Rotor Rapture!

[Vance]

Manage the opportunity.

Manage the opportunity.

Hello James,

I remember what it is like to be a kid and what it is like to be a parent.

I would like to manage the opportunity well and not be a negative for anyone involved.


Thank you Chris,

It looks like your title did well; it has a nice ring to it.

It is easier writing for the forum because everyone here is some kind of aviation enthusiast.

I talked to someone today who just skips over certain parts that they do not find interesting.

I learn on every flight and try to pass it along. Sometimes it is subtle and sometimes it is easy to describe.

My recent efforts to elevate my piloting skills have paid off in several ways.

I mistakenly felt that my sloppy throttle work was a cyclic challenge.

I found managing the rudder better brings things together and makes the progression more defined. I tended to be a little slow with my pedal work and did not stay ahead of the aircraft.

I still have a long way to go and the progress is subtle.

It was very evident when I was doing my stop and goes.

The more I try to manage things the sooner I find that things are not going as planned.

Already I find joy in managing things better.

I have been learning by separating out the controls and then bringing them back together in concert.

When I have been away from flying for as long as you have I expect to find my skills diminished.

It usually feels as though I am watching someone who flies better than I do because of all the flying I have done in my mind.

When I road raced motorcycles I would often drive across the country with several other racers so we didn’t have to stop. We would keep each other awake through the night by describing out path around the track we were traveling toward. We would draw maps and fill in the details so we had reference points. We found that the description would take almost exactly our lap times. We would feel as though we had several days of practice when we arrived.

You may find you are a better pilot when you return because you have been practicing in your head.

We found that the corner before we had a problem was one where we were not familiar with the landmarks. Describing what we looked for was important. It was easy to focus on something that we were afraid of instead of where we wanted to be and the actions we wanted to take.

You may find the same thing in thinking about flying. Think about the things that happened a little before you had trouble and try to describe your feelings and actions.

Enough of the Dad thing; listen to your instructor and understand the gyroplane you are flying probably does not fly like The Predator and I am not a CFI.

Thank you, Vance

 

[gyrodeputy]

Thank you Mike,

I would love to hear from people about what they like and don’t like about our stories.

I feel ATC is an important part of the adventure with their special vernacular and I don’t know just how to share that.

Thank you, Vance

Vance,
I too love to listen to your stories. Like Stan so gently put it, "Don't change a thing." You have a very natural skill that takes the reader right to the edge of the situation. Keep it up.

Regarding the ATC "vernacular" you are exactly right. That is what it is, a special language. All too often in today's writings, authors try to pretty or dummy it up. In this case the real thing is just that, real. It needs to stay that way, just not be over used. Having said that, as a fellow pilot, I love to here it. It puts me in the seat next to (or more appropriately behind) you! I can feel myself on the taxiways, flight paths and approaches/departures trying my best to stay in sync with the controllers instructions. To be along for the ride, short of "being along for the ride" your articulation is supurb.

Thank you for sharing your special talents and stories. I am looking forward to your first book!

Stay safe.

 

[StanFoster]

Vance- I found another gold nugget in your last post. You mentioned going across the country with your racing buddies and describing the path you make around the race track. When you arrive its like you already have had several days of practice..........................That resonates with my very frequent mental run throughs of an engine out in my helicopter. I try to do these privately in my armchair, but on occasion Barbara has caught me holding an imaginary collective and cyclic, giving the chair a left yaw, immediately followed by right pedal, down collective and some back cyclic. A momentary pause as I allow my rrpm to build, then check it with just enough collective. Now I am mentally checking my airspeed is correct, and lock in the numbers till flare time. The ground is mentally rushing up as I give it backstick and convert my airspeed energy to stop the descent rate and follow a parallel path across the ground, still standing on its tail and feeling that g-meter in my butt telling me I have just about used all the cyclic enerrgy, now apply some collective check to continue reducing my groundspeed to 0, then level the skids and use collective to set her down....................There Vance, I snuck in another practice session putting it to words. This may sound like someone who is off center, please don't ask Barbara what she thinks! But, these mental exercises I feel influenced the outcomes of 20 forced landings I have experienced. Or maybe laughingly I could say my first several engine outs in a gyro influenced me to start having some armchair mental exercises! Stan

 

[Vance]

An Example of the application.

