Post by TomH on Dec 8, 2005 1:30:57 GMT
Hi gang... it's your friendly neighborhood test pilot ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
It will be a while before our Bell 412 is ready... something about cashflow and not yet having the paint ;D ;D... so I hitched a ride on an ERA chopper to see what it was like to control this beast. As reported, the 412 is VERY VERY sensitive (and ultra-responsive) to any control inputs, especially at low speeds.
We climbed in and I began working through the startup checklist...
I successfully got the fires lit and hauled in the power to get us off the ground...
I wobbled around (Huey shuffle-style) a little until I finally got used to the delicate touch needed to handle this baby, then turned to taxi out to the active...
I didn't have too much trouble during the taxi, but did have to work at holding her back. This thing's got power to spare...
Waiting for takeoff clearance...
Nosing over for takeoff... the airspeed built up very quickly...
Once we had some air blowing over the nose, working the controls became less of a chore, and I really started to enjoy flying this helicopter.
Approaching the first rig, I began to wonder if I could slow her down enough for the landing...
I solved that problem by pulling some G's and bleeding off quite a bit of speed in the process...
Lined up on the pad... she's still pretty stable and friendly at this point...
Touch down! That didn't hurt at all! I must be getting the feel of it...
This takeoff was pretty easy, even with all the crap that I could tangle the rotors in... Off to the next rig...
Getting lined up on pad #2...
Everybody out!
On the way to the 3rd rig, we decided to try the floatation gear...
I felt a little edgy, dipping an unfamiliar bird in the drink, and set her down with a pretty good splash, but everything held together...
Back in the air, we headed for the next rig, and discovered we'd lost most of our instruments. I wondered if my landing had splashed some water in some sensitive areas...
We shut down upon landing, and checked everything over.
All the key spots were dry, so something else is up. After going through all the switch settings and finding out we had a dead battery, it was then we discovered I'd missed flipping a key generator switch on startup. We plugged in a ground unit and got power to get restarted. I don't know who felt more sheepish at not flipping that switch... me or my "instructor" ;D
Finally, back home after shutdown... this is one super helicopter. The startup and shutdown are a lot more complicated than most other FS models. You can't just flip a switch and be airborne in a few seconds. Once you get the sequences figured out, it's a breeze ;D ;D ;D
It will be a while before our Bell 412 is ready... something about cashflow and not yet having the paint ;D ;D... so I hitched a ride on an ERA chopper to see what it was like to control this beast. As reported, the 412 is VERY VERY sensitive (and ultra-responsive) to any control inputs, especially at low speeds.
We climbed in and I began working through the startup checklist...
I successfully got the fires lit and hauled in the power to get us off the ground...
I wobbled around (Huey shuffle-style) a little until I finally got used to the delicate touch needed to handle this baby, then turned to taxi out to the active...
I didn't have too much trouble during the taxi, but did have to work at holding her back. This thing's got power to spare...
Waiting for takeoff clearance...
Nosing over for takeoff... the airspeed built up very quickly...
Once we had some air blowing over the nose, working the controls became less of a chore, and I really started to enjoy flying this helicopter.
Approaching the first rig, I began to wonder if I could slow her down enough for the landing...
I solved that problem by pulling some G's and bleeding off quite a bit of speed in the process...
Lined up on the pad... she's still pretty stable and friendly at this point...
Touch down! That didn't hurt at all! I must be getting the feel of it...
This takeoff was pretty easy, even with all the crap that I could tangle the rotors in... Off to the next rig...
Getting lined up on pad #2...
Everybody out!
On the way to the 3rd rig, we decided to try the floatation gear...
I felt a little edgy, dipping an unfamiliar bird in the drink, and set her down with a pretty good splash, but everything held together...
Back in the air, we headed for the next rig, and discovered we'd lost most of our instruments. I wondered if my landing had splashed some water in some sensitive areas...
We shut down upon landing, and checked everything over.
All the key spots were dry, so something else is up. After going through all the switch settings and finding out we had a dead battery, it was then we discovered I'd missed flipping a key generator switch on startup. We plugged in a ground unit and got power to get restarted. I don't know who felt more sheepish at not flipping that switch... me or my "instructor" ;D
Finally, back home after shutdown... this is one super helicopter. The startup and shutdown are a lot more complicated than most other FS models. You can't just flip a switch and be airborne in a few seconds. Once you get the sequences figured out, it's a breeze ;D ;D ;D
