Helicopter Lesson

Today I flew a helicopter.  What a thrill!  Lifting off was a thrill, especially since there were no doors on the helicopter.  I kept trying to hold on to something, but there's really nothing.  I also checked my seat-belt over and over.  I felt like I would fall right out without holding on to something, so I grabbed on to the edge of the windshield.  Quite the exciting ride.  They took the doors off because the weather was so hot.

Flying the helicopter is of course more difficult than you'd imagine.  Then again, I remember when driving a car seamed a bit overwhelming.  So it really just takes some getting used to.  They warned us during the ground training about how badly things can go if the chopper tips too far, so I was quite cautious.  Gusts of wind make you constantly readjust what you're trying to do, even when it's just going straight or making a smooth turn.  We flew over a prison, followed the freeway for a bit, and viewed New York City from afar.  I really just controlled the cyclic rotor (the top).  I would have liked to use the pedals which control the rotation.  The cockpit of these training helicopters make difficult to cram my long legs onto the pedals, under the horizontal bar that does the cyclic control (this is a vertical bar in normal helicopters).

This was a Christmas present from Larisa, which I finally had time to schedule.  Great idea!