An Example of the application.

Thank you Heath,

I appreciate your kind words and I am glad to have you along.

I find joy in my progress toward becoming a better pilot.

ATC used to be a particular challenge for me with Class Charlie airspace a bigger challenge still.

I now realize that some of my challenge was the result of controllers that were just learning.

I would compound their challenges by not knowing what they intended to say or what they were trying to accomplish.

I feel that now I can mitigate their trouble and work around their misdirection.

Some were trying to be funny. As is often the case the humor was lost on me.

I now find joy in the contact and appreciate when they give me extra service.

I am pleased that the ATC quotes draw you into the story; that is part of the intention.

Flying is the only time people talk to me like that so the vernacular is special to me and indicative of being air born with all the joy that accompanies flight.


Thank you Stan,

I have found the more detail in the description the better it works.

I have found that describing it to someone who may lack expertise has value as I search for the clues that will make sense to them.

In my opinion many of my successes in racing were a direct result of this.

After I wrote about it I realized most people could not imagine the kind of thing I was talking about. After all how hard is it to find your way around a race track? I will give an example about a track that no longer exists and see if it helps.

Turn 9 at Riverside Raceway was a bumpy, slippery turn with a boiler plate wall on the outside. If you got up too high on the banking you would hit the little balls of rubber thrown off by the stock cars and traction would become marginal. If you were going fast enough it was a series of slides caused by the bumps. Turn 9 and turn 1 were the fastest turns on the track so they were the most important. Turn one went over a hill and off camber so your position on the race track was very important, too wide and you could not carry your speed or have the proper line into the series of turns that followed. The goal is to carry as much speed as possible for as long as possible and get back on the gas as soon as possible.

Back straight, wobble at dogleg. Wide open and tucked in tight, momentary brakes at the pavement change, stay tucked in and aim for the first apex at the hole. Let her drift to the marbles and stay tucked in. Scrub off some speed, crowd the front wheel and look at the turn worker box for the second apex. Add throttle and look at the flagman on the right. Hay bales close on the left. Aim to dissect the second checker on the start finish line and keep her in as tight as practical. Throw her hard left across the line and feel the wall while aiming for an apex over the hill out of sight. Maximum lean with a little drift will get there. Drift increases at crest, keep throttle pinned and expect some wobble. Aim for skid mark break marker turn two.

We would find the description took the same amount of time as that section of the track. The speed was around 160 miles per hour down the back straight, 130 through turn nine and 150 plus through turn one.

The same process for landing The Predator at SMX from 500 feet AGL at 60kts indicated airspeed from a close pattern would look like this; repeat landing clearance, reduce rpm to 1,600 abeam touchdown point, look for 500 feet per minute descent. Lead with the left pedal abeam the lights to turn base, lead with left pedal to turn final at edge of runway. Align with centerline, 300 feet AGL over the lights. 200 feet over the threshold. 60kts indicated air speed. Check the angles and maintain 60kts. Select aim point 40 feet before touchdown point. Adjust throttle to maintain proper angle of descent for aim point. When the angles say 10 feet look down the runway and began round out and reduce throttle. At two feet began flare. Continue to reduce throttle and delay touchdown as long as possible with cyclic. Full back and touchdown, hold full back until front wheel touches then full forward and accelerate off the runway. Stop past the hold short line and say intentions. Repeat ATC instructions for taxi to parking, monitor ground. Keep rotor disk parallel with horizon and apply rotor brake at 50 rotor rpm. Shut off strobe lights and landing lights, turn off transponder, notify spot the Predator has landed and taxi to parking. Follow shut down list. Fill out log book, GPS batteries on the charger, camera battery on the charger. Cursory post flight inspection and place the condom on the rotor and roll her inside the hanger for a full post flight inspection.

I find more detail allows me to recognize divergence sooner.

I find practicing this at home helps me when I get behind the stick.

I am off to Camarillo without Ed!

Thank you, Vance