Tag: hovering

Lazy Pilot is a Good Pilot

Lazy Pilot

When I first attempted driving, I was surprised how difficult it was to maintain speed. It was my grandmother who finally imparted her wisdom. “Ease up on the accelerator before you get to the speed you want.” She said, probably…

Seat of Your Pants

Seat of Your Pants

I am what you would call a seat of the pants pilot. What does that mean? It means that you feel, more than you see what the aircraft is doing. This phenomenon can translate to any type of vehicle, such…

Hovering II

Hovering UH-H1

In a couple of other stories about flight school, I brag about how I could hover a TH-55 so well, that you would think it was sitting on a pedestal. I loved hovering, and took great pride in keeping the…

Fifty Feet, 90 Knots!

UH-1 above the trees

One of the best parts of flying an Army helicopter was that almost all flying was done fifty feet above the highest obstacle.  For the vast majority of my flying in Ft. Rucker, Alabama, I was cruising at 90 knots,…

Out of Ground Effect

Hovering in the trees

I don’t remember exactly when I fell in love with the prospect of flying.  I didn’t know any pilots growing up.  My first stepfather worked for the now long defunct airline Braniff, and because of that, there was some trips…

Hovering

TH-55 Osage

The greatest part about flying a helicopter is hovering. Okay, maybe flying NoE (Nap of Earth), but you can’t really do that in a civilian aircraft. We also didn’t do that kind of flying until we got into advance tactics…

A Moment In Chaos!

All of us have experienced a moment when it seemed as though time came to a standstill. Whether it was a car accident, taking a fall, or watching something valuable fall off a shelf. If you have not experienced this…