Ashley's Helicopter Page

Helicopters, choppers or whirlybirds; it does not matter what you call them, they all pocess that magic of being able to travel in 3 dimensions, and hover and land in a field, on a boat, tower block or even a moving lorry! I have been fascinated by helicopters from a very early age, watching them fly overhead from the nearby airfields of Farnborough, Odiham and Blackbushe or at airshows. It was not till recently that I finally got the chance to fly in one at the Middle Wallop Airshow in '96. There was a Gazelle flying spectators around for 4 minutes for £15. I sat in the rear seat with my video camera and so began the ride of my life. The pilot flew low over the hedges and then up high, going left and right, up and down. It was the most incredible roller-coaster ride of my life.

This got me more hooked on flying, so much so that I took a trial helicopter flying lesson on the 7 December '97 as my birthday & Christmas present. It was in a CabAir Robinson R22 helicopter at Blackbushe Airfield. It has always been my dream to fly a helicopter myself, check out my page about this day. My favourite chopper has to be the Bell Jet Ranger as seen in many films and in Treasure Hunt. It has a certain style about it, its not too ugly and looks so graceful in the air. It has since been replaced by the Bell 427 and 430 helicopter range. The 430 is similar to the Airwolf chopper, and has a very nice 'glass cockpit' (computer displays rather than the dials and gauges).

How to Fly a Helicopter

There a 3 basic controls, the cyclic, the collective and the foot pedals. The cyclic and collective control the angle and speed of the main rotor blades, and the foot pedals control the tail rotor. (You can learn more about these controls at the very detailed Helicopter Aviation site maintained by an American pilot.) All helicopters have a control panel in front of the pilot, just like the dashboard of a car showing its speed, petrol level, battery and oil warning lights. A helicopters panel is more complex, as there are more things which can go wrong, such as the rpm of the rotor blades themselves for example. All fixed wing and rotorcraft need the same display panels showing altitude, airspeed, compass heading, artificial horizon and fuel gauges. These are key instruments for any pilot, which is why it is sometimes easier for fixed wing pilots to convert to helicopter flying. The instrument panels of a Jet Ranger and a Robinson R22 are shown in great detail at the Helicopter Aviation site, and is a site I am very impressed by.