Helicopter Factoid for Auburns for Auburn

The end of World War II left the helicopter training program in a state of confusion. Training Command suspended all training in early October 1945 and by the end of the month little remained of the school. The Army Air forces offered no incentives for the men to stay with the program, and more than 75 percent of the personnel left the service. By the middle of October, there was just one qualified helicopter pilot remaining to act as an instructor, and he was a recent graduate of the school.

Fun Helicopter and Airplane Facts for Auburn

Helicopter Pilot's License for Auburn The length of the exams are pretty much up to the examiner. Supposedly you will only be tested on subjects called out in the

Fun Helicopter and Airplane Facts for Bellevue

Two-bladed helicopters, e.g., the Huey, Bell JetRanger, and Robinsons, are subject to a hazard known as mast bumping. Due to gravity, the helicopter hangs from a teetering rotor system. The pilot flies the rotor system and the helicopter fuselage follows giving the pilot the illusion that he is flying the helicopter. If gravity is no longer acting on the helicopter i.e. if the helicopter is in a low G condition the tail rotor will tend to roll the helicopter to the right. The alarmed pilot will reflexively apply left cyclic which causes the rotor system to tilt but without gravity the helicopter fuselage won't follow. This puts the rotor blades and the mast into an extreme orientation and an inner portion of the blades will smack into (bump) the stationary mast that is holding up the rotor system.

Fun Helicopter and Airplane Facts for Bellevue

Pilots License: A recreational pilot taking a short daytime trip in a small plane shoulders less responsibility than a 747 pilot ferrying passengers at night across an ocean. Recognizing this, the Federal Aviation Administration dictates increasingly stringent pilot licensing requirements according to passenger responsibility, plane complexity and the purpose of the flight.

Helicopter Fun Facts for Bellingham

Despite having had more than 30 years of experience with flight school interest in the R22, Robinson has never engineered a version of the machine with a high-inertia rotor system. Despite selling all of its helicopters with restrictive contracts governing their use, Robinson does not attempt to restrict flight schools from purchasing R22s and using them for teaching simulated engine failures and practice autorotations. Robinson's attempts to limit the number of accidents have been paperwork-based, e.g., adding cautionary safety notices to the back of the POH or working with the FAA to establish additional training requirements for pilots and instructors in the R22.

Fun Helicopter and Airplane Facts for Bellingham

Helicopter Pilot's License for Bellingham All pilots begin with a student certificate. Eligibility starts at 14 years old for balloon or glider pilots. To fly planes, applicants must be at least 16. The student certificate has many restrictions. Students can't carry passengers, nor can they fly solo until they gain flight experience, prove cockpit proficiency and pass the written exam.

Helicopter Factoid for Bremertons for Bremerton

Flight Instructor Facts for Bremerton Compared to earning your private license and commercial license, earning your flight instructor certificate will take considerably less time. There are no more flight hours that you may need to build up besides taking the practical flight test.

How to pick a helicopter flight school near Bremerton

Get a tour of the facility. Try to get a feeling for whether this is a well organized school or not. Is it a single helicopter school, or does the school have multiple helicopters? If the school only has a single helicopter, you will have a more difficult time scheduling in it, and mechanical difficulties will cause lessons to be cancelled whereas with multiple helicopters often another helicopter can be substituted. Also, as a rule of thumb single helicopter schools are less likely to be around a few years later when you want to rent their helicopter.

Helicopter History for Cascade-Fairwood

Commercial Helicopter License Facts: You will need to have at least 150 hours of flight time. The price will also be quite a bit higher with the cost coming in around $30,000. However, once you get your commercial pilots license you will be able to take jobs at many different helicopter pilot careers.

How to pick a helicopter flight school near Cascade-Fairwood

Try to determine whether the helicopter fleet is being well maintained. In my book, maintenance is much more important in helicopters than it is in airplanes. There are a lot of pieces that can fall off an airplane and leave it flying. There are not nearly so many pieces in a helicopter. Of course, it can be very hard for someone who doesn't know about helicopters to determine whether the maintenance is good at a particular school.

Helicopter Factoid for Edmondss for Edmonds

Post World War II: The size of the program increased during 1945 to approximately three times what it was in 1944. With the end of the war in Europe, the War Department closed hundreds of bases. To align Chanute Field to a purely technical training mission, all helicopter pilot training moved to Sheppard Field, a Flying Training Command base near Wichita Falls, Texas in June 1945. Eighteen helicopters were transferred.

