Helicopter Dreams

I just love the web! Today I found a perfect summary of the ATPL theory course, thank you Rob Groothuis for that piece of paper! Well structured, divided in each subject. For those of you that are interested to take part of it, just click the link above (links to the pdf document) and you’ll save some time when preparing the exams.

Thanks Rob!

So I passed the Meteorology test today so the status on the theory now is:

COM (Communication): QT (PASSED) LFV (PASSED)
HP (Human Performance):  QT (PASSED) LFV (PASSED)
AL (Air Law): QT (PASSED) LFV (PASSED)
OP (Operational Procedures): QT (PASSED) LFV (PASSED)
AGN (Aircraft General Knowledge): QT (PASSED) LFV (NOT DONE)
FPP (Flight Planning & Performance): QT (PASSED) LFV (PASSED)
PF (Principles of Flight): QT (PASSED) LFV (PASSED)
MET (Meteorology): QT (PASSED) LFV (PASSED)
NAV (Navigation): QT (PASSED) LFV (NOT DONE)

Will start to study for the last two during the weekend. Just want to get rid of them now!

Everything was planned when I arrived at the flight school this morning and the weather looked good (at least at Bromma airport). The plan was to do a long navigation solo Bromma - Västerås - Eskilstuna - Bromma (about 2 hours flight). BUT (to many BUTs when flying) the weather around Västerås wasn’t that good so we had to cancel it.

Instead we went south for some challenges, autorotations, spot landings etc. Tried to find one of the spot landings that I made on Google maps, one of the most difficult so far, but I couldn’t

Long navigation on wednesday instead I hope! BUT, before that I have the LFV test in Meteorology tomorrow, so I really have to study tonight.

Accumulated flight time: 35.3 hours

080825 Flight time: 1.1 hours

FPP (Flight Planning and Performance) - 95 %
AGN (Air craft General Knowledge) - 85 %

That means that I have passed all the 9 qualifying tests at school, great! Tomorrow I’ll write 4 of them for LFV. If, if if I pass them I have 3 more before I’m totally done with the theory.

 Status right now:
Accumulated flight time:  10 hours
COM: QT (PASSED) LFV (PASSED)
HP:  QT (PASSED) LFV (PASSED)
AL: QT (PASSED) LFV (NOT DONE) 
OP: QT (PASSED) LFV (NOT DONE)  
AGN: QT (PASSED) LFV (NOT DONE) 
FPP: QT (PASSED) LFV (NOT DONE) 
PF: QT (PASSED) LFV (NOT DONE) 
MET: QT (PASSED) LFV (NOT DONE) 
NAV: QT (PASSED) LFV (NOT DONE)  

Now it’s time to chill for the rest of the day! 

Just got home after Qualifying Tests in Navigation and Meteorology, passed both of them, yes, yes! I had 82 % in MET and 90 % in NAV, you need 75 % to pass. I better sign up for final tests next week, otherwise I might forget everything that I’ve stuffed into my head (learn for life…ehhh?).

Still need to practice some more on the Radio navigation using the ADF/NDB and VOR.

Only one thing before I go to bed, need to check the weather forecast for tomorrow, flying or not?

Good night!

When I got back after the exam in Radio Communication on Saturday, I had a rest of about 30 minutes before I started to study like a maniac for the rest of the weekend, non-stop. We have two QT (Qualifying tests) tomorrow in Navigation and Meteorology. I just got back from todays lesson in Navigation (NAV 7), where we did some sum up of everything until the test tomorrow.

If it at least could be some snow outside, in the northern parts it’s loads of snow already and here in Stockholm it’s dark, cold and rainy, which also is the reason why it’s almost impossible to get up in the air this time of year. BUT…today I did! I had a great time today, I was more relaxed than ever before. Pretty good conditions, a bit windy, about 16 kt, clouds at about 1100 feet.

I flew for about 1,5 hours north of Stockholm, close to the exclusive golf course in Bro making smooth landings and take offs. The only thing that I didn’t get to work was the very last part before the landing. You really have to coordinate the Collective and the Cyclic so that you don’t overdo any of them, they need to be in synch. I tended to flare the helicopter (by reducing the Cyclic) too much instead of making a smooth reduction of speed in combination with raising the Collective. After a couple of times it worked quite well and we went back to Bromma airport for some hovering.

Wish me good luck for the tests tomorrow, may the God of all helicopters be with me!

Good to know: 

• If you have the wind in your back you have the low pressure to the left!
• The wind direction is always counter clockwise around a low pressure (L) and clockwise round a high pressure (H).

