I know there's an aviation forum, but none of those folks need to hear this. If you live in the Bay area and want to try something new, then this is for you...

A friend gave me a gift certificate for an introductory helicopter flight with Bristow Academy in Concord. I went up last Saturday. It was the best $265 I didn’t spend. But I would’ve been happy to spend twice that for the experience I had.

Instruction was kept to an extreme minimum. I suppose there are pros and cons to this, but it worked out fine for me. The instructor asked me if I knew how the controls worked, and I told him that I did. I regurgitated the basics. He did a pre-flight check of the aircraft, a Schweizer 300CBi, and we took off. After getting far enough away from the control tower, he gave me the cyclic. After a few minutes, he gave me the collective, then a few minutes more, and I got the pedals. I probably flew for 45 minutes. I have to say, it was a lot easier than I expected. It just made sense. When we got back to the airport, the instructor said that I’d done well enough to give hovering a try, with the cyclic only, so he positioned the helicopter about 10 feet above the runway and then gave me the cyclic. Ok, that was a little harder. Each time I tried, I started losing control after about 15 seconds. After about 10 tries, I was able to begin feeling that I could eventually get it, but it’s definitely something that takes practice.

I should add that in between my “sessions,” the instructor demonstrated three auto-rotational landings, just for fun. For those who don't know what that is, it's a landing with no power. To practice, pilots kill the power at altitude, then coast to a few feet off the ground and flare out. What a blast!

Anyway, I highly recommend giving it a try — even if you only do the one-hour intro and nothing more. I think you’ll get a lot more out of it than you’d expect.

No, I didn't take any pictures. This was probably one of the few times where I focused on enjoying the moment rather than documenting it. But below are a few pics of the Schweizer so you can get am idea.

http://www.heli.com/
(925) 686-2917

 

Afterward, I drove up to Napa to meet a friend of mine who's a CHP pilot. He let me shoot the following...

 

Wow, that looks fun. Good picture.

 

Sounds like a lot of fun. Any one ever flew a Robinson? I toured their factory in LA area last year. They make small and cheap choppers. It's actually good for US to make aircraft in the country these days since USD is so cheap. Good for export to mideast and asia.

 

thanks for the post ~ something that I must try one of these weekends!

I flew 1/4 scale R/C helicopters way back in the day and the concept is pretty much the same. Your friend has a really cool job flying for the CHP - what does his job entail??


rk

 

the sounds thrilling. i would luv to try this one of these days.

 

cool. i'm gonna do it.

 

This is why many of us fly. It's a fabulous experience.

I find fixed wing flying more attractive and cheeper than rotors but each has its benefits.

I thought that was a Robinson you were flying in, and those are great helicopters, too.

Sounds like you had a great time. Save your pennies and do it again!

 

Honestly, I think RC is a little harder (assuming good weather). I have an RC and I just can't master it. But I could fly the real deal. Weird. Maybe it's because with an RC, the first thing you have to learn is hovering. On the real thing, you don't hover right away.

CHP helicopter pilots do all sorts of stuff:

• patrol the coast, bridges, etc
• air support for all sorts of incidents on the ground
• pursuits
• search and rescue
• insert and extract
• med evac
• etc

Don't ever run form a helicopter, especially at night. They have FLIR.

Nope, Schweizer. Pretty cool.

Yeah, I want to go for my private pilot license. Finding the time is the hard part.

Where do you fly out of? Livermore?

 

wow he must have some crazy stories.