- Joined
- Oct 30, 2003
- Messages
- 18,391
- Location
- Santa Maria, California
- Aircraft
- Givens Predator
- Total Flight Time
- 2600+ in rotorcraft
Jodi House is very supportive.
Jodi House is very supportive.
Thank you Mark, my fellow TBI people at Jodi House are actually the first ones to start me on the writing a book path. When I had my Traumatic Brain Injury protocol was to say get used to your limitations because brain cells don’t grow back and it is not going to get better.
Things have changed over time and with the improved body armor the war in Iraq and Afghanistan has provided a lot of advancement in the understanding of living with a brain injury.
I see the other members of the group getting better and I get better. We inspire each other.
When I was having the turbulence experience in The Predator my mouth was dry and I had a bitter taste in my mouth indicating to me the presence of trepidation. The feeling did not progress beyond that and when I landed my hands were still steady. If Ed had been in the back it would have been much worse.
The worst of it lasted for less than 20 minutes.
I slowed to 50kts indicated air speed during the worst of it and kept the power in to enhance the rudder control. I worked to keep the yaw string excursions to a minimum and let her rise when I caught an updraft. I focused on controlling sink with the throttle and found we were sinking as fast as 800 feet per minute with wide open throttle several times. We never got below 1,000 feet agl. There were times where I simply let the wind take her and we never got closer than a quarter mile from the hills.
I was checking the weather last night and the Sandberg ASOS (SDB) was 14kts gusting to 34kts with peak wind at 37kts when everything else in the area was below 6kts. I had checked SDB before I left Santa Paula and the gusts were only at 14kts. I suspect I would have been better off to have climbed to 8,000 and gone over the ridgeline instead of going through the pass. I imagined the wave activity might have been worse because of the way the ridge lined up with the wind prevailing wind. I now feel the wind would have been steadier with that course.
I have tried climbing over the top when we get mountain wave activity along the hills near Santa Barbara and it has not helped with the calmest air on the leeward side being below and close to the ridgeline. If I can find a way to get to the windward side it is usually less gusty.
The Predator handled the situation well without much in the way of pitch excursions and the yaw excursions were very brief. She always responded well to my rudder input. The rotor tachometer varied between 310 and 375 rotor RPM.
I don’t know how close to trouble I was. There were no thunderstorms in the area.
I hope to see you at the 50th Ken Brock Freedom Fly In as do many of your friends.
Thank you, Vance
Jodi House is very supportive.
Thank you Mark, my fellow TBI people at Jodi House are actually the first ones to start me on the writing a book path. When I had my Traumatic Brain Injury protocol was to say get used to your limitations because brain cells don’t grow back and it is not going to get better.
Things have changed over time and with the improved body armor the war in Iraq and Afghanistan has provided a lot of advancement in the understanding of living with a brain injury.
I see the other members of the group getting better and I get better. We inspire each other.
When I was having the turbulence experience in The Predator my mouth was dry and I had a bitter taste in my mouth indicating to me the presence of trepidation. The feeling did not progress beyond that and when I landed my hands were still steady. If Ed had been in the back it would have been much worse.
The worst of it lasted for less than 20 minutes.
I slowed to 50kts indicated air speed during the worst of it and kept the power in to enhance the rudder control. I worked to keep the yaw string excursions to a minimum and let her rise when I caught an updraft. I focused on controlling sink with the throttle and found we were sinking as fast as 800 feet per minute with wide open throttle several times. We never got below 1,000 feet agl. There were times where I simply let the wind take her and we never got closer than a quarter mile from the hills.
I was checking the weather last night and the Sandberg ASOS (SDB) was 14kts gusting to 34kts with peak wind at 37kts when everything else in the area was below 6kts. I had checked SDB before I left Santa Paula and the gusts were only at 14kts. I suspect I would have been better off to have climbed to 8,000 and gone over the ridgeline instead of going through the pass. I imagined the wave activity might have been worse because of the way the ridge lined up with the wind prevailing wind. I now feel the wind would have been steadier with that course.
I have tried climbing over the top when we get mountain wave activity along the hills near Santa Barbara and it has not helped with the calmest air on the leeward side being below and close to the ridgeline. If I can find a way to get to the windward side it is usually less gusty.
The Predator handled the situation well without much in the way of pitch excursions and the yaw excursions were very brief. She always responded well to my rudder input. The rotor tachometer varied between 310 and 375 rotor RPM.
I don’t know how close to trouble I was. There were no thunderstorms in the area.
I hope to see you at the 50th Ken Brock Freedom Fly In as do many of your friends.
Thank you, Vance
