/5/2010 3:02 PM
Well, I had my first close call the other day. I suppose it wasn't that close, but it was definitely enough to make my heart skip a beat...
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By CyclicAuthority on
6/15/2010 8:10 AM
I sent my first student up for their checkride, and they passed with flying colors. I think I found this more stressful than their solo, probably because the solo took 30 minutes, and this took 4 hours...
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By ronwhitney on
5/26/2010 10:22 AM
RPMN's Managing Editor Ron Whitney's monthly Editor's Letter. This month...Looking Forward
With an economy in the early stages of what seems to be a slow recovery it is encouraging to learn that rotorcraft programs are bouncing back. The Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) is back in the news. The Presidential helicopter program is in the news. And quietly leading the way are several “optionally piloted” aircraft programs.
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By CyclicAuthority on
5/22/2010 3:35 PM
When I started my commercial training, one of the first things my instructor taught me was a commercial approach, basically an approach flown at 50-60 knots until you are in ground effect, then a quick stop. I suppose it was fun to fly, but for the life of me, I have yet to find this type of approach documented in a text book or a PTS, or really anywhere...
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By CyclicAuthority on
5/15/2010 7:23 AM
I recently had not one, but two opportunities to do a bit of flying in turbine powered helicopters … and now I am obsessed. The first flight was a joy ride in an MD500E. Being the first time in a turbine, I knew pretty much nothing about the startup, so the owner got it running, but I got to fly it, and it was fantastic...
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