Aeropower Trial Introductory Flight

As a present I received the following: http://www.aeropower.com.au/flightSchool/training/introductoryFlight.php (In a Schweizer 300CBI)

We started with a short theory session in the classroom, describing the basic operation of the helicopter, and its primary controls, then it was off to the helicopter.

The instructor (Robert Winter) performed the take off and climbed to @ 1500ft, at which point the controls were handed over to me (3 mins flight time!), first the pedals, then the collective, and finally the cyclic (joystick), and I flew from Redcliffe to Bribie Island and back following the coastline. Part-way back Rob assisted me in performing a maximum rate climb and I flew over and around several clouds. After we returned to the Redcliffe airfield, the instructor demonstrated an auto-rotation (simulated engine failure) to a hover at @10ft (ground was too wet for a landing). He then (at a different part of the airfield) demonstrated that the heli could land while moving, we went skidding across the ground at 10-15 knots. Then we took off again and the instructor demonstrated low level (less than 100ft) operations. As a demonstration of the confined space abilities, we landed on a dry grass patch in the middle of the marsh that was barely any bigger than the heli. Rob then demonstrated some pirouettes (flying sideways to the right, backwards, then sideways to the left), and finished with a few ag turns (Agriculture, used when spraying crops, etc) before returning for a landing.

The instructor was very good, and seemed a good bloke as well.

Overall well worth it at $324.50

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• helicopter
• first
• take
• off
• Schweizer
• 300CBi
• training
• aeropower
• redcliffe
• brisbane