Fun Helicopter and Airplane Facts for Edmonds

How to pick a helicopter flight school near Edmonds

The first thing is to find all the schools, and visit each one. Start with the yellow pages. Some schools don't advertise. Find them by calling all the airplane schools and aircraft charter companies, and ask them who does helicopter training in the local area.

Helicopter Fun Facts for Everett

Designed as a rich guy's transportation helicopter, the Robinson R22 quickly became instead the world's most popular training helicopter. It also happens to be one of the most dangerous machines in which to train. Why? Much of helicopter training is practicing autorotations, in which the engine is twisted toward idle and the helicopter glides toward the ground. This maneuver requires the student to adjust the collective pitch control to maintain rotor RPM within safe limits.

Fun Helicopter and Airplane Facts for Everett

Helicopter Pilot's License for Everett Federal Aviation Regulations, or FAR, require all pilots to be trained, pass tests, accrue flight hours, and secure medical clearances. Licensing involves earning a student, recreational, private, commercial or airline transport pilot certificate through a written exam and a minimum number of flight hours. Along with certificates, pilots also earn expertise ratings for instruments, various flight scenarios and plane types. Without these ratings, a pilot can only fly in limited situations, no matter what certificate he holds.

Helicopter Fun Facts for Federal Way

The heavier the rotor blades the more stable their speed will be due to inertia. With a low-inertia system, the student will have to react very quickly to a simulated engine failure or the simulated emergency becomes a real emergency. In the R22, the student and instructor have 1.6 seconds to act after a simulated engine failure. If neither lowers the collective and enters an autorotation within that 1.6 seconds, both are likely to die.

Fun Helicopter and Airplane Facts for Federal Way

Helicopter Pilot's License for Federal Way The FAR lays out three medical certificate levels. All require good hearing; a vision check; mental, neurological, and cardiovascular health; no substance abuse problems; and no diabetes. Student, recreational and private pilots need only a third-class certificate. Pilots intending to become commercial pilots should begin with the required second-class certificate. Major airline pilots need a first-class certificate, which requires the most medical fitness.

Helicopter Fun Facts for Kennewick

June 1944- US Army Air Forces, Flying Training Command, Freeman Field, Seymour, Indiana, started with 5 instructor pilots flying R-4's. Operational troubles with the new aircraft prevented the establishment of definite training quotas. The first two R-4's received at Freeman Field in June 1944 were out of commission nearly 80 % of the time that first year. In August 1944, seven helicopters were available. December 1944 - Training moved to Chanute Field, Illinois. A total of 14 R-4's were available for training. Student pilots received 25-30 hours of flight training in the R-4.

Helicopter History for Kennewick

Helicopter Pilot's License for KennewickPrivate pilot certificates allow pilots who are 17 and older to command single-engine aircraft and carry passengers night or day. Eligibility includes 40 flight hours, 20 of them solo. If attending flight school, pilots need 35 on-the-ground training hours, with another 35 in the air, 15 of those hours flown solo.

Helicopter Factoid for Kirklands for Kirkland

Post World War II Pilot Training: On 1 March 1946, all entries into helicopter pilot training were temporarily suspended due to lack of maintenance personnel. In June 1946 there were five R-5 and sixteen R-6 helicopters at San Marcos and seldom were they all in operable condition.

Helicopter History for Kirkland

Isnot hooked up to the rotor tachometer. It is hooked up to the engine tachometer. To make matters worse the engine tachometer is driven by a set of mechanical points inside one of the ignition magnetos.

Helicopter Pilot's License for KirklandBefore you can take your checkride, you must pass a written exam. These days that pretty much means going to a computerised testing center. The test is multiple choice, there are study guides available that give you the answers, and passing grade is a 70. Piece of cake.

Helicopter Fun Facts for Lakewood

Investigating a helicopter accident should start with a thorough examination of the helicopter's logbooks by an IA and the pilot's logbooks by a helicopter CFI (certificated flight instructor). Was the machine legal to fly on the day of the accident? Was the pilot legal to fly that machine? Once those questions are answered, proceed to the NTSB docket (list of FOIA dockets) to see what the pilot and witnesses said about what happened. Then look at the NTSB factual report. After that, each investigation is going to differ, depending on the circumstances and machine involved.

Fun Helicopter and Airplane Facts for Lakewood

Helicopter Pilot's License for Lakewood A recreational certificate allows pilots to carry one passenger. Among its restrictions, this certificate limits pilots to daytime flights of less than 50 miles. Pilots must be at least 17 to take the test and prove proficiency to a flight instructor who endorses the applicant's logged flight hours.

