Steve R.
August 14th 04, 01:57 PM
Hey Kevin,
Thanks for another great write up. Man, you're sure bringing back memories
of those "off" days when I was in my primary training. The frustration is
completely understood. ;-) Just remember, you "might" have another hour or
so of marginal flying and then that day will arrive when it all comes
together. I look forward to hearing about that day too!
Best of luck to you Bubb......er, Kevin! :-D You know it may take you a
while to live that one down. You might want to just live with the gasoline
smell for a while. ;-)
Fly Safe,
Steve R.
"The OTHER Kevin in San Diego" <skiddz *AT* adelphia *DOT* net> wrote in
message ...
> Had another hop for another 1.3 this past Thursday. Not near as hot
> as the previous flight so DA wasn't too bad. Pretty hazy out, but
> ATIS reported 7 mile visibility. Sure didn't look like 7 from the
> ground though.
>
> I fill out my weight and balance and figure DA then check the squawk
> sheet. No discrepancies so I fill out the white board in the hangar.
> Aircraft, student, departure time, arrival time, where we're headed
> and update the time to maintenance box. Grab my headset and checklist
> and head out to the ship.
>
> I usually pull on a pair of rubber gloves for the preflight so my
> hands don't get all grungy and stink like gasoline the rest of the
> day, but only had one so I slipped it on my right hand. I get through
> the right cabin side, right engine, rear of engine, tail boom and tail
> rotor section and am just starting the left engine side when my ground
> school instructor walks up with another student and asks, "What's up
> Thriller?"
>
> I didn't catch the zinger at the time (it'll make sense in a sec here)
> so I said "This here R22 will be up in about 15 minutes"
>
> "You want some sequins to go with that glove Michael?"
>
> Oh, ok, I get it.. Michael Jackson and the glove.. ha ha.. "Um the
> glove is on the wrong hand."
>
> "We're gonna get you some rhinestones and some sequins for that glove
> Mike.. No wait.. You can't be Mike, you're still a monkey" (We mere
> students are "monkeys") "we'll just call you Bubbles." Evidently
> Michael Jackson has a monkey called "Bubbles" - I didn't know that.
> I should get out more often. hehehe
>
> Those two knuckleheads walk away and I finish my preflight. I'm gonna
> need a quart of oil so I'm about to head back to the hangar to grab a
> quart when my flight instructor comes walking out. "How's it going
> Bubbles?" I tell him we're going to need a quart of oil so he says
> he'll take care of it. I head back to the hangar to toss out my glove
> and hit the can.
>
> I get to the hangar and tell my ground instructor "Man, you suck." and
> tell him what the other instructor just said. We all have a good
> laugh and I head back to the ship with "Billy Jean" stuck in my head.
> Great.. Just what I need. I head back out as my flight instructor is
> headed back.. "You suck too." I say as we pass. He laughs and keeps
> on going.
>
> I get to the ship, hop in and buckle up. Instructor shows up a few
> moments later and buckles in. Pre-start checklist good so I fire her
> up. Starter light off, no warning lights, engine instruments in the
> green so I flick on the clutch switch. We want a West takeoff with a
> South departure to the practice area so I get a quick ATIS update - no
> changes since I did my DA and W&B - so I call up the tower and get
> clearance behind another of "our" ships that took off moments before.
>
> I pick the ship up - little wobble at first but I get it reasonably
> stable, clear the tail to the left and do a right pedal turn and begin
> my air taxi. OK, this isn't too bad. I've got decent altitude
> control and my speed control is good. We're cleared right to the
> runway so I taxi to the center and pedal turn right. I see our other
> ship just beginning it's climb out so I tell my instructor "I'm gonna
> hold here for a few seconds and let them climb out a bit more" He
> says ok and after about 15 seconds I give 'er a bit of forward cyclic
> and pull power to a little over 22 inches. 22.9 is our max takeoff
> limit for the conditions so I'm a smidge lower than that and headed
> right down the centerline, looking for 60 knots.. (I love that
> nose-down haulin' butt sensation on takeoff)
>
> 60 knots, some aft cyclic and I'm climbing at 500fpm.. Cool.. I hit
> the numbers I was looking for. For all of about 10 seconds. Kinda
> bumpy again so I do my best to establish a steady climb. Turn
> crosswind and depart the area, finally leveling off at about 1,300 and
> looking for 75kts. And I'm still looking.. Couldn't control my
> airspeed worth a damn. I figured I was just a little rusty since it's
> been a whopping 48 hours between flights.
>
> I can see our other ship a couple miles in front of us headed to the
> practice area. They call us up and tell us what they're going to be
> doing - same thing as us - so we work out who's going to take which
> end of our little concrete "pad" and then take turns flying patterns
> and shooting approaches.