Today we talked about fronts, cold fronts (the leading edge of a cooler and drier mass of air) and warm fronts (the leading edge of a mass of warm air), and slowly the weather pieces are falling in place. I now start to understand the weather charts and why the weather behave like it does. Have to check the forecast for tomorrow, plan is to fly!

Just back from 3 hours lesson of meteorology. Today we studied the Cumulunimbus (Cb) clouds and why it’s a big NO NO to fly in or close to these. We also learned some different types of fogs that I’ll share with you:

Radiation fog is formed by the cooling of land after sunset by thermal radiation in calm conditions with clear sky. The cool ground produces condensation in the nearby air by heat conduction. In perfect calm the fog layer can be less than a meter deep but turbulence can promote a thicker layer. Radiation fogs occur at night, and usually do not last long after sunrise. Radiation fog is common in autumn, and early winter. Examples of this phenomenon include the Tule fog. For clarity, Radiation fog is not radioactive.

Ground fog is fog that obscures less than 60% of the sky and does not extend to the base of any overhead clouds. However, the term is sometimes used to refer to radiation fog.

Advection fog occurs when moist air passes over a cool surface by advection (wind) and is cooled. It is common as a warm front passes over an area with significant snowpack. It’s most common at sea when tropical air encounters cooler waters, or in areas of upwelling, such as along the California coast. The advection of fog along the California coastline is propelled onto land by one of several processes. A cold front can push the marine layer coastward, an occurrence most typical in the spring or late fall. During the summer months, a low pressure trough produced by intense heating inland creates a strong pressure gradient, drawing in the dense marine layer. Also during the summer, strong high pressure aloft over the desert southwest, usually in connection with the summer monsoon, produces a south to southeasterly flow which can drive the offshore marine layer up the coastline, a phenomenon known as a “southerly surge”, typically following a coastal heat spell. However, if the monsoonal flow is sufficiently turbulent, it might instead break up the marine layer and any fog it may contain.

Steam fog, also called evaporation fog, is the most localized form and is created by cold air passing over much warmer water or moist land. It often causes freezing fog, or sometimes hoar frost.

Precipitation fog (or frontal fog) forms as precipitation falls into drier air below the cloud, the liquid droplets evaporate into water vapor. The water vapor cools and at the dewpoint it condenses and fog forms.

Upslope fog forms when winds blow air up a slope (called orographic lift), adiabatical cooling it as it rises, and causing the moisture in it to condense. This often causes freezing fog on mountaintops, where the cloud ceiling would not otherwise be low enough.

Valley fog forms in mountain valleys, often during winter. It is the result of a temperature inversion caused by heavier cold air settling into in a valley, with warmer air passing over the mountains above. It is essentially radiation fog confined by local topography, and can last for several days in calm conditions. In California’s Central Valley, Valley fog is often referred to as Tule fog.

Ice fog is any kind of fog where the droplets have frozen into extremely tiny crystals of ice in midair. Generally this requires temperatures at or below −35 °C (−30 °F), making it common only in and near the Arctic and Antarctic regions. It is most often seen in urban areas where it is created by the freezing of water vapor present in automobile exhaust and combustion -products from heating and power generation. Urban ice fog can become extremely dense and will persist day and night until the temperature rises. Extremely small amounts of ice fog falling from the sky form a type of precipitation called ice crystals, often reported in Barrow, Alaska. Ice fog often leads to the visual phenomenon of light pillars.

Freezing fog occurs when liquid fog droplets freeze to surfaces, forming white rime ice. This is very common on mountain tops which are exposed to low clouds. It is equivalent to freezing rain, and essentially the same as the ice that forms inside a freezer which is not of the “frostless” or “frost-free” type.

Artificial fog is artificially generated fog that is usually created by vaporizing a water and glycol-based or glycerine-based fluid. The fluid is injected into a heated block, and evaporates quickly. The resulting pressure forces the vapor out of the exit. Upon coming into contact with cool outside air the vapor forms a fog—see fog machine.

Garua fog is a type of fog which occurs at the western coast of Chile. The normal fog produced by the sea travels inland, but suddenly meets an area of hot air. This causes the water particles of fog to shrink by evaporation, producing a transparent mist. Garua fog is nearly invisible, yet it still forces drivers to use windshield wipers.

Hail fog sometimes occurs in the vicinity of significant hail accumulations due to increased temperature and increased moisture leading to saturation in a shallow layer near the surface.

Flight lesson nr 7 on Thursday

Good night!