# Helicopter in Hawaii **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 1, 2022, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helicopter-in-hawaii/963750 "2022-05-01T02:49:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2022, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helicopter-in-hawaii/963750/1 "2022-05-01T02:49:37Z")
And a shout out to Johnny L.A. Because I believe he used to pilot a Robinson Helo. What a dandy machine. Had a two hour tour of Hawaii (big island) in one with just me my Wife and the pilot. I got to ride in left front. I understand now why the rotor mast is so high. My head was a little taller than the cabin of the Helo standing outside of it. I have read ChickenHawk by Robert Mason at least three times. For those that don’t know it, it’s a memoir of learning how to fly Helos in Vietnam. The book puts you right in the pilots seat. It has diagrams of everything. You come away from it thinking you could fly, but you would almost certainly die. Anyway, the pilot, a 27 year old young woman from Sweden (huh) noticed that I was more interested in what was going on inside the helicopter than outside of it. We talked a lot about the controls and engine gages. I understand all the flight dynamics instruments. Cyclic, collective and throttle. It was really cool to see one from the front seat from off, flown and back to shut down. This woman also had the certificate to teach, so happily explaining things. I actually think that I might, might be able to get one 2 feet off the ground and move it about 5 feet and set it down. Provided there was no wind. It was great fun. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2022, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helicopter-in-hawaii/963750/2 "2022-05-01T16:44:03Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > And a shout out to Johnny L.A. Because I believe he used to pilot a Robinson Helo. I’ve never been in an R44. I learned in an R22, and later flew Schweizer 300CBis. > [@enipla](#): > > I actually think that I might, might be able to get one 2 feet off the ground and move it about 5 feet and set it down. Provided there was no wind. Hovering is the hardest thing to learn in a helicopter. It’s also the first thing you ave to learn. I remember seeing this on the news when it happened (1992?). This is what happens if you try to hover with no experience. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/k5BivSNiH8s/hqdefault.jpg "Stupid man attempts to fly a helicopter with no experience") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5BivSNiH8s) ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2022, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helicopter-in-hawaii/963750/3 "2022-05-01T18:20:06Z")
I’ve read the same Johnny. Very tricky counteracting the rotors torque. Among other things I’m sure. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2022, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helicopter-in-hawaii/963750/4 "2022-05-01T19:22:38Z")
Pretty easy once you get the hang of it. The trick is not to think about it. Become one with the machine, and let your muscles do it subconsciously. Otherwise you’ll always be behind the machine The other trick is to remember that control inputs are small. It just takes practice. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2022, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helicopter-in-hawaii/963750/5 "2022-05-01T19:31:36Z")
Well, he didn’t die, so he’s got that going for him anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2022, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helicopter-in-hawaii/963750/6 "2022-05-01T19:41:36Z")
Three of the R22s I flew crashed (not by me). 1. I went to the airport for my first lesson after the ½-hour ‘intro lesson’. My instructor wasn’t there. I waited a while, and then heard he’d crashed; so I rented a Cessna 172 and went flying in that instead. The instructor was demonstrating a ‘full-down auto’ (autorotation to landing) when a skid caught in the soft ground. Aircraft destroyed, no injuries. 2. A renter was making a ridge landing. His approach was too shallow, and he couldn’t climb out of the downdraft on the lee side of the ridge. (R22s aren’t very powerful, especially on a hot Southern California day.) He didn’t make it, and rolled about 100 yards down the hill. Aircraft destroyed, no injuries (other than cuts and bruises). 3. A pilot was giving his father a ride. He got into a vortex ring state (settling with power) and failed to execute the proper maneuver (fly forward out of it, or descend out of the bottom). Aircraft destroyed, no injuries. Helicopter crashes are often survivable… as long as you keep the rotors within limits, or you don’t let the retreating blade stall. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2022, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helicopter-in-hawaii/963750/7 "2022-05-01T19:53:47Z")
Friend of mine was killed in Antarctica in a UH-1N Huey that went down in 1992. Probably weather conditions. Same helo that I was in going in to a field station a couple of years prior. ---
**Author:** ![3AxisCtrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/ecd19e/32.png) [@3AxisCtrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3AxisCtrl)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2022, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helicopter-in-hawaii/963750/8 "2022-05-01T20:04:19Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > I actually think that I might, might be able to get one 2 feet off the ground and move it about 5 feet and set it down. Provided there was no wind. I think success in this would indicate that you have _WAY_ above average aptitude. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2022, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helicopter-in-hawaii/963750/9 "2022-05-01T20:09:01Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Friend of mine was killed in Antarctica in a UH-1N Huey that went down in 1992. Probably weather conditions. Not all crashes are survivable. Still, I’d rather lose an engine in a helicopter than an airplane… and stay out of weather. (I once aborted a flight in the rain when my carb temperature gauge was being erratic.) ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2022, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helicopter-in-hawaii/963750/10 "2022-05-01T20:19:29Z")
I suspect in the case of my friend, they ran suddenly into full white-out conditions. Would have been pretty scary, not knowing up from down. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2022, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helicopter-in-hawaii/963750/11 "2022-05-01T20:32:27Z")
Helicopters don’t fly, they beat the air into submission 😉 Brian ---
**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2022, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helicopter-in-hawaii/963750/12 "2022-05-01T21:12:24Z")
Here’s Destin from Smarter Every Day’s experience as a novice in an R22. He survived, thanks to good instructors: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/eXR1olg_I0w/maxresdefault.jpg "Hovering a Helicopter is Hilariously Hard - Smarter Every Day 145") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXR1olg_I0w) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2022, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helicopter-in-hawaii/963750/13 "2022-05-01T22:55:19Z")
Ha! That’s what I said! 😛 Nice video. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2022, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helicopter-in-hawaii/963750/14 "2022-05-02T00:00:52Z")
I took countless rides in helicopters in Hawaii! All the them were in CH-53s and CH-46s, though, and I never got anywhere near the driver’s seat. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2022, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helicopter-in-hawaii/963750/15 "2022-05-02T00:19:27Z")
I’ve told this story before. I was at an airshow at (the former) MCAS El Toro when I was learning to fly helicopters. I chatted with a [CH-53 Super Stallion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikorsky_CH-53E_Super_Stallion) pilot. (If you don’t click the link, it’s a very large heavy-lift helicopter.) The Super Stallion pilot said, ‘You fly an R22? Those things scare the shit out of me! They’re so **squirrelly**.’ A friend of his came up, who was an [AH-1W Super Cobra](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_AH-1_SuperCobra#AH-1W_SuperCobra) (attack helicopter) pilot. The former said, ‘Hey, this guy flies an R22!’ The latter said, ‘Yeah? I love those! They’re so **nimble**!’ After I got my license, and after a short (financial) hiatus, I got into the Schweizer. The instructor, with whom I hadn’t flown before, said, ‘You learned in an R22.’ I asked him how he knew. ‘Because you’re ahead of the aircraft.’ (i.e., I didn’t let the aircraft get ahead of me.) ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2022, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helicopter-in-hawaii/963750/16 "2022-05-02T04:36:11Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Otherwise you’ll always be behind the machine The other trick is to remember that control inputs are small. It just takes practice Yup. I talked to the pilot about that. I was watching her every move but could not see her move the cyclic, peddles or collective. Pilot did not have a fixed wing license. I thought that odd. But perhaps things have changed. Did some training in a CH-47 Chinook. Dropped out on the jungle penetrator cable for search and rescue in Colorado. You ain’t been buzzed buy an aircraft until you get buzzed by a Chinook.