Here's a good article by Midwest Helicopter that compares and contrasts the Robinson R22 Beta II with the Schweizer 300CBi.
In the December 2003 - January 2004 Issue of Vertical Magazine, there was an excellent article entitled "Schweizer vs Robinson, "A Battle of Equals" by Guy R. Maher discussing the pros and cons of each helicopter; download a copy of that article here in PDF format. Give it a minute to download, it's well worth it.
It was a nice day to get out and have some fun flying a helicopter. Notice the Cub landing ahead of me on final to 19R? I'm following landing 19L. Notice the other R22 helicopter in the field? That's Dusty teaching a student how to hover an R22 helicopter. My wife Mary was my passenger who shot this video while I made the approach and transitioned back to the NE ramp to land and shut her down.
Organizers believe about 30,000 people attended this year's event, held in the FedEx hangar at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. What a fun day! I spent the afternoon on Saturday helping Alpine Air Alaska. We had a static display of one of our R44s set up next to Alpine Air's booth. It was my job to stand out by the helicopter and answer questions and keep the kids from playing on it. I answered so many questions my voice went horse. Merit Apparel, who sells helicopter flight helmets from Vero Beach, Florida was also in attendance. I jumped on the opportunity to get fitted for a MSA Gallet flight helmet. It's not that I need a flight helmet right now, but in the future if I do, Merit Apparel will have my measurements if the need ever comes up.
Mosquito XEL Kit Helicopter that was on display at the trade show
They also had the display of the little kit helicopter known as the "Mosquito". Chester Godin sells the kits out of Big Lake, Alaska; Alaska Helicopter Sales. I gave this little thing a test run about 7 months ago in Palmer, Alaska. Here's what I said back then (September 18, 2009) As we were heading home I noticed a Mosquito, not on the windshield, on the ground! I just learned about them, so we pulled over to talk with the guy. A week later we went back and I flew her. My objective was to feel it hover; first I had to get used to the throttle and keep the rotor RPM's in the green. Second was to get the machine light on the skids... slowly I pulled into a hover, this took some practice and several pick-ups and set-downs. After a few of these I started to get a feel for this tiny helicopter. The nose wanted to pop up when picking up and setting down. The throttle is the opposite of an R-22, there is no correlator or governor, it’s not what I’m used to and that made it tuff to keep it coordinated. 10 minutes was enough for my first flight in the XEL kit helicopter.
Here's the video...
Mary found this cartoon for me on the internet. I do have one caveat with this retrospect of helicopter pilots from Harry Reasoner. In the event of engine failure helicopters can and do glide in what we call an autorotation. In effect we become gyrocopters during the autorotation phase of flight. Have you ever seen a Sycamore leaf spin to the ground? Instead of the engine driving the main rotor the wind drives the rotor. Through tons of practice we develop the skills required to land the machine without engine power. It's an exciting and quick maneuver; a definite test of concentration and reflexes. Other than that the cartoon is spot on!
In 1987, I earned my Private Pilot Fixed Wing initial rating flying with the Aero Club, Hill Air Force Base, Ogden, Utah. I flew off and on through the years with approximately 100 hours mostly flown in the Cessna 152, and the Piper Warrior. In September 08’, I decided to go for my true passion and started flying helicopters at the Birchwood Airport, here in Alaska with Alyeska Helicopters, learning to fly the Robinson R-22. I earned my Rotorcraft-Helicopter Private Pilot additional rating in March of 09’ and my Commercial Pilot Rotorcraft-Helicopter initial rating the same year in November. I am on my way to becoming a Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) helicopter pilot and this is my log of those experiences on this journey. I’m also hoping to use this blog as a guide and potential student resource for future helicopter pilot’s as they progress through flight training, and an outlet for my own experiences in becoming a helicopter pilot here in Alaska, a beautiful place to learn and fly. Also included are other miscellaneous ramblings that may pop into my head along the way. I'm retired from the Air Force, enlisted E-8.
What reason do you have to believe the earth is flat?
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. ~Mark Twain
Leadership
"Leadership is a combination of strategy and character. If you must be without one, be without the strategy."
~Norman Schwarzkopf
Old-Fashioned, Mark Twain Approach:
"Show them what you can do and the rest will take care of itself." Not many people live by those words today.
Attitude
Winston Churchillonce remarked that, “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” Does it ever! Having a positive attitude can lead to your ultimate success in helicopter flight training much more than intelligence, than circumstance, than skill, education, money or background. A positive attitude towards your flight training can spark positive outcomes and extraordinary results. And that same positive attitude can and will give you an edge through your entire flying career. Read More >>
Helicopter Flight
"It takes infinitely more knowledge and skill to stop, then land, than it does to land, then stop!"
~ Dr. Sergi Sikorsky (son of Igor Sikorsky)
Aeronautical Decision Making
“Superior pilots use their superior judgment to avoid situations in which they have to use their superior skills.”
OR
"If a helicopter pilot uses his superior judgment he will not be called on to use his superior skills."
~Anonymous
Eyes Upward
"Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return."
~ Leonardo da Vinci
