Helicopters......

mudcow007

Anyone ever been in one?

just been told i'm going in one around Chester at some point

My Mrs doesn't like heights but im guessing it will be like flying in a plane where you dont really notice the height (hopefully)

cjcp

Yes. And I noticed every feckin' inch of the height we were flying at because it had windows at foot level and meant that when we flew over cliff edges, you could appreciate the full height of the cliff! I didn't feel very well at the end of the hour-long flight.

Enjoy the flight.

mudcow007

cjcp wrote:

Yes. And I noticed every feckin' inch of the height we were flying at because it had windows at foot level and meant that when we flew over cliff edges, you could appreciate the full height of the cliff! I didn't feel very well at the end of the hour-long flight.

Enjoy the flight.

ha brilliant

to put it into context of how bad she is with heights. We went to see Florence an the Machine last night in the Manchester MEN arena. only seats available were on the very top row - it took me 20mins to get her to sit down as she kept going dizzy and wouldn't move

i think its going to be tricky getting her to go on the jelly-bopper

asprilla

I don't like heights, but I love flying, used to have a glider licence and firmly believe that helicopter is the best way to travel, anywhere.

rick_chasey

Asprilla wrote:

I don't like heights, but I love flying, used to have a glider licence and firmly believe that helicopter is the best way to travel, anywhere.

Until the engine cuts out that is....!

cjcp

mudcow007 wrote:

cjcp wrote:

Yes. And I noticed every feckin' inch of the height we were flying at because it had windows at foot level and meant that when we flew over cliff edges, you could appreciate the full height of the cliff! I didn't feel very well at the end of the hour-long flight.

Enjoy the flight.

ha brilliant

to put it into context of how bad she is with heights. We went to see Florence an the Machine last night in the Manchester MEN arena. only seats available were on the very top row - it took me 20mins to get her to sit down as she kept going dizzy and wouldn't move

i think its going to be tricky getting her to go on the jelly-bopper

Do what they did to BA Baracus: drug the hamburgers.

xscreamsuk

Did one over Niagara, loved it, especially when it swayed from side to side at the start to allow the In Laws to take piccies of us inside it. Wife not great with heights but enjoyed it. They are pretty basic and noisy, but I'd do it again in a flash.

SimonAH

Apparently auto-gyration allows the chopper to land safely even if the engine cuts out.

But I also saw a quote from a miitary helicopter instructor saying that the real purpose of autogyration was to keep the pilot's hands busy as he plummets to his death. :evil:

MonkeyMonster

I'd love to but haven't yet. Quite fancy a ride in a hind or other naty attack helicopter too

bompington

Did a bit of flying as a mountain rescue team member a while back. Sitting opposite an open door when the helicopter is banked over so you are looking straight down at the ground is quite memorable, as is the amount they wobble and jump when doing what appears from a distance to be a stationary hover.
Also memorable was the time when we were dropped off on a hill in thick fog: the pilot pointed confidently at the map and said "we're here". He was wrong, we were on a ridge with very similar topography about 4 miles across the valley, as we eventually managed to work out. I never did find out if it was poor navigation (it was long before the days of GPS) or a deliberate wind-up.

davis

Been on a few flights. Unbelievably awesome... although I suspect your Mrs would "feel" the height; it ain't like skydiving!

mudcow007

SimonAH wrote:

Apparently auto-gyration allows the chopper to land safely even if the engine cuts out.

not if a gearbox locks up or we lose the tail rotor

i think i might just get her drunk before the flight

would it be a bad show if i pretending to be in Full Metal Jackets an started making machine gun noises an shouting "GET SOME" whilst i point my hand out the windows of the 'copter?

meanredspider

My brother has been learning. Flew my parents to the posh hotel for lunch on their golden wedding anniversary in a Bell Jetranger. Landing on the lawn in front of the hotel is a great way to arrive. He's just sent me pics of him flying one over the Vegas Strip too. I hadn't appreciated how involved it is - I knew piloting the thing wasn't easy but there's a lot of other stuff to consider. Doesn't surprise me that there are plenty of crashes of the private machines.

Trickyh

mudcow007 wrote:

SimonAH wrote:

Apparently auto-gyration allows the chopper to land safely even if the engine cuts out.

not if a gearbox locks up or we lose the tail rotor

i think i might just get her drunk before the flight

would it be a bad show if i pretending to be in Full Metal Jackets an started making machine gun noises an shouting "GET SOME" whilst i point my hand out the windows of the 'copter?

If you loose the tail rotor the pilot goes into immediate auto-rotation and its the forward airspeed that keeps it in a straight line... Bit like an autogyro (which doesnt have a tail rotor btw) 8)

Long_Time_Lurker

There are only two types of helicopter - one that has crashed and one that is about to crash.
At least that is what my cousin in the airforce says. But then he might be jealous as he is a navigator on the huge transporters.

FoldingJoe

Flew one, well, sorta, on my Stag do.

Been in one to the Isles of Scilly as well.

mudcow007

Trickyh wrote:

mudcow007 wrote:

SimonAH wrote:

Apparently auto-gyration allows the chopper to land safely even if the engine cuts out.

not if a gearbox locks up or we lose the tail rotor

i think i might just get her drunk before the flight

would it be a bad show if i pretending to be in Full Metal Jackets an started making machine gun noises an shouting "GET SOME" whilst i point my hand out the windows of the 'copter?

