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#1
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Mountain flying time...
There are several helo operators that offer training in the mountain
environment there in SoCal. Western Helicopters comes to mind near Rialto. A couple hours dual in nearly any helicopter in the high country will give you an insight into the do/don't of mtn flying. Major difference is in the individual helicopter performance under a given set of circumstances. I've flown in the Rockies, the Sierras, Cascades, Andes, Drakensburg and Karoo (So Africa). They all have the same problems when it comes to flying in the high country. Ol S&B |
#2
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Kevin
I, and many other pro pilots I have flown with into some sticky areas often laughed and asked.."Is this a confined area?"..or "Is this what is defined as a pinnacle approach/landing?" We were going into areas that required the utmost of both the aircraft and the pilot. And, having talked with many pilots who have never seen such areas, and who were highly skilled pros in their own areas of expertise, the common response was, "How in hell did you do that?" or, "Man I'd never do that kind of schitt..." It boils down to the eye of the beholder. When I landed in areas that I had to do a slow pedal turn to see if I had clearance and then touch down, and talk with pilots who required at least 100' clearance to even consider a landing...it all is relative to either experience, or company requirements. In my case, I have been flying the past 40 years in areas that you either performed, or didn't. Just about the time you think you have the answers, you get to fly with someone who is doing stuff you never dreamed of possible! When I fly with someone who has half my hours and can do things I never thought of, I have to bow my head in admiration and respect. I never stop learning. Ol S&B |
#3
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wrote in message
oups.com... Just about the time you think you have the answers, you get to fly with someone who is doing stuff you never dreamed of possible! When I fly with someone who has half my hours and can do things I never thought of, I have to bow my head in admiration and respect. I never stop learning. Ol S&B And THAT is the key to becoming a first class pilot. I've met too many guys through the years that thought their sh** didn't stink because they had some multi thousands of hours under their belts. Just because someone doesn't have as many hours in the air, doesn't mean they can't have experiences beyond what the higher time pilot has. Maybe it's not likely, but as "Ol S&B" pointed out, it's certainly possible and I think probably more likely with rotorcraft than fixed wing. The day you stop learning, is the day you start to die and I think that applies to a lot more than just aviation! JMO! :-) Fly Safe, Steve R. |
#4
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Kevin
As an old IFR CFI, I always tell my students that at between the 50%-75% point in the IFR training, they will throw their hands in the air and scream..."I can't take it anymore...This is too much for me.." All the time I am laughing outloud and making sure they see me do it while telling them.."I told you so.." At some point, it suddenly falls into place and comes together. There is a lot of info and skill involved in becoming an IFR pilot and its pretty difficult to do it in a short period of time. The brain is processing the info and is affected by outside influences like daily life? So don't be disheartened and keep in mind what I said! And, if you become a CFII, you'll do well to remember your own frustrations, and what I said. It is so sweet to grind around in the goo and when you pop out of the crud with the centerline right in front of you and all is under control while you maintain a Mr. Studly cool voice on the radio.... it just plain feels good. I think my first actual IFR approach in a helicopter was in 1974 going into Durban So Africa and it was an NDB. When I popped out of the bottom of the cloud deck the tower was amazed that it was a helicopter and they said they had never seen it done before. That was in a 206B flying for Astra Helicopters at Rand Airport. Pretty straighforward approach. As for mountain flying. SoCal has some pretty hostile terrain and few ever think of it. If you were to check on the numbers of crashes on the hills east of Brown Field...? Or in the big hills east of LA, or on Saddleback in Orange County...etc. once you get above about 4500' you are in serious mountainous terrain and CA is full of such terrain. I based out of SNA for about 20 years and that was nearly 20 years ago.. So I guess that makes me a dinosaur. Woahh...gg Ol S&B |
#5
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#6