Helicopter Factoid for Longviews for Longview

Commercial Helicopter License Facts: After you get your private helicopter license you will have the option to move on to a commercial helicopter license. The main difference between the commercial and private is that you can now start to charge for your services.

How to pick a helicopter flight school near Longview

When it comes to making the final decision, first of all make sure you are comparing apples to apples. Don't price shop two schools and compare FAA minimum rates to \typical rates. Compare minimum to minimum or typical to typical. Generally an FAA Part 141 approved school will be better organized than a non-141 school but this is only a very general guideline. However a non-141 school should have a syllabus showing lesson plans number of hours etc.

Helicopter Factoid for Olympias for Olympia

To rebuild the helicopter pilot training program, Headquarters Army Air Force appointed a group of officers in January 1946 to recommend a new location for the school. San Marcos Army Air Field, Texas, a recently inactivated flying training base, was selected. Helicopter pilot training formally transferred to San Marcos on 31 May 1946.

Helicopter History for Olympia

Helicopter Pilot's License for Olympia Assuming you pass your written test, and your flight instructor thinks you are ready for the checkride, you will be signed off to take a combination oral and flight test with either an FAA examiner, or more likely a Designated Examiner who is a person who does not work for the FAA, but has been designated as having enough experience to judge whether you make the grade or not.

Post World War II Pilot Training: The problem of instructor pilots was almost as critical as that of maintenance personnel. Most of the assigned pilots had not been overseas returnees, and were, therefore, subject to overseas duty. The number of instructors on hand varied from one to five making planning student loads nearly impossible. To stabilize instructor manning, the helicopter school requested assignment of one class composed entirely of combat returnees, who could be retained as instructors. A class of 10 combat returnees began training 15 July 1946.

Helicopter History for Redmond

Helicopter Pilot's License for RedmondIf you hold no rating at all, you will need to take 20 hours of instruction and log 20 hours of solo practice. Generally, however, it will take you closer to 45 hours of dual instruction before you are ready for your checkride, giving you closer to 65 hours total time in helicopters, if you are an average student.

Helicopter Fun Facts for Renton

The Army Air Forces selected helicopter pilot training candidates from rated volunteer applicants. At first there no specific qualifications for helicopter training, although the AAF later required a current flight physical. After the end of World War II, the AAF in early 1946 restricted eligibility to flight officers, lieutenants with a pilot rating, or service pilots on flying status.

Helicopter History for Renton

Helicopter Pilot's License for RentonIf you are thinking about getting your helicopter license, there are a few things you may want to know first. Most people who decide to get their helicopter license break down into one of two categories. Someone who holds no pilot rating at all, or someone who holds some sort of fixed wing rating. Of course, there is the occasional balloon pilot, or other exotic, but these are quite rare.

Helicopter Factoid for Richlands for Richland

Flight Instructor Facts for Richland A helicopter flight instructor is trained to act as an extension of the FAA. As a helicopter flight instructor you'll be accountable for training and certifying new students that will then go on to get their helicopter pilots license.

Fun Helicopter and Airplane Facts for Richland

How to pick a helicopter flight school near Richland

To visit each school, call them up and make an appointment to meet with the owner/president. You will usually have an easier time getting an appointment during the week, rather than on the weekend. Tell them you'd like to meet them to hear about the school, their training program, and why you might want to train with them.

Helicopter History for Sammamish

How to Pick a Helicopter Flight School for Sammamish To visit each school, call them up and make an appointment to meet with the owner/president. You will usually have an easier time getting an appointment during the week, rather than on the weekend. Tell them you'd like to meet them to hear about the school, their training program, and why you might want to train with them.

How to pick a helicopter flight school near Sammamish

Try to figure out whether this is a school which soaks it's students. I've seen many schools that take 100 hours or more for people to get a private pilot license. You will find the occasional person who really needs to take this long, but if you talk to 3 graduates and they all took over 80 hours to get their private, the school may be \overtraining them in order to get additional revenue.

Helicopter Fun Facts for Seattle

Helicopters that are simultaneously moving slowly and descending are subject to a hazardous condition known as settling with power or vortex ring state. The helicopter sinks into its own previously disturbed air and the result is a dramatic increase in descent rate that cannot be arrested by adding collective pitch and engine power.

