How helicopters fly

In the Army flew in Hueys, Blackhawks and CH 47s. Had a bad experience in a CH 47 that resulted in compressed discs in my lower back and neck and as a consequence am almost daily reminded of that ride. Somewhat soured me on taking helicopter rides. OTOH the disability check and full medical care from the VA does come in handy.

My son was a 160th maintainer (Chinooks, and occasionally a Little Bird or Blackhawk) for 8 years and frequently flew in each of them. For the most recent 13 years, he's been a Blackhawk pilot (MTP/ME). He is strictly a by-the-book flier. Why? Because as an MTP (maintenance test pilot) he's seen too many birds screwed up by pilot error (and/or negligence). He loves riding a sport bike at its limits - taking risks is not foreign to him. But he says there are simply too many variables in flying rotary wing aircraft.

Those-that don't 'know' helicopters have heard a lost of absolute 'baloney' concerning them. The tolerances that must be maintained throughout the entire aircraft is truly remarkable. The main rotor system (two blades and the hub), as am example, on a Huey is static balanced prior to be actually installed on the aircraft. A #10 thin aluminum washer placed on the tip will unbalance it a tremendous lot. Once installed they are rotor balanced to 1 gram (a US dollar bill weighs 1 gram). Strict and very close tolerances are what helicopter maintenance is all about

The wife & I rode in a nighttime helicopter tour up & down the Las Vegas Strip 20+ years ago.
A lot of fun and the view was amazing.
That's the extent of my helicopter "experience ".

Several extended family members & friends were military aviators though.
My brother's grandson was a Blackhawk crew chief for the Texas ANG 20 years ago.
My wife's old high school boyfriend flew a Hughes "Loach" in Vietnam - he barely survived being shot down and spent almost two years recovering at Brooke Army Hospital in San Antonio.
My English friend is a former RAF Chinook crew chief and veteran of the Falklands War and the "troubles" in Lebanon.
My cousin Gary Dougan (RIP) was a Huey pilot killed in Vietnam in 1970 after being shot down…

Rich/KY said:

In the Army flew in Hueys, Blackhawks and CH 47s. Had a bad experience in a CH 47 that resulted in compressed discs in my lower back and neck and as a consequence am almost daily reminded of that ride. Somewhat soured me on taking helicopter rides. OTOH the disability check and full medical care from the VA does come in handy.

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I am positive my bad helo experience also is the problem which caused me to have surgeries and multiple injections.....VA could care less. Disability check would be nice....

Thank you! And now I know more about helicopters than I ever have! Interesting stuff.

And my two cents. Flew in helicopters in Alaska to some of the radar sites. One time I was at Fire Island, AK and the chaplain was flying from site to site. I was asked if I would like to fly along for the day which I did. We landed at some far away site and when the chaplain was ready to go, the (Army) pilot and co-pilot could not get it to start. As I sat there, they were going through the check list...switch 1 on, yes, switch two off, yes....and the list went on. Finally after several tries they discovered one of them was turning switch X on and the other was turning it off. Finally we got airborne and home again.

Years later fate had me working for Sikorsky in Conneticut for seven (long) years. Many stories but the one that stays in my memory was when i was hosting a nation wide facilities benchmarking seminars off site. All of a sudden all of our beepers went off. Recall back to the company. A test helicopter had taken off and then nosedived into the airfield...all hands dead.

Still I had courage (possibly memory loss due to old age) and my spouse and I chartered a flight over the Grand Canyon by helicopter.....you are flying a hundred feet over the ground until you come to the rim of the canyon and all of a sudden you are a 1000 feet from the ground.....would you like to see the bruises on my arm?

19 years 7 months workings on Helicopter's

One of my reenlistments over 40 years ago, old hanger in San Diego.



Thanksgiving Day 1984, changing main transmission on the back of the boat.

Someone would look at that photo and wonder how you work on something that complex. You work on it one piece at a time. One cotter pin, one nut, one bolt one control rod. Before long it is all a big bunch of parts laying on the work bench.

