Personal helicoptors

In reply to mtn :

If I had my choice, i would have moved as close to an airport as possible.  It understandable. Ive been looking up as long as i can remember.

In reply to John Welsh :

If you read the tail number you can often see the most recent flight of an aircraft by searching it in Flight Aware. It looks like that one wasn't tracked. Maybe too low or the transponder wasn't used.

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N111PA

Looks like they flew a lot of short tours of Cleveland on New Year's Eve.

In reply to AAZCD-Jon (Forum Supporter) :

Interesting. 
Picture taken Sept 2, 2020   16:48
Video taken Aug 6, 2020   17:31

Appleseed said:

In reply to mtn :

If I had my choice, i would have moved as close to an airport as possible.  It understandable. Ive been looking up as long as i can remember.

You would love my office. We are about 2000' south of one of the approaches for Charleston International/Charleston AFB. Makes phone calls a little difficult when the Air Force go fasts are playing. 

Mr. Peabody said:

Antihero (Forum Supporter) said:

Also.....2 stroke motor?

Two strokes are simpler, lighter, cheaper and more reliable than four strokes, but you give up fuel economy and emissions. It's all about priorities.

My Son's friend showed up with a helicopter similar to that one day, landing it between the house and the barn. His parents sent him to some really expensive helicopter flying school and he was on his first solo flight. He got a good paying job flying for a mine in the north, and one day on a road trip to get parts for the company, he was picked doing 140 in an 80 zone in the company truck and lost his job. I could write a book about all the stupid things this kid has done, often at his parent's expense.

I'm just surprised that in this society that you can get by with much worse emissions.

I mean, you are starting to see 4 stroke chainsaws even

John Welsh said:

In reply to AAZCD-Jon (Forum Supporter) :

Interesting. 
Picture taken Sept 2, 2020   16:48
Video taken Aug 6, 2020   17:31

Oh... I only noticed the 'upload' date of the video and thought that it had just happened. 12/31/21 was probably the most recent flight then. ...and of course you don't have leaves on all those trees right now.

Antihero (Forum Supporter) said:

Mr. Peabody said:

Antihero (Forum Supporter) said:

Also.....2 stroke motor?

Two strokes are simpler, lighter, cheaper and more reliable than four strokes, but you give up fuel economy and emissions. It's all about priorities.

My Son's friend showed up with a helicopter similar to that one day, landing it between the house and the barn. His parents sent him to some really expensive helicopter flying school and he was on his first solo flight. He got a good paying job flying for a mine in the north, and one day on a road trip to get parts for the company, he was picked doing 140 in an 80 zone in the company truck and lost his job. I could write a book about all the stupid things this kid has done, often at his parent's expense.

I'm just surprised that in this society that you can get by with much worse emissions.

 

I mean, you are starting to see 4 stroke chainsaws even

AVgas is still leaded...

RX Reven' said:

jgrewe said:

I'd suggest something like a Rotorway Exec 162F. Guys have put little turbines on them, makes them a pretty slick little 2 seater.

I come from a multi-generational flying family. My dad, me, and my aunt all flew. My dad had a cousin that was in the air on D-Day. Unfortunately the "enemy aircraft" he shot down that day was a P-51. So, yea... Luftwaffe JG2 Richthofen Squadron.

My dad's comment when I went looking at getting my helicopter rating was "Never fly anything that has a wing that goes faster than the fuselage"

 

Just the series of belts used to power the tail rotor on an Exec was enough send me walking.

If memory serves, two belt and four pulleys all must work correctly...snap a belt, jump a pulley, oil leak on belt, crack a pulley, bearing failure, etc.  A high-level FMEA just on having a functional tail rotor would take me hours - no thanks.

BTW, I learned to fly when I was seventeen so it's not like I'm aviation adverse.

Um, ever pulled the covers off an R22 or R44? Similar scary design,lol

Robinson emergency procedure if a belt fails-"Be prepared to enter autorotation"

AAZCD-Jon (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to John Welsh :

If you read the tail number you can often see the most recent flight of an aircraft by searching it in Flight Aware. It looks like that one wasn't tracked. Maybe too low or the transponder wasn't used.

