One armed paper hanger-keeping it all together in a helicopter
Posted: Fri May 26, 2023 12:26 pm
I am undertaking a cross country VFR navex training flight to Shoreham in the next fortnight, and have been advised by my instructor who will accompany me as an observer, that I will be responsible for all of the flight planning including the use of the CRP-1 flight computer in preparing the PLOG and chart track marking, flying, navigation and radio work en route. Although I will have a GPS in the aircraft this will be switched off so I will revert to the1:500:000 chart with chinagraph pencil marked track and error fans. No Skydemon or other electronic aids allowed.
Big deal I hear you say, it is a simple flight (which it is) but the thought of faffing around with a chart while trying to safely fly the R44 has finally made me realise the added work load that a helicopter pilot has in comparison to a fixed wing one when flying, not least because one has to be totally hands on, eyes out in the helicopter while flying VFR whereas a well trimmed fixed wing aircraft, will fly straight and level giving some small breathing space for chart work. An R44 is no place to be fumbling around with a badly folded chart or being a total cack handed klutz!
Add darkness, and inadvertent flight into IMC to the equation above, and I begin to realise how even very experienced pilots have come unstuck, as was the sad case in the Mathew Harding accident which I was reading about today.
https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/17938
Big deal I hear you say, it is a simple flight (which it is) but the thought of faffing around with a chart while trying to safely fly the R44 has finally made me realise the added work load that a helicopter pilot has in comparison to a fixed wing one when flying, not least because one has to be totally hands on, eyes out in the helicopter while flying VFR whereas a well trimmed fixed wing aircraft, will fly straight and level giving some small breathing space for chart work. An R44 is no place to be fumbling around with a badly folded chart or being a total cack handed klutz!
Add darkness, and inadvertent flight into IMC to the equation above, and I begin to realise how even very experienced pilots have come unstuck, as was the sad case in the Mathew Harding accident which I was reading about today.
https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/17938