Get over it....

Seriously, get over it.

I've mentioned before how flying helicopters, and flying in general, is mostly mental. I'd venture to say 80% mental and 20% physical. Some may argue my figure, but this is from my perspective at this point in my flying.

Today I was reminded that I am not a pilot. I AM a student pilot. As good as things have been going, I am still very much in need of instruction from my IP (instructor pilot). Today I had what I will call a "duh" moment. You may have noticed, if you have been reading along... I have a lot of "moments". Any how back to the moment of "Duh"..

Let me set the stage for this.

So I arrive at the hanger about 20 minutes before my flight, and jump right into a preflight of my old trusty girl, 332MD. She's my baby, I fly her almost exclusively for my training. So i get panels open and I'm doing my checks when another instructor pilot walks up and says "Hey Ardy, your not on this ship today, your out there" as he points to a brand new R22 BII sitting on the ramp. "oh wow" I said. Grabbed my headset and log book and high-tailed it over to this new bird to give her the once over. Now when I say this helicopter is new, Im talking the only hours on it were from the ferry flight from Torrence. This baby is new, not a scratch, not a dent, got that new helicopter smell, upgraded rotor blades, the works, this baby is new new new. At this point, I get internal and think.... "okay Rob, yes it's new, but you've flown these before... It's still a helicopter, and it's still an R22, everything is in the same place, so relax". I'm always very meticulous on my pre-flight, and since this ship was new, this one was no different. If anything I am more picky because in my eyes this ship is not "proven" if you will. 332MD has kept me safe, and I'm still picky about it, but this helicopter and I don't have a relationship at this point and it may decide it doesn't like me (sound strange??) Okay so everything checks out, I get my clearances, and were off to the training area. This bird is butter!!! so smooth....

So we get out there and do a few approaches, first a normal that I nailed then a steep that I let get too steep, but I fixed it and made it work. Then some autos, everything was coming together fine. Then a quick stop and over to the slope area to practice slope landings. I'm still pretty un-easy about these but at this stage in the game they are looking for my setup and not so much how pretty it looks. We execute a slope landing on both sides and then we move over to some flat ground and are going to work on hovering autorotations. You ready for the "duh"....

I don't know why, but this maneuver has proved to be one that is a little more difficult for me than other maneuvers. I don't know why, but it's probably in my head (remember my 80-20?) This one is pretty simple. Goes like this... Throttle, pedal, settle, pull. Roll throttle off, use pedal to maintain heading, allow the helicopter to settle and finally pull in collective pitch to cushion landing. FREEKING SIMPLE... right?

Ok, all setup. "Hovering auto in 3....2.....1...I roll off throttle, allow the heli to settle and pull in collective to cushion the landing. Oh crap.. this is not right, im now facing west and I entered with a north heading. I totally and completely forgot to do ANYTHING with my feet. As soon as I rolled the throttle off we lost all rotational torque and yawed to the left FAST. CRAP. I knew what I did wrong and immediately let my mistake get inside my head. My instructor looked at me and said "Do I even need to say anything" I replied with "no sir, I know what I did wrong".

I was overcome with a feeling of almost anger at myself for not thinking about my feet. I mean I use them for every other maneuver, what happened here. Fear, and being uncomfortable with the maneuver. That's what happened.

"Shake it off Rob and get back on it, you can do this, don't let yourself tell you any different (do I sound schizophrenic sometimes?) So then I pushed that disappointment and fear aside with determination. After all, no one was hurt, the ship was fine, it wasn't a hard touchdown, just not a straight one.

Next words out of my mouth "can we do another one" "of course" my IP came back with. I was bound and determined not to head back to the airport until I had done these things in a fashion that was acceptable and safe. I didn't care if they had to drive the fuel truck out there, I wasn't going home until I had a better handle on hovering autorotations. Thankfully my next two were pretty good, could have used a little more pedal, but "much better" according to my IP.

I have this thing inside me (usually called doubt, I call it a jerk) that when I screw up, it want's to hold me back and convince me that I can't do it. The hell I cant! I am perfectly capable of flying this helicopter in a safe fashion. It's what I have set my mind and my heart on doing. Nothing is going to convince me other wise, especially not myself. So it's what I will do. I will continue to improve and I will not be held back by my mistakes. IN FACT, I will exploit my mistakes and use them. Yup, I'm going to use that temporary lack of motor-skills to ensure that I don't do it again. So there you go, negative self, take that!

Today also showed me something about my instructor. Something that I think is very important to a good instructor. You may remember when I said earlier that teaching is a gift and some people have it and some people don't. I stand by that 100%.

On the flight back to the airport, I was talking with my instructor about what happened on the hover-auto. He picked up pretty quickly that I was disappointed in myself. Then he showed me his colors "look man, your doing great, it's not a big deal... just remember your feet, that's all". Wow, thats it, I thought. But he's right. He would know better than me how I am doing.