If you loose the tail rotor the pilot goes into immediate auto-rotation and its the forward airspeed that keeps it in a straight line... Bit like an autogyro (which doesnt have a tail rotor btw) 8)

sweet!

thats what i love about BR everyday is a school day

soundninjauk

'If the wings are traveling faster than the fuselage, it's probably a helicopter - and unsafe'

http://www.airborne-aviation.com.au/resources/aviation-quotes.php

Blacktemplar

Much more fun in one of these :twisted:

Blacktemplar

Oh wait......

tgotb

I suffer from vertigo (literally have to crawl up to the edges of cliffs, sometimes feel queasy looking off dams, bridges etc, and even feel uncomfortable in some arena/stadium seating). Thing is, I'm fine in all forms of aircraft, even dodgy ones. I've flown a paraglider at Beachy Head, flying low over the grass and then out over the cliffs, without any of the same problems, and I've also flown paragliders to over 3000m without feeling uncomfortable. I've even sat in the back of a Lynx (with sideways-facing seats) while the pilot barrel-rolled it.

Depending on why she doesn't like heights, your wife may well be fine; I read somewhere that the vertigo sensation has some quite specific cues (to do with perspective iirc), and without those cues there's often no problem...

jedster

Fear of heights is perfectly rational. As is fear of flying in helicopters.

I did a few days heliskiing in Canada a few years ago. The helicopter trips were a lot of fun (not as good as the skiing natch). There was a little moment when the pilot felt he had to demonstrate what his toy could do (was an A-star - "you see you can't do this in many helicopters") climbed up a steep glacier close to the snow and kind of flipped over the rige and dropped down a cliff the other side. That was, er, exhilerating.

gtvlusso

Yep - loads of times. had a few lessons until it got prohibitively expensive.

I must admit that I always wanted to be a helicopter pilot, still a bit of a dream

However, after hearing stories of the dreaded 'woca woca' (Chinook) and squaddies saying that they would rather walk than get in a Chinook.....

Maybe a career in IT was a good thing......

mudcow007

gtvlusso wrote:

I must admit that I always wanted to be a helicopter pilot, still a bit of a dream

im seriously thinking about getting a microlight license - i've still never flown in one yet though. that might be a good start first

kelsen

Just explain to your wife there's no real rationale behind being afraid of heights

...it's the ground rushing up to meet you that you should be afraid of!

EKE_38BPM

Not only am I going in a helicopter (I've never been in one before) but I'll be taking the controls.

Mrs EKE bought me a one hour trial helicopter flying lesson for Xmas. I'll be doing it in a few weeks and I can't wait.
Where is the massive smiley face, slightly scared, mega excited emoticon?

SimonAH

The fun thing about helicopters is when they go too fast :-D

The rotors are wing profiles and produce lift as they are moved through the air by the drive shaft - after the aircraft gets enough forward speed the half of the rotor going backwards has little relative motion to the air and ceases to produce significant lift.
The half of the rotor going forwards is still creating loads of lift.
The aircraft therefore does a nifty flip onto it's back and crashes.

Thought I'd share that with you :-D

rick_chasey

SimonAH wrote:

The fun thing about helicopters is when they go too fast :-D

The rotors are wing profiles and produce lift as they are moved through the air by the drive shaft - after the aircraft gets enough forward speed the half of the rotor going backwards has little relative motion to the air and ceases to produce significant lift.
The half of the rotor going forwards is still creating loads of lift.
The aircraft therefore does a nifty flip onto it's back and crashes.

Thought I'd share that with you :-D

Isn't that what happened to Colin McRae?

Or am I badly informed by my Daily Mail reading colleagues?

EKE_38BPM

I may be totally wrong, but I can't help thinking that as Colin McRae was flying with his son and his son's friends, the last words to leave his mouth were: "Watch this!''

mouth

mudcow007 wrote:

cjcp wrote:

Yes. And I noticed every feckin' inch of the height we were flying at because it had windows at foot level and meant that when we flew over cliff edges, you could appreciate the full height of the cliff! I didn't feel very well at the end of the hour-long flight.

Enjoy the flight.

ha brilliant

to put it into context of how bad she is with heights. We went to see Florence an the Machine last night in the Manchester MEN arena. only seats available were on the very top row - it took me 20mins to get her to sit down as she kept going dizzy and wouldn't move

i think its going to be tricky getting her to go on the jelly-bopper

When MEN (Nynex as was)first opened there were several documented complaints of visitors suffering from vertigo in the top few rows.

HebdenBiker

As a teenager I was in the Air Cadets. One of our former cadets had gone on to be an RAF helicopter pilot, and on weekends he would fly his Wessex over from Shawbury, land on our school field and take us up for AEF (Air Experience Flying).

The crew would treat us to Northern Ireland tactical take-offs (take off then drop suddenly before regaining height - to avoid IRA Stinger missiles) and, in still, high-visibility weather, would climb to a safe height then feather the rotors and drop suddenly, making us weightless. Of course we were strapped into our seats but the Loadmaster wasn't and would perform astronaut-style somersaults. Every now and then the loadie would beckon one of us over and clip us in to the gunner's position so we could sit in the open doorway with our feet dangling out of the aircraft.

Soon after, an RAF Wessex full of Air Cadets crashed into a lake in Wales, tragically killing everyone but the crew. I had left the Corps by then, but I bet the accident put the blockers on any more "unofficial" helicopter flying.