>
> I'm doing ok flying the pattern, but can't get the damned approaches
> down. I'm too hot, I'm too low, I'm too slow, I'm too high, you name
> it, I was doing it. I fly one approach horribly and we end up about
> 100' high and very slow.. My instructor tells me to bail out of the
> approach and go around the patch again. He wants to show me something
> that might help.
>
> I get around the patch and get set up on final and he takes the
> controls with me following along.. We're going to do a steep
> approach. He explains what he's doing and I'm lightly following him
> on the controls.. We get slowed down to ETL and shimmy and shake all
> the way down to a 5' hover where he hands the ship back over to me. I
> hover there (If you can call it a hover) for a little bit while he
> runs over the approach again. "ok, let's go around again"
>
> Take off run is good, I'm climbing out at 50. Still having friggin'
> airspeed control issues for some reason today... Finally get to 60
> and push for 75 as I turn downwind and level at 1,200 feet (our "pad"
> is about 700' MSL) Opposite the "threshold" I begin to slow us down
> and establish a positive descent and turn base, then final.. I get
> slowed down to ETL and am getting that vibration. Sinking too fast so
> I add some power..
>
> Crap, I've accelerated through ETL so back comes the nose to slow us
> down. Damn, now I'm actually climbing so down comes the nose and I
> reduce power a bit.. I feel like I'm on a friggin' rocking horse for
> the 1st half of this approach.. I finally get it settled down and
> manage to do a reasonable normal approach. Not what you were after
> Kevin..
>
> I don't know what's up with me today, but I'm just not flying well..
> It's time to return to the field so I transmit I'm leaving the
> practice area to the North and head for home. I climb out to 1,300
> feet and hit 75 knots.. Jesus.. Now I can't control my altitude.
> 1,300 to 1,100 back to 1,300 then down to 1,200. Way to go Chuck
> Yeager.. sheesh...
>
> We're about 6 miles out and I call the tower and request landing.
> They clear me for approach and landing at the intersection of a
> taxiway and the active runway. Great, I don't know where the hell
> that particular taxiway is. I ask my instructor where I'm supposed to
> go so he gets me headed to the correct spot. I fly a ragged approach
> to the spot and just before I get the ship stopped and into a hover,
> we get hit with a gust of wind that spins the ship very quickly to the
> right. I stab the left pedal and end up having to mash it all the way
> down to stop the yaw and immediately have to add some right pedal to
> get it stable.. I think I sucked a couple pounds of seat cushion up
> my ass on that one.
>
> We've been cleared to air taxi back to the ramp so I head that way. I
> pick my pad and just when I think I'm settled down enough to set it
> down nicely, my instructor says "xxxxx is watching, show him how it's
> done." (names withheld to protect the innocent) Great, that's the
> kiss of death, just like the "move us to that line" bit in the last
> episode)
>
> I get my pedal turn completed and get the ship centered over the pad
> then can't get it settled down enough to set down and end up scooting
> off the front of the pad. I finally get it under control and back it
> up slowly and get it set down. Throttle down to 75%, governor off,
> jiggle the cyclic to get the vibrations to smooth out and then pinch
> it between my knees in that oh-so-feminine posture I've come to know
> and love.
>
> I set frictions with my right hand and start the 5 minute cool down.
> CHTs are coming down nicely and after 5 mins I roll off the throttle
> flick off the clutch and pull mixture, call for fuel and then shut off
> the avionics and mags. Get the blades stopped then off goes the
> strobe and the master. I secure the ship and check the Hobbs. 1.3
> again.. I fill out the Hobbs log and head to the hangar. I'm not
> pleased with how I flew today.
>
> I end up taking a walk to the drink machine with my instructor and I
> tell him I wasn't happy with how I did. He said I didn't do too bad
> and mentioned my pickups were getting better. Much smoother and not
> as much movement as the previous 2 flights. I got the "sometimes
> you're just having an off day" talk as well.
>
> I know when I flew fixed wing I'd have days like that and I know it's
> part of the process. Hell, I have days like that playing my guitar
> and I've been playing since the early 80s. Some days I can do no
> wrong and I play really well. Other days I can't play for s**t. Same
> with flying I guess.. Still, I think it was a good learning
> experience and I did do 95% of the flying and I did have fun so it's
> not like it was a waste of time. I guess I was just a little
> frustrated/disappointed at not improving much on this flight.
>
> Oh well, I've got 3 slots on the flight schedule next week That's
> something to look forward to!