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"The OTHER Kevin in San Diego" skiddz "AT" adelphia "DOT" net wrote in message ... On 5 Apr 2005 09:16:59 -0700, wrote: I have to agree with you wholeheartedly about the "continuing education" aspect of flying. Right now, I feel like I've taken 3 stpes back since I got my ticket. This instrument stuff is really making me feel like I don't know a damned thing. My CFII says I'm pretty smooth for so few hours under the hood, but it sure doesn't look that way to me. Then again, when I was struggling with approaches several months ago, I thought I'd never get 'em figured out.. Out of curiosity, Kevin, did you get much hood time during your primary training? The instructor I had when I got my fixed wing license was a big believer in throwing in a couple of tenths of hood time almost every time we flew but I don't remember you mentioning it all your writings. Maybe I missed one? Just curious. Fly Safe, Steve R. |
#7
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Kevin
I envy your position and ability to do some good sim time on a regular? basis. Nothing could be better. I teach my students first - how to fly the aircraft so they can do it nearly in their sleep. THEN and ONLY then do I start in with IFR procedures and approaches. I believe if they can't fly the machine without having to think about it, they sure as hell aren't ready to confound the problems with the mental gymnastics of a hard nosed approach to minimums. Then you can couple that with the inevitable wind switch or a severe WX change that requires you to suddenly switch to a different approach while you are already geared for the one you are on and it requires you dig out the proper approach chart (I still don't know where the term "Plate" ever came from?), fly the machine, and follow directions all the while trying to keep your Pax calm and not make the ice tinkle in their glasses...YeeHawwww Are we having fun yet? It'll work out and look at all the hair raising fun you have to look forward to! ggg I can still smile when I break out on an ILS and calmly ask, "Which side of the line am I on?" Smart assed Ol Shy & Bashful with well over 1200 hrs of actual IFR logged and a lot of hood and sim time |
#8
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Kevin
I like the heheh...as they say, if you can do what you say you can do you ain't braggin...? My X used to say I was guilty of boastful arrogance and perhaps she is right? Hmmmm she never complained when I landed on the top of the truck with inches of clearance for the skids and even took videos. Ol S&B |
#9
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The OTHER Kevin in San Diego wrote: On 8 Apr 2005 06:04:43 -0700, wrote: Kevin I like the heheh...as they say, if you can do what you say you can do you ain't braggin...? So you say. g My X used to say I was guilty of boastful arrogance and perhaps she is right? Hmmmm she never complained when I landed on the top of the truck with inches of clearance for the skids and even took videos. Ol S&B ok, now you're braggin' again.. eheheh (I wanna see the video) Kevin It's really no big deal when you are crop spraying with helicopters. We use a truck for the loading platform/mixing rig and land crossways on the top of the truck. Tell you what...you send me a pvt address and I'll send you some pics. I can't imagine how many thousands of landings I've done on top of a truck right up to a few weeks ago. It was parked on top of a ridge on a logging road in SW Oregon. Probably 40 feet from edge to edge? It was narrow enough that we had to find a "landing" to get turned around with either the pickups or the loading rig. Wind gets to blowing and it gets kind of interesting under those conditions. Ol S&B |
#10
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wrote:
It's really no big deal when you are crop spraying with helicopters. We use a truck for the loading platform/mixing rig and land crossways on the top of the truck. Saw an interesting program the other night on plagues of grasshoppers in Australia starting from the larvae stage to final days as adults. They showed the lengths the government went through to try to control these pests including massive aerial spraying programs mainly with fixed wing. Interesting to see high wing Cessnas with spray booms doing low level spraying. Curious question Mr. Selway.... What type of helicopter were you using to do the spraying and basically how long would a load last before you had to refil. I would presume that a safety feature of landing on a truck would be that nobody on the ground would be in danger of being clipped by a rotor, and the only people on the truck would be those directly needed to refuel the helicopter and refil the hoppers. If you feel up to describing a day in the life I'm sure the folks here would be interested in reading about your adventures. Last but not least if you would consider posting those pictures to alt.binaries.pictures.aviation then we'd all get to have a peek. |
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