PING! Mike Rapoport

Mike, how about another update on flying the Courier?

I haven't flown it for a few weeks due to weather and being out of town but
I am basically at the point where I don't have to think about "dancing on
the pedals" and that sort of stuff but I can't say that I have "mastered"
the airplane yet either. My efforts to date have been aimed at mastering
STOL landings. I can now reliably land and stop in 300" but I wouldn't be
confident landing on a 400' strip yet. On the most recent flight I managed
to stop before rolling off the numbers(!!!) with 6kts of headwind but this
was my best to date My goal is now to be able to land softly *and* short.
This is really challenging because there is no energy availible for flare at
under 50mph. The next step after that will be (short, soft) crosswind
landings which are tough because of the low approach speeds and the large
vertical stabilizer with small rudder. After that there will be sloped and
curved runways...

The Helio is like an onion in that there are layers of performance which
make it rewarding to fly. Each time you master one layer, you find another.
It is easy to get better performance than is even possible with other planes
like C182 or C185 but that is very different than being able to use all the
capability that is built into the airplane.

I am looking forward to having the backcountry strips dry out and the
beginning of fishing season!

Mike

"jsmith" wrote in message
...
Mike, how about another update on flying the Courier?

Why do you need to flare?
Will this work?
Hold a nose high pitch attitude with power to control the descent rate
(and keep from stalling). Allow the tailwheel to contact first and the
mains will follow as you reduce power. You should be able to fly below
50 mph indicated.

If the plane was that nose high on a normal descent you would be at full
power already with little of no power to arrest the descent. As you go
slower and lower your options decrease. I suppose it would be different if
there were a 450hp turbine up front :-).. When you are down around 50mph,
very small changes in airspeed result in large changes in vertical speed and
the the only way to reduce your (downward) vertical speed is to push the
nose over and accellerate. Since we are talking about flying in and around
mountains, there is always some variation in wind.

In theory you are right but, in the real world I an unwilling to risk
totalling the airplane because the wind decreased 5kts at 100agl.

Mike
MU-2


"jsmith" wrote in message
news
Why do you need to flare?
Will this work?
Hold a nose high pitch attitude with power to control the descent rate
(and keep from stalling). Allow the tailwheel to contact first and the
mains will follow as you reduce power. You should be able to fly below 50
mph indicated.

Thanks Mike.
Us/We "flatlanders" have a tendency not to think about such
considerations. :-))

Mike Rapoport wrote:
In theory you are right but, in the real world I an unwilling to risk
totalling the airplane because the wind decreased 5kts at 100agl.

jsmith wrote:
Thanks Mike.
Us/We "flatlanders" have a tendency not to think about such
considerations. :-))

Maule pilots do, flat land or not.

George Patterson
Whosoever bloweth not his own horn, the same shall remain unblown.

("Mike Rapoport" wrote)
snip
The Helio is like an onion in that there are layers of performance which
make it rewarding to fly. Each time you master one layer, you find
another. It is easy to get better performance than is even possible with
other planes like C182 or C185 but that is very different than being able
to use all the capability that is built into the airplane.


If you'd like to talk some more about your plane... :-)

What missions are you looking forward to with your Helio Courier? Missions
that might be out of reach for a C182 or C185?

Are most of the Helio's advantages over the 182/185 STOL, or is there more?

What's your breakdown of the plane's attributes? Thanks.


Montblack

"Montblack" wrote in message
...
("Mike Rapoport" wrote)
snip
The Helio is like an onion in that there are layers of performance which
make it rewarding to fly. Each time you master one layer, you find
another. It is easy to get better performance than is even possible with
other planes like C182 or C185 but that is very different than being able
to use all the capability that is built into the airplane.


If you'd like to talk some more about your plane... :-)

What missions are you looking forward to with your Helio Courier? Missions
that might be out of reach for a C182 or C185?

I am going to be flying into more of the backcountry strips here in ID. I
went to a few of the easier ones last fall to go fishing but the practical
season ended just as I was getting competent.. I would also like to go to
Alaska on an extended trip.

The advantages that I think the Helio has over the competition are that it
will fly much slower while retaining very positive control (it has spoilers
in addition to ailerons) and it doesn't stall so you can fly closer to the
limits. At the other end of the spectum, it will cruise about 140kts which
is a reasonable speed for getting places.

Are most of the Helio's advantages over the 182/185 STOL, or is there
more?

What's your breakdown of the plane's attributes? Thanks.


Everything on a Helio is designed for STOL. Low wing loading, fowler
flaps, slats, spoilers, very forward gear location, reasonably powerful ect.
All of this complexity was probably very expensive to build and that
probably led to the company's demise but it makes for a great special
purpose machine. The only negative is that it bounces around a lot in even
minor turbulence because of the low wing loading. The ultimate STOL machine
(excluding harriers and gyroplanes) is a Helio with an Allison turbine. I
met a guy that just bought back the only one in existance (he also did the
conversion) and he claims that it will get airborn in 80' and climb over
3000fpm.

Mike
Helio Courier H295

"Mike Rapoport" wrote in message
ink.net...
I can now reliably land and stop in 300" but I wouldn't be
confident landing on a 400' strip yet.

Why not? You've got 375' left in case you screw up.

(I know, I know. I just couldn't help myself)

"Helio 123X, Cleared To Land Runway 9, Exit At Alpha if able.:"
"123X, cleared to land."
screech!
silence...
"Showoff 123X, turn left at the runway threshold and contact ground. Next
time you can use the hover pad, sir."
"123X, rog' that." chuckle

"Mike Rapoport" wrote in message
ink.net...
I haven't flown it for a few weeks due to weather and being out of town but
I am basically at the point where I don't have to think about "dancing on
the pedals" and that sort of stuff but I can't say that I have "mastered"
the airplane yet either. My efforts to date have been aimed at mastering
STOL landings. I can now reliably land and stop in 300" but I wouldn't be
confident landing on a 400' strip yet. On the most recent flight I managed
to stop before rolling off the numbers(!!!) with 6kts of headwind but this
was my best to date My goal is now to be able to land softly *and* short.
This is really challenging because there is no energy availible for flare
at under 50mph. The next step after that will be (short, soft) crosswind
landings which are tough because of the low approach speeds and the large
vertical stabilizer with small rudder. After that there will be sloped and
curved runways...

The Helio is like an onion in that there are layers of performance which
make it rewarding to fly. Each time you master one layer, you find
another. It is easy to get better performance than is even possible with
other planes like C182 or C185 but that is very different than being able
to use all the capability that is built into the airplane.

I am looking forward to having the backcountry strips dry out and the
beginning of fishing season!

Mike

"jsmith" wrote in message
...
Mike, how about another update on flying the Courier?