>
> Now I've just got to get rid of that whole "Bubbles" thing.. ehhehe
>
>
Thanks for another great write up. Man, you're sure bringing back memories
of those "off" days when I was in my primary training. The frustration is
completely understood. ;-) Just remember, you "might" have another hour or
so of marginal flying and then that day will arrive when it all comes
together. I look forward to hearing about that day too!
Best of luck to you Bubb......er, Kevin! :-D You know it may take you a
while to live that one down. You might want to just live with the gasoline
smell for a while. ;-)
Fly Safe,
Steve R.
"The OTHER Kevin in San Diego" <skiddz *AT* adelphia *DOT* net> wrote in
message ...
> Had another hop for another 1.3 this past Thursday. Not near as hot
> as the previous flight so DA wasn't too bad. Pretty hazy out, but
> ATIS reported 7 mile visibility. Sure didn't look like 7 from the
> ground though.
>
> I fill out my weight and balance and figure DA then check the squawk
> sheet. No discrepancies so I fill out the white board in the hangar.
> Aircraft, student, departure time, arrival time, where we're headed
> and update the time to maintenance box. Grab my headset and checklist
> and head out to the ship.
>
> I usually pull on a pair of rubber gloves for the preflight so my
> hands don't get all grungy and stink like gasoline the rest of the
> day, but only had one so I slipped it on my right hand. I get through
> the right cabin side, right engine, rear of engine, tail boom and tail
> rotor section and am just starting the left engine side when my ground
> school instructor walks up with another student and asks, "What's up
> Thriller?"
>
> I didn't catch the zinger at the time (it'll make sense in a sec here)
> so I said "This here R22 will be up in about 15 minutes"
>
> "You want some sequins to go with that glove Michael?"
>
> Oh, ok, I get it.. Michael Jackson and the glove.. ha ha.. "Um the
> glove is on the wrong hand."
>
> "We're gonna get you some rhinestones and some sequins for that glove
> Mike.. No wait.. You can't be Mike, you're still a monkey" (We mere
> students are "monkeys") "we'll just call you Bubbles." Evidently
> Michael Jackson has a monkey called "Bubbles" - I didn't know that.
> I should get out more often. hehehe
>
> Those two knuckleheads walk away and I finish my preflight. I'm gonna
> need a quart of oil so I'm about to head back to the hangar to grab a
> quart when my flight instructor comes walking out. "How's it going
> Bubbles?" I tell him we're going to need a quart of oil so he says
> he'll take care of it. I head back to the hangar to toss out my glove
> and hit the can.
>
> I get to the hangar and tell my ground instructor "Man, you suck." and
> tell him what the other instructor just said. We all have a good
> laugh and I head back to the ship with "Billy Jean" stuck in my head.
> Great.. Just what I need. I head back out as my flight instructor is
> headed back.. "You suck too." I say as we pass. He laughs and keeps
> on going.
>
> I get to the ship, hop in and buckle up. Instructor shows up a few
> moments later and buckles in. Pre-start checklist good so I fire her
> up. Starter light off, no warning lights, engine instruments in the
> green so I flick on the clutch switch. We want a West takeoff with a
> South departure to the practice area so I get a quick ATIS update - no
> changes since I did my DA and W&B - so I call up the tower and get
> clearance behind another of "our" ships that took off moments before.
>
> I pick the ship up - little wobble at first but I get it reasonably
> stable, clear the tail to the left and do a right pedal turn and begin
> my air taxi. OK, this isn't too bad. I've got decent altitude
> control and my speed control is good. We're cleared right to the
> runway so I taxi to the center and pedal turn right. I see our other
> ship just beginning it's climb out so I tell my instructor "I'm gonna
> hold here for a few seconds and let them climb out a bit more" He
> says ok and after about 15 seconds I give 'er a bit of forward cyclic
> and pull power to a little over 22 inches. 22.9 is our max takeoff
> limit for the conditions so I'm a smidge lower than that and headed
> right down the centerline, looking for 60 knots.. (I love that
> nose-down haulin' butt sensation on takeoff)
>
> 60 knots, some aft cyclic and I'm climbing at 500fpm.. Cool.. I hit
> the numbers I was looking for. For all of about 10 seconds. Kinda
> bumpy again so I do my best to establish a steady climb. Turn
> crosswind and depart the area, finally leveling off at about 1,300 and
> looking for 75kts. And I'm still looking.. Couldn't control my
> airspeed worth a damn. I figured I was just a little rusty since it's
> been a whopping 48 hours between flights.
>
> I can see our other ship a couple miles in front of us headed to the
> practice area. They call us up and tell us what they're going to be
> doing - same thing as us - so we work out who's going to take which
> end of our little concrete "pad" and then take turns flying patterns
> and shooting approaches.
