Solo!...what a great feeling! Marcus Roulet, Chief Flight Instructor for Alyeska Helicopters, was my instructor that day. I believe I had approximately 29 hours; I would have soloed sooner if it wasn’t for my flight physical at the Heart of Eagle River clinic in Eagle River, Alaska. I ended up waiting an extra two and half weeks for my 3rd class physical. I found out the doctor doesn't sign his own flight physicals, he sends them into Anchorage to the main FAA Flight Doctor to be signed. In the mean time I kept flying. Lessons learned: 1) Ask your flight instructors who they go to for their physicals and take their advice, 2) get your flight physical done as soon as possible in case there are issues. I waited until I had 19 hours in my log book assuming the physical would only take a couple of hours and I'd have the medical certificate in hand when I walked out of the clinic. Live and learn.
I need to stress this point about soloing -- there is no correlation on how good a pilot you’re going to be by the number of hours it takes you to solo (within reason :-). Flying helicopters is about being patient; it's about proficiency, consistency, a good attitude towards safety, learning to relax on the controls, and having FUN flying the helicopter!
Photo credits go to Marcus Roulet