XUSNORDIE said:

I am positive my bad helo experience also is the problem which caused me to have surgeries and multiple injections.....VA could care less. Disability check would be nice....

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There are those times. Anyone that pilots or has flown a great amount has heard the statement: "Flying is hours and hours of absolute boredom , occasionally laced with moments of stark terror". When things go south they generally do at the most inopportune times and in the worst possible locations. Words you never hope to hear are "The equipment (Fire truck and ambulance) is standing by." . Been there; done that!

An old pilot, fixed and rotor told me they fly because of the Jesus Nut so called because you prayed to Jesus that nothing ever went wrong with the nut.

Rode in helicopters while working offshore on the North Sea for 15 years all told. My first trip out was in 1991, landed on a jackup rig in 80 knot winds. The chopper had to spend the night on the rig due to the storm. I loved the helicopter rides but sometimes things could get a little tense. At that time the best pilots on the North Sea were former Viet Nam war pilots. Go Air Cav!

Fox Mike said:

There are those times. Anyone that pilots or has flown a great amount has heard the statement: "Flying is hours and hours of absolute boredom , occasionally laced with moments of stark terror". When things go south they generally do at the most inopportune times and in the worst possible locations. Words you never hope to hear are "The equipment (Fire truck and ambulance) is standing by." . Been there; done that!

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If you declare an inflight emergency, the theses, are always standing by. Strategically placed depending on the type of aircraft and available taxiways. One thing the Phantom aircrews loved to hear was that Pedro was airborne. Those guys really liked seeing that funny shaped HH-43 hovering around.

It's easy to get Real Good at fixing Helicopter's because our H-60's took about 16 man hours to repair and inspect per flight hour.

They were always broke and we were always workings.

dannyd said:

It's easy to get Real Good at fixing Helicopter's because our H-60's took about 16 man hours to repair and inspect per flight hour.

They were always broke and we were always workings.

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Job security in or out of the military.

McKinley Climatic Laboratory Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. 1982

55 degrees below Zero



Then 125 degrees free air temperature and 140 degrees with the lights added on top the helicopter.

I knew this thread would get a lot of comments.

I have heard all kinds of folks who do all kinds of potentially dangerous stuff swear they'd never fly in a helicopter. Yet,, there are those of us who loved it,, and prefer it over other types of flying.

As Frank has said,, there is a necessary amount of serious precision required to keep them flying. And he will attest to the fact that the Huey (UH-1H) is a very forgiving aircraft. It can have stuff wrong & still fly. But it can also bite you in the butt if you DON'T take care of them & do the required maintenance.
I logged a bit over 700 hours in Huey's while I was in the Army. Some of those hours,, logged as a crewchief,, I was actually in the co-pilot's seat & getting stick time. (Approximately 40 hours,) I went to college to get my fixed wing pilot's license. So many of my unit's pilots knew my feelings. I had a CW4 who taught me a LOT about how to fly a Huey. I can still recall how he taught me to hover using just my thumb on the cyclic stick. (But I'm WAY out of practice.)

In the beginning,, I was very scared I'd do something wrong when working on my birds,, but luckily I had some good folks around me to help me along.

And yes,, I know many who refuse to fly any aircraft,, and especially helicopters. But for many of us,, there is nothing quite like a NOE flight.

First attempt to hover was in a CH-34 at Indiantown Gap PA. CW4 Ed Zakeman suggested I try. I needed the entire state of Pennsylvania to keep it somewhat level. Of coarse you are 12 feet off the ground when the wheels are on the ground. He told me basically what Contender was talking about. He said to control the cyclic with your thumb and trigger finger. It got easier at the point.

Opposite of the OP. I spent four years in the Air Force and never flew in one of their planes, however, I did get to fly in one of their helicopters one time.

For those questioning the principal of lift with versus a fixed wing aircraft, the angle or pitch of the rotors is constantly being manipulated by the pilot. The tail rotor keeps the entire machine for counter-rotating. Add steering input and one can see why they are somewhat complex to fly compared to a fixed wing plane.