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How to Fly a Helicopter
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Prior to getting into the subject matter of this article, allow me to entice the reader as to why he should want to fly a helicopter. Behold these Screen Shots. This figment of the imagination of a computer can best be explored by using a helicopter.
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Step One:
Start on a nice long runway (I use 6R at Cleveland Hopkins), as a matter of fact, do exactly that, start on 6R at CLE, just take off and fly straight ahead, get the feeling of the controls (I used the Jet Ranger on FS9), don’t go high and don’t go fast, 1500’ and 80 knots is just fine. Since you’re going straight ahead, fly over to Burke Lakefront. Now try to land at BKL, do not try to hover, just slow down and land the twirling gravity deifier like an airplane. Keep doing this until you can contact the ground as slow as you can make the thing go.
Step Two:
Get back on a nice long runway, lift the craft up about 10’ and fly down the centerline, don’t go fast, 20kts is just about right. After you are comfortable doing the forgoing, start slowing down.
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Step Three:
Doing the above, the helicopter is going pretty much in a straight line; you need to be able to turn. Do step two above but instead of flying down the centerline, follow the yellow taxi lines. At Cleveland Hopkins the taxi lines lend themselves very nicely for doing this. While you are flying along the pretty yellow lines, pick a spot ahead and land.
Step Four:
Get back on the runway, lift the craft up and try to hover for jest a few seconds before accelerating down the centerline, don’t get higher than 50’. Accelerate to normal cruse and fly right down the center of the runway. As the end approaches, slow down and land on the numbers.
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Step Five:
This, besides hovering, is the most difficult: Lift up about 5’ and do a “Peddle Turn”, the name of this maneuver is so called because it is accomplished by stepping on a rudder. When you have turned 180°, repeat the process, i.e. return to the other end of the runway (when you first attempt this you will discover that the swirling contraption will demonstrate it’s instability), (the idea is to do the turn over one spot).
Step Six:
When you are comfortable with all of the above, start landing on the roofs of buildings.
Step Seven:
Keep practicing; every time you fly attempt to hover a little longer.
Now that I can fly the helicopters on my simulator, I think it is more fun flying between the skyscrapers in Downtown NY than flying the airplanes. Then I went exploring (like flying around in the hanger deck of my aircraft carrier). I will take this up in my next article.
One final detail, but a very important detail; the “zoom” on the monitor; also, this is one of the major differences between piloting a helicopter and piloting an airplane. I cannot adequately reduce to writing the effect of visual sensory input. With flying an airplane the visual input is about 50/50, i.e. half of what you look is outside; the other half is looking at the instrument panel. With a helicopter the visual input is just about all (but not totally) outside. This effect is sufficient enough that I don’t even have the instrument paned displayed in my helicopter configuration, the “zoom” I have set to .5; this is not absolutely perfect but good enough.
Hey Bharat, mock on. I met up with one of my old buddies back at the base, he was instructing in a “real” i.e. FAA approved helicopter simulator, and I flew it! Didn’t even crash once!
Poor-poor Bharat…the High Pooh-Bah of Gizmology…he’s probably drooping his turns.
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