What I picked up from him today is that teaching someone how to fly is more than "this makes you go up, this makes you go down" it involves different roles for different situations. Discipline and encouragement are both equally important. Discipline helps me become a safe and aware pilot, the encouragement helps me over the hurdles. They kind of play on each other if you think about it. Both very necessary in pilot development. And thats what's happening. I'm not just learning to fly, I am becoming a pilot.

Don't forget to enjoy it!

Sometimes we get so wrapped up in everything that we forget to enjoy it. Whatever "it" may be for the given instance. Since my blog consists of my flying ventures, that's what this post is about.

Today is a beautiful day to fly. I was assigned to a 0700 flight this morning, and I wouldn't have it any other way. But rather than taking in all the beauty and tranquility that comes with rising with the sun, I was stuck. Stuck flying. Sounds silly doesn't it? Well it kinda is, let me explain.

Flying a helicopter isn't easy, you've got to have it all wired together to make that machine do what you want it to do instead of it doing what it wants to do (which could get nasty quick). So there I was on my climb out from KPRC getting a good scan in; MAP pressure, 21", check, no wires or towers to hit, check, 45 KIAS, rotate, pull in that power get your 60 KIAS and look for 300' AGL, trim is good, check, carb temp looking good, check check check check... And in the back of my head, i'm just waiting for my instructor to throw out those words "Simulated Engine Failure" leaving me about .2 seconds from entering an autorotation at any moment. Any how...

I've got a pretty good scan going, the helicopter is flying good, in trim, check gauges, eyes back outside, eyes inside, eyes outside, yada yada. Apparently my instructor noticed my moment of what I will now call "extreme aviation awareness" (ok, I thought it was funny) and just looks over at me and says "Don't forget to enjoy it!" Crap! He's right I thought. I had everything under control, and my skills are improving every day. I'm not saying don't be diligent about your flying, but every now and again you just have to take it all in, and think man... this is the coolest thing I've ever done. To be thankful for that very moment in time, and what it has brought you. The opportunity to take to the sky with the birds, or sit motionless in one spot above it all taking in an amazing view that few people get the chance to really appreciate.

This goes for anything in life. The purpose of why we are here can be debated for years, but if not to enjoy what life has brought you than what's the purpose of it all... Find joy in what you do, always. Flying helicopters around sure makes that part easier. Regardless, there is always something worth taking a second out, and letting it make you smile.

So don't forget to enjoy it.

It's test time again!

Yeah, today is a day that some dread and some embrace. I am of the latter school of thought. Today I get the opportunity to take a chunk of knowledge that I have acquired through the in class instruction and hands on guidance (pun intended?) in the helicopter, with my flight instructor and put in on paper. I really don't think of it as a chance to prove myself to anyone, but rather prove to myself that I am capable and have the knowledge to be a safe and competent helicopter pilot.

The way my school has the instruction set up, there is really no way to fail, unless you just aren't into it or don't care. Which brings up another thought that I will get into in a bit...

back to the instruction. Like I said, it's pretty dummy proof. Not to say that this stuff is easy, because by no means is it something you can throw a half-hearted effort into and expect to succeed. Won't happen, I promise. It is setup in a fashion where you are first introduced to material through reading assignments, then you cover the same material by watching a video that is created by the staff here at Guidance Aviation, as you follow along answering questions about the given video lesson. So effectively, you get the information 3 times in 3 different ways. Then to top it off, your flight instructor will have knowledge of the in class training and allow you the opportunity to put that knowledge to work in the helicopter. So yeah, dummy proof.

Back to my previous statement about not caring or just not being into it. In my opinion (we all know what an opinion is right??? k. good) you have to be prepared to enter this program. Now... when I say prepared, it is pretty inclusive. If you want to succeed, you MUST MUST MUST have your affairs in order. Financially is a big one. If you're like me and you have a rich uncle who owes you money from 6 years of indentured servitude (Veteran) then all costs are covered and you get a housing allowance and some cash for book. But, if you decide to do this thing on loans, it's probably a good idea to not dig yourself a hole so deep you cant climb out. The cost for flight instruction at my school is competitive with other schools but the instruction is where you get your moneys worth. Ill save that for another update, but in short, I am very pleased with what Guidance has going, especially after speaking with other students from other flight schools. I got off track... sorry..

So have your finances in order, and probably more important than that, have your personal life pretty squared away. This is probably not something you want to jump right into if you're going through a divorce, or a death in the family or another emotional situation. This school, this "thing" that we do every time we climb into the cockpit requires ALL OF YOU. I would venture to say that the mental aspect of flying is more crucial than if your feet and hands are wired to the rest of your body that day. This is just as big of a "head thing" as anything I've done.

Last I will say the support of your family/spouse. I wouldn't be here if it were not for my wife. She must be as crazy as I am, because she supports me like no one I've ever met. If I have a crappy flight, she encourages me and tells me to brush it off. Just this morning on my way out the door, she told me "You're an "A" pilot, fly like one" (referring to the grading for the flight). I couldn't do it without that. So get your support, involve your family and friends in what you're doing and let them follow you on your way to becoming a working helicopter pilot.

Ok, thats enough for today. I have a written stage check to study for.