To the guy writing the heli lesson diary:

I don't post here often but I have read w/ interest your diary of
flight lessons. A few questions if you don't mind:
Why are you cooling down an R22 ( I assume from your threads that is
what you're flying) for five minutes before you disengage the clutch?
R22 checklists state a 2 minute cooldown before clutch disengage. The
factory says it doesn't need even 2 minutes if you get substantial
cylinder head temp reduction in less time. I cannot imagine a flight
school allowing for one second more cooldown than is required by the
factory. Unless you are paying for time on the skids, instead of
collective time. If so, if you are paying for total Hobbs time, they
may be screwing you, check it out. No R22 needs a five minute cooldown
before clutch release. Just two minutes for coolodown, then release
clutch for thirty seconds, then get mixture guard off and pull mixture
out. Call Robinson Helicopters yourself and check it out. You may be
asked for that additional cooldown time simply to run up your tab if
you are paying for Hobbs time.
Also, in one of your posts you state that after bringing the ship to a
hover after an approach you had a wind gust that pushed the ship into
a right yaw that was so extreme you had to add FULL left pedal to stop
it. I've flown R22s for a while and I have NEVER approached the need
for full left pedal. Ever. The R22 has very good tail rotor
characteristics as opposed to some of the Bell's and others that can
get you in trouble quickly with their less than ideal tail rotor
designs that allow tail rotor vortices to form quickly in the wrong
wind conditions, so I find it incredible that you got the ship so
twisted that it was necessary for you to bottom the left pedal to get
the ship back in trim.
And that your CFI never took over??!!!!!! Maybe you just thought you
used all left pedal? If not, get your ship checked out pronto, though
I seriously doubt that you used all left pedal as you stated. Your CFI
would have been on the controls very fast had this actually been the
case or either he's wanting to get a new ship!
You also mention "shimmy and shaking" all the way down during an
approach. Are you getting into a settling w/ power situation? If you
are experiencing violent shaking let me assure you this isn't normal.
A little vibration for sure, but nothing like you are describing, or
is this again a bit of exageration on your part? Not trying to provoke
you here, as I have been there myself (learning to fly helis) and it
can be VERY tense at times. It's just that this Google Rotorcraft
forum seems to be frequented by mainly remote control helicopter
enthusists and the Rotorway/Safari/experimental deathwish crowd that
have very limited knowledge about flying and I would really want to
make ceratin that a novice flyer like yourself will give an accurate
account here so as not to confuse all the other readers here who have
not became heli pilots.
Please understand I'm not trying to ridicule or be derisive of your
descriptions, I've been right where you are and I know the feelings
very well. I'd just like to urge you to write a diary with less
adjectives and bluster than what you are sometimes doing now. You are
(inadvertatntly I'm sure)making it sound as if some of your flights
are more akin to "The Right Stuff" movie footage than true flight
training, especially the "full left pedal" and "shaking" stuff. Either
that or your instructor needs to do a better job of instructing as I
can assure you this is not the way it's done.
Regards,
Mark
N26394