>
> I'm doing ok flying the pattern, but can't get the damned approaches
> down. I'm too hot, I'm too low, I'm too slow, I'm too high, you name
> it, I was doing it. I fly one approach horribly and we end up about
> 100' high and very slow.. My instructor tells me to bail out of the
> approach and go around the patch again. He wants to show me something
> that might help.
>
> I get around the patch and get set up on final and he takes the
> controls with me following along.. We're going to do a steep
> approach. He explains what he's doing and I'm lightly following him
> on the controls.. We get slowed down to ETL and shimmy and shake all
> the way down to a 5' hover where he hands the ship back over to me. I
> hover there (If you can call it a hover) for a little bit while he
> runs over the approach again. "ok, let's go around again"
>
> Take off run is good, I'm climbing out at 50. Still having friggin'
> airspeed control issues for some reason today... Finally get to 60
> and push for 75 as I turn downwind and level at 1,200 feet (our "pad"
> is about 700' MSL) Opposite the "threshold" I begin to slow us down
> and establish a positive descent and turn base, then final.. I get
> slowed down to ETL and am getting that vibration. Sinking too fast so
> I add some power..
>
> Crap, I've accelerated through ETL so back comes the nose to slow us
> down. Damn, now I'm actually climbing so down comes the nose and I
> reduce power a bit.. I feel like I'm on a friggin' rocking horse for
> the 1st half of this approach.. I finally get it settled down and
> manage to do a reasonable normal approach. Not what you were after
> Kevin..
>
> I don't know what's up with me today, but I'm just not flying well..
> It's time to return to the field so I transmit I'm leaving the
> practice area to the North and head for home. I climb out to 1,300
> feet and hit 75 knots.. Jesus.. Now I can't control my altitude.
> 1,300 to 1,100 back to 1,300 then down to 1,200. Way to go Chuck
> Yeager.. sheesh...
>
> We're about 6 miles out and I call the tower and request landing.
> They clear me for approach and landing at the intersection of a
> taxiway and the active runway. Great, I don't know where the hell
> that particular taxiway is. I ask my instructor where I'm supposed to
> go so he gets me headed to the correct spot. I fly a ragged approach
> to the spot and just before I get the ship stopped and into a hover,
> we get hit with a gust of wind that spins the ship very quickly to the
> right. I stab the left pedal and end up having to mash it all the way
> down to stop the yaw and immediately have to add some right pedal to
> get it stable.. I think I sucked a couple pounds of seat cushion up
> my ass on that one.
>
> We've been cleared to air taxi back to the ramp so I head that way. I
> pick my pad and just when I think I'm settled down enough to set it
> down nicely, my instructor says "xxxxx is watching, show him how it's
> done." (names withheld to protect the innocent) Great, that's the
> kiss of death, just like the "move us to that line" bit in the last
> episode)
>
> I get my pedal turn completed and get the ship centered over the pad
> then can't get it settled down enough to set down and end up scooting
> off the front of the pad. I finally get it under control and back it
> up slowly and get it set down. Throttle down to 75%, governor off,
> jiggle the cyclic to get the vibrations to smooth out and then pinch
> it between my knees in that oh-so-feminine posture I've come to know
> and love.
>
> I set frictions with my right hand and start the 5 minute cool down.
> CHTs are coming down nicely and after 5 mins I roll off the throttle
> flick off the clutch and pull mixture, call for fuel and then shut off
> the avionics and mags. Get the blades stopped then off goes the
> strobe and the master. I secure the ship and check the Hobbs. 1.3
> again.. I fill out the Hobbs log and head to the hangar. I'm not
> pleased with how I flew today.
>
> I end up taking a walk to the drink machine with my instructor and I
> tell him I wasn't happy with how I did. He said I didn't do too bad
> and mentioned my pickups were getting better. Much smoother and not
> as much movement as the previous 2 flights. I got the "sometimes
> you're just having an off day" talk as well.
>
> I know when I flew fixed wing I'd have days like that and I know it's
> part of the process. Hell, I have days like that playing my guitar
> and I've been playing since the early 80s. Some days I can do no
> wrong and I play really well. Other days I can't play for s**t. Same
> with flying I guess.. Still, I think it was a good learning
> experience and I did do 95% of the flying and I did have fun so it's
> not like it was a waste of time. I guess I was just a little
> frustrated/disappointed at not improving much on this flight.
>
> Oh well, I've got 3 slots on the flight schedule next week That's
> something to look forward to!
>
> Now I've just got to get rid of that whole "Bubbles" thing.. ehhehe
>
>