If you're just flying VFR in uncontrolled airspace and not using flight following, you just set the transponder to squawk a standard VFR code. You'll show up on radar for control to see, but you won't be identified as a specific aircraft.

That tracking system is cool. I looked up my grandfather's old Comanche, N6448P, and it's still operating out of the airport he used to keep it at. Couldn't find the airplane I learned in, N5384H.

Despite all the warnings, including mine, against getting a helicopter I've often fantasised about having one of my own for boring 100-200 mile trips.

adam525i said:

Antihero (Forum Supporter) said:

Mr. Peabody said:

Antihero (Forum Supporter) said:

Also.....2 stroke motor?

Two strokes are simpler, lighter, cheaper and more reliable than four strokes, but you give up fuel economy and emissions. It's all about priorities.

My Son's friend showed up with a helicopter similar to that one day, landing it between the house and the barn. His parents sent him to some really expensive helicopter flying school and he was on his first solo flight. He got a good paying job flying for a mine in the north, and one day on a road trip to get parts for the company, he was picked doing 140 in an 80 zone in the company truck and lost his job. I could write a book about all the stupid things this kid has done, often at his parent's expense.

I'm just surprised that in this society that you can get by with much worse emissions.

 

I mean, you are starting to see 4 stroke chainsaws even

AVgas is still leaded...

I didn't know that.

I hate flying anyway so I know little about it

Antihero (Forum Supporter) said:

I thought that the smaller the aircraft, the closer to death you get?

If I'm gonna go, I won't be mad going like this 

In reply to Steve_Jones :

I see you have both a cockpit with windows and fixed wings. Thing's basically a jumbo jet.

Appleseed said:

In reply to mtn :

If I had my choice, i would have moved as close to an airport as possible.  It understandable. Ive been looking up as long as i can remember.

She'll get used to it, but it's a new thing for us. Doesn't bother me. 

M2Pilot said:

Despite all the warnings, including mine, against getting a helicopter I've often fantasised about having one of my own for boring 100-200 mile trips.

I went down a rabbit hole fantasizing about a rutan long ez for similar...

In reply to Toyman! :

I am a tiny cog in the machine that makes the engines for the go fasts. We call it "the sound of freedom". 

In reply to NY Nick :

I do too. I just tell the people on the other end of the line to hold on until they pass. 

It's kind of frat boy-ish but I do find it entertaining. I almost never get to see or hear one though so it's always novel.

One the plus side, this conversation has saved me a lot of money. 

Well, at least it has redirected the poor spending habit to something without rotors. 

I worked in an office near Aberdeen Proving Ground when they were refitting / upfitting Cobras.

When each one was finished, the test pilot would get in with that aircraft's lead mechanic in the back seat.  They'd wind it up to emergency war power on the pad, then dump the full collective into it and zoom straight up about 10,000 ft.

If something broke, the mechanic's ass was on the line too.

bearmtnmartin (Forum Supporter) said:

One the plus side, this conversation has saved me a lot of money. 

 

Well, at least it has redirected the poor spending habit to something without rotors. 

Nothing wrong with a nice classic for cruising :)

mtn said:

My only comment on helicopters right now, is that they're driving my wife insane. We live close to the hospital, and she works at the hospital. Since Omicron got bad here, we've been hearing at least 3 helicopters a day at home, and obviously more at work for her. She says she feels like she's in Goodfellas. 

I'm surprised she didn't say M*A*S*H...

Duke said:

I worked in an office near Aberdeen Proving Ground when they were refitting / upfitting Cobras.

When each one was finished, the test pilot would get in with that aircraft's lead mechanic in the back seat.  They'd wind it up to emergency war power on the pad, then dump the full collective into it and zoom straight up about 10,000 ft.

If something broke, the mechanic's ass was on the line too.

 

That seems very exciting for everyone involved. 

In reply to thatsnowinnebago :

It was fun to watch, for sure, even from a couple miles away.