Fun Helicopter and Airplane Facts for Seattle

Sikorsky Helicopter S-92: The S-92 helicopter is the most advanced aircraft in Sikorsky's civil product line, certified to the most stringent safety requirements of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

Helicopter Factoid for Seattle Hill-Silver Firss for Seattle Hill-Silver Firs

Flight Instructor Facts for Seattle Hill-Silver Firs A private helicopter license is design for people who like to fly for mainly fun or to take joy rides. The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) requires people who want to get a private helicopter license to have at least 40 hours of flight time. Students will also need to complete a series of ground written and verbal tests before given the private license.

How to pick a helicopter flight school near Seattle Hill-Silver Firs

Ask to talk to a couple of the instructors. You may have to come back if they are all flying at the time. Ask leading questions, such as whether the instructor enjoys working at the school, whether the management is difficult to work for, is the maintenance good, are the helicopters all in good shape. The way the instructor answers is as important as what he/she says... If the owner told you it would take \X hours and Y dollars to get your rating ask the instructor whether those estimates are reasonable or not. Don't say the owner quoted them just ask do you think I could get my rating in X hours for Y dollars?.

Helicopter Fun Facts for Shoreline

Five classes graduated from helicopter training during 1944. Out of a total of 39 students, 36 graduated. By the end of the war, Training Command helicopter school had produced 93 pilots and 335 mechanics. Many of these people served with the helicopter rescue and air commando units in the China-Burma-India Theater or participated in convoy scouting operations along the North Atlantic routes.

Helicopter History for Shoreline

Helicopter Pilot's License for ShorelineCommercial pilots must be at least 18 with 190 or more flight hours logged through flight school. Otherwise, applicants need 250 hours, including 100 solo hours and 40 hours flown cross-country. The FAR allows commercial pilots to accept pay for their services.

Helicopter Fun Facts for Spokane

Pilots receive some ground school education on how to recover from a low-G condition, but the prudent way to avoid mast bumping is by avoiding the situations that will tend to cause a low-G condition. Extreme maneuvers by a pilot can result in the helicopter going low-G, but a more common source of reduced G forces in two-bladed helicopters is turbulence. Did the accident flight occur on a day when the wind was gusting to 30 knots and the FAA had issued an AIRMET for turbulence? If so, look into the possibility of mast bumping.

Fun Helicopter and Airplane Facts for Spokane

Sikorsky Helicopters S-92 Helicopter: The spacious, stand-up cabin of the S-92 helicopter provides the ultimate in comfort, safety and mission-flexibility required by demanding operators for a variety of roles, including offshore oil transport, executive transport, search and rescue, airline and utility. Airline configured S-92 helicopters seat up to 19 passengers

Helicopter Fun Facts for Tacoma

The Robinson R44 has a potentially lethal design defect: the electronic governor, which is supposed to ensure that rotor speed remains at a safe 100%

Fun Helicopter and Airplane Facts for Tacoma

Eurocopter - AS550: The AS550 C3e Fennec is Eurocopters 2-ton class answer to Armed Forces requirements. Easy to operate in extreme and harsh conditions, this Armed Scout helicopter combines safety and performance.

Helicopter History for Vancouver

Flight Instructor Facts for Vancouver As the students progress through training, the helicopter flight instructor will allow the students to take over control of the craft and attempt to fly.

Fun Helicopter and Airplane Facts for Vancouver

Flight Instructor Facts for Vancouver All of the tallest objects in a given area are clearly listed on a pilot's map. The student must be educated in the dangers of coming into contact with power lines and antennas as well as any emergency action that must be taken if incidental contact is made with one of these objects.

Helicopter Fun Facts for Yakima

The engineer behind the R22, Frank Robinson, stated repeatedly that he did not design the R22 as a trainer and did not want people using it as a trainer, suggesting that they use the more expensive R44 instead (it has about 4 seconds of rotor inertia instead of 1.6 seconds). However, flight schools using the R44 could generally not compete with those using the R22 (a brand-new student can tell the difference between $200/hour and $400/hour, but he or she probably can't understand the practical consequences of lower rotor inertia). Thus the R22 continues to be used at flight schools around the world and its low-inertia rotor system and lack of power reserve result in frequent accidents during practice autorotations.

Fun Helicopter and Airplane Facts for Yakima

Pilot ratings remove flying restrictions. An instrument rating says that a pilot doesn't need visual references to fly, and can instead rely solely on a plane's instruments. It's required for airline transport pilots, though private and commercial pilots also commonly earn it. Without a multi-engine rating, pilots can fly only single-engine planes. Commercial pilots need the multi-engine rating for employment.