SuperChief141 Posted June 4, 2023 Posted June 4, 2023 As a low time private pilot that lost his medical years ago, I've been itching to get behind the stick one last time. A "Fini" Flight as we called it in the Air Force. Flying a helicopter had always been a bucket list item for me as well, so I decided to combine the two. After all I learned to fly a UH-1 in DCS and have more than a few hours in it. I had no misconceptions that my DCS Huey experience qualified me for the R-44 but I was curious how it would play in real life. Thought I share a few impressions for those that might be interested. First and foremost a HUGE shoutout to Dallas from Helicopters Northwest in Seattle. (In which I am in no way affiliated) As our Instructor she did an excellent job of making us not dead. OK, impressions in no particular order: This aircraft was very clean. I was an aircraft mechanic for 35 years and rarely, if ever have I seen an engine/accessory compartment so spotless. The anti torque pedals don't self center like my Thrustmaster pendulars. I never quite adjusted to that. No trimmer! In my Huey the trimmer is life, not so with the Robinson. In my 30 minutes of stick time I never felt the need to trim the aircraft as I changed altitudes and airspeeds. I recently added a 4" extension to my warthog stick, and while it made sim flying easier, the feel and geometry of the R-44 "top down" cyclic was quite different. This is something I think I could adjust to fairly quickly though. Turbulence was a factor. In DCS my UH-1 weighs in at a couple of tons and I generally fly with weather off. Spoiled me rotten. The R-44 is a little 'ol thing and as we were flying off of the several square miles of tarmac that is Boeing Field the thermals bounced us around a bit. (23 c on the ground) Dallas gave great advise here, telling me to just let the helicopter fly thru the bumps and not try to correct for every bounce. My closing thoughts: Could I have taken the R-44 off? I'll give myself a maybe here. Could I have hovered the R-44? GAWDS NO! Could I have flown the R-44 from Point A to B? I can honestly say yes here. Once in the air it is pretty much point and shoot. Could I have landed the R-44? Please expand upon your use of the word "landed." Could they have reused the R-44? See above question/response. This was not inexpensive but for a life experience/bucket list item it was worth it. Lastly I'd be remiss if I didn't mention my young friend Anneliese who came along as my photographer...Imagine, this was her first time in a helicopter and she had me as a pilot! YOU ROCK GIRL! 6
MAXsenna Posted June 4, 2023 Posted June 4, 2023 Great post!Thanks! Sent from my MAR-LX1A using Tapatalk
Sharkku Posted June 5, 2023 Posted June 5, 2023 Great to hear of a similar experience as my own! Great post! Thanks for linking my old post, so I got notified, @Presidium! 1
Tuturuu Posted June 7, 2023 Posted June 7, 2023 Great great post ! Looks like you had a blast, thanks for sharing this experience. I came across your post by chance, makes me wish we had better vision or a "my real life experience / sharing" category on this forum 2
SuperChief141 Posted June 7, 2023 Author Posted June 7, 2023 (edited) On 6/4/2023 at 2:11 PM, Presidium said: I always wondered if I would be able to fly a real helicopter. So I found your post, very interesting. I would say just do it then. I'm deep into my 60'S and the reality is the Bucket List clock is ticking. Find a helicopter school, plunk down $300.00 or so and get yourself a no obligation (as in signing up for lessons) Discovery Flight. Bragging rights for life. On 6/5/2023 at 11:48 AM, Sharkku said: Great to hear of a similar experience as my own! Great post! Thanks for linking my old post, so I got notified, @Presidium! Sounds like you were a bit more in command of the aircraft than I was! In my defense, I'm a very rusty pilot. Stopped flying 20 years ago and since then have only flown a plane once about 10 years past. Your sim setup is similar to mine, I also use the Warthog throttle as a collective. Interestingly because of the short lever moment the Warthog/collective is very sensitive (as I'm sure you know). This led me to under control the collective in the R-44. Under controlling a heli? That's about as common as leftover bacon. 11 hours ago, Tuturuu said: Looks like you had a blast You Sir, are a Grand Master of the understatement. You win the Internet! Edited June 7, 2023 by SuperChief141 2
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