Helicopter Dreams

I passed the Navigation 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 (PASSED)

I’m waiting on a date for examination, scaaary! Just one more !”/#* test to pass, also the worst one, Aircraft General Knowledge. It’s easy to motivate your self though when you know that you’re soon done with the PPL(H).

Last friday I left work a bit earlier and headed for Bromma airport where I met up with Jon, my instructor. Knowing that we were going to fly for about 2,5 hours we had to leave as soon as possible to reach our destination before sunset. Our destination was a small village called Älandsbro to visit two friend (Janne och Micke) from the flight school. My flight plan worked well and the flight up there was pretty calm, UNTIL the low-fuel light wanted to tell us something! We had noticed a bit earlier that something strange was going on with the fuel gauge, it was jumping back and forth. The good news was that we only had a short distance left and that our friends had met up with us in the air in their almost brand new R44.

After an exiting end of the trip up there, we had a delicious dinner at Jannes house. Can you imagine a better after work, a beautiful flight over an autumn landscape, followed by a nice dinner and some bottles of red wine and a long discussion about helicopters…of course? Ahhh!

On saturday we inspected the hangar Janne and Micke were building before we flew to Sundsvall airport to visit a flight event that was going on there. I flew solo from Älandsbro to Sundsvall. After a hamburger in Sundsvall we said goodbye to our friends and headed back to Stockholm and Bromma airport.

After this weekend I’m more or less done with my flying before examination, can you imagine! I still have these 2 shitty theory tests left before I can do that though. Have to quit writing now and start study! I will add some photos and videos from the trip later on.

Accumulated flight time: 44.4 hours

080913 Flight time: 3.3 hours
080912 Flight time: 3.0 hours

FINALLY! Bell Helicopters have applied for a patent (CRASH ATTENUATION SYSTEM FOR AIRCRAFT) using an advanced system of airbags under the helicopter to minimize the impact when crashing the helicopter.

Really strange that no one have done this before. Would be interesting to see the tests of the airbag, I wonder where they got the kamikaze pilots to try it out!

The plan was to do a long distance navigation to Stockholm/Skavsta airport today, BUT, the weather wasn’t good enough so I did some solo flying north of the Bromma Control Zone, practising some take-offs and landings.

I got an interesting call from the Swedish Rescue Services today who wanted to send me to Haiti, on behalf of the Red Cross, to set up some radio and IT communications equipment in the worst affected areas from the hurricanes that passed earlier this week. I’m right now sorting out the practical issues so we’ll see tomorrow what happens. If I go I have to leave on Thursday, so I guess I, one more time, have a reason to postpone my theory studies

Accumulated flight time: 38.1 hours

080902 Flight time: 1.0 hours