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I arrived
at hanger one, Cranfield Airport, in Bedfordshire, and was introduced
to Doug Coleman, who would be my helicopter instructor for the day.
I was
taken into a small briefing room and sat in front of a classroom
white board. When I found out I would be taking a helicopter lesson,
my initial thought was that it can’t be that difficult; if
Noel Edmunds can fly one, so can I!!
But
I quickly learnt that I was very wrong. Doug took me through all
the different controls and procedures to follow and why, which took
around half an hour, before leading me out into the live airfield
to the Robinson R22, which I would be learning to fly.
Anxious, raring to go, and talking too much, all the engines
and controls were switched on, we put on our headsets, and I
was told to be quiet whilst Doug spoke to the control tower
about weather and clearance for take off  |
|
Gareth
Lloyd
|
By
now, I must admit I was feeling a little bit nervous, but excited
still since I knew that at some point during the next half an hour
I would be flying this helicopter.
When
I saw the helicopter, my words to Doug were something along the
lines of ‘Don’t we need a larger helicopter?’ Doug
just told me to get in!
Once
inside the helicopter I was taken through the three main controls;
the collective, which resembles a handbrake with a throttle wheel,
that took us up and down; the cyclic which was the sort of joystick
in front of us which controlled the horizontal direction of the
helicopter, and finally the two foot pedals for the angle of attack.
Anxious,
raring to go, and talking too much, all the engines and controls
were switched on, we put on our headsets, and I was told to be quiet
whilst Doug spoke to the control tower about weather and clearance
for take off.
Finally,
the moment came for us to leave the ground and experience the freedom
of flying.
 |
| Gareth
in the Robinson R22 two-seater helicopter |
Take
off was slightly strange in that having risen 5ft off the ground
we began to move away. However, helicopters don’t fly straight!
To move forwards, the front end was tilted towards the ground, which
seemed odd since I thought we were going up! A few seconds later
we were flying high and miles away from Cranfield!
The weather was beautiful, so Doug was able to show me the Bedfordshire
countryside through clear skies at 2,000ft as well as the sites
of Milton Keynes, Luton, Hemel Hempstead and even a bit of London
on the horizon!
Having
had enough of the pleasure trip Doug gradually began to give me
some of the controls. The one thing he stressed, even on the ground,
was that all the controls are "very, very sensitive" as
I soon found out when we were suddenly shot off in completely the
wrong direction.
Doug’s
next trick was to prove how safe helicopters really are; still a
few thousand feet in the air above somewhere in Bedfordshire Doug
cut all the engines, but still landed the helicopter safely, which
was quite amazing.
 |
| Gareth
is more used to model helicopters! |
Having
then flown back to Cranfield, Doug aided me in putting on a small
display of aerobatics in front of my crowd of supporters (mum and
dad).
It
wasn’t perfect, but they were impressed! I walked out of the
helicopter having had the most exhilarating experience of my life
and also quite proud of myself. I was presented with a certificate
before jumping in what then seemed quite an ordinary car and heading
home.
A big
thank you to all the staff at Patriot Aviation especially to Doug
for being brave enough to take me up!!
We
can't give you a helicopter lesson but we can help you Reach For
The Stars in our
S-Club 7 CD competition
| Gareth
Lloyd, Beds, Herts & Bucks Online |
Thurs
26 September, 2002 |
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| You're
right Julie, that lad is brave, very good-looking and on the
top of each page. Keep coming back to see what aircraft I take
to the skies in next week. |
| Julie,
Stopsley |
Thurs
26 September, 2002 |
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| Brave
- and good-looking. Is he the boy on the top of each page of
the website? |
| JavaJane,
MILTON KEYNES |
Mon
23 September, 2002 |
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| Brave
lad! |
| Mathew
Hunt, Slip End |
Sun
22 September, 2002 |
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| It
was interesting to see you being nervous because I am often
nervous playing the pieces you have asked me to learn on the
drums!!!! |
| Naomi
Gibbs, Flitwick |
Sat
21 September, 2002 |
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| Very
good gareth havent seen ya 4 ages |
| Tom
McKeand, Dunstable |
Fri
20 September, 2002 |
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| "SEE
ALSO Helicopter crashes at airfield" links in nicely...i'm sure |
| Dan
Field, Bedford |
Fri
20 September, 2002 |
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| clever
link tom, but it was a different company who recently had a
problem keeping any type of aircraft in the air! |
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