Helicopter incidents, accidents, and even fatal crashes are unfortunately still way too common, especially compared to the fixed wing world. Every month or so there are still news articles featuring the latest unfortunate helicopter events. These are then followed by safety reports on how to prevent it in the future, Read more…
Today we go back to basics! The bread and butter of a cockpit instrument panel or Primary Flight Display are the basic instruments. A big chunk of them work using air, the other chunk are mostly gyroscopic. The ones using air pressure are called pitot-static, which we are going to Read more…
Helicopters are fascinating flying machines. If you talk to someone with fixed wing experience about the effects of airspeed on a helicopter, they will look at you like you’re from a different planet. Fixed wing aircraft are for the most part inherently stable, while helicopters are inherently unstable. This means Read more…
Sonic booms: not talked about very much, especially in the helicopter industry. However, the speed of sound and the effects of breaking it, has a massive influence on the design, procedures and aerodynamic of both planes and helicopters. So what is a sonic boom, and how does it effect helicopters Read more…
Out of all the atmospheric variables we get to deal with as pilots, density altitude is by far the most relevant and important. You should really have it in the back of head when you enter the cockpit for the day. Knowing how to calculate density altitude is something a Read more…
Becoming a pilot is considered a pretty common childhood dream. But of course, like any other career, it isn’t all sunshine and rainbows at times. There is a lot to learn along the way, so today I’ll go over 6 crucial tips for starting a pilot career. I was (and Read more…
Turbine engines are used widely across the aviation sector. They come in all shapes and sizes: Turbojets, Turboprops, Turboshafts, and Turbofans. While they all have different characteristics and use cases, they share a lot of similarities at the same time. So what are the most common turbine engine starting failures, Read more…
EASA has just issued the world’s first “VTOL Vertiport” Design Guidance. This is a massive step, and will help to keep up with the rapid development of the Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) industry and the various aircraft (or in English: flying autonomous vehicles carrying people). There are a lot Read more…
A common question for both aviators and non-aviators: Why do some aircraft not appear on flight tracking websites such as Flight Radar 24 and Plane Finder, while others look like the pilots are trying to give passengers a roller coaster experience? How is it possible that most airline traffic even Read more…
Right then, on to the next most requested topic: Evidence Based Training (EBT)! You might have heard about it already in the last few years, or you might be in an organisation who has already fully embraced it. At the same time though, there are loads of professionals in the Read more…
Lightning by itself is usually not considered to be a force that can crash airplanes. The last confirmed US crash that was concluded to be caused by lightning was PAN AM Flight 214 in 1967, which crashed due to a lightning strike that hit one of the fuel tanks, causing Read more…
Drones: A threat to some, a living for others. It is very obvious that no matter where you are in the world, drones are becoming more and more common, and are starting to impact the aviation industry globally. To integrate drones into the aviation industry is not something easy to Read more…
Hypoxia: how does it work? It’s a term we all get hammered with during Human Performance and Limitations training during the ATPL’s. For most though, while the facts don’t lie, it sometimes feels like a term that is very distant and one of those things that ‘you know about’ but Read more…
Tail rotor systems are one of the most crucial components onboard a helicopter. While pilots can deal with tail rotor emergencies, there are variables that could be extremely hard to deal with and manage. This is why the structural design and manufacturing of tail rotor systems is taken extremely seriously Read more…
One of the most talked about (and requested) topics for aspiring student pilots: where do I begin with picking a flight school and navigate through all the options, advertisements, promises, and costs? Do I pick a modular course, or integrated? Should I expect to be a flight instructor first or Read more…
Vortex Ring State (VRS) is one of the most hazardous conditions a helicopter pilot can be in. While it’s part of all the helicopter pilot training syllabuses in the world, it is still present in (fatal) accident reports and discussed widely in the helicopter industry. Lots of pilots have requested Read more…
Pilots come in many variants and there are many variables regarding the traits and personality profiles. But what are the most important skills for professional pilots? There is a lot that comes into this. Things like upbringing, country, company culture, training, and personality all impact in what way student pilots Read more…
We haven’t quite entered the times presented in ‘Ready Player One’ just yet, but it’s actually slowly getting there. Virtual Reality (VR) technology is getting cheaper and more advanced every year since companies like Oculus and Valve made it more mainstream, resulting in companies like Apple, Microsoft, and Google all Read more…
Whether you are just starting out on your journey to become a pilot, or you are a seasoned TRE: It is always a good idea to (re)familiarise ourselves with the fundamentals of what we do every day: flying! Which is why we are giving you free access to all helicopter Read more…
If you went to your AME and said “I have lost my colour vision, I can’t see depth, and my vision is reduced to 2 small circles in the middle of my original field of view”, you’d probably not walk out with a class 1 medical. Somehow though, pilots use Read more…
Probably the most misunderstood and also most ‘scary’ topic for helicopter pilots: the helicopter performance classes. Not only can this topic be extremely confusing, the finer details are also dependent on where you are in the world. There are plenty of extremely experienced helicopter and fixed wing pilots who do Read more…
Over the last few years, any pilot who has flown IFR has been bombarded with this abbreviation: CDFA. But what is CDFA exactly, and how does it work? For some, it’s a technique that is so ingrained that they don’t know any better, especially with PBN peeking around the corner: Read more…
Yep, you’ve read that title correctly. In this article we will be going through the phenomena describing the slowing down of time itself: time dilation! But what is time dilation and how does it affect something we use every day: GPS? Hard to get your mind around or even accept Read more…
From a teeny little breeze that might tickle some leaf on a tree, to a hurricane lifting an entire wall of a building: wind is part of every day life for humans, but especially for aviators. What is wind and where does it come from? For any flight, it could Read more…
Alright, let’s kick things off with the most requested (but not so bite-sized) topic by far: Performance Based Navigation (PBN). Out of all the topics I am planning to cover, you all pointed me at one of the chunkiest one straight away. So what is PBN exactly and what do Read more…
Welcome to ‘Pilots Who Ask Why’! We as pilots (and other aviation personnel) don’t ask “why?” enough when it comes to principles and theory behind every-day tasks. The excellent global aviation safety culture that results from SOP’s and checklists can unfortunately also create an environment where we get complacent when Read more…
It has been a while! Last year has been pretty eventful ever since I obtained my EASA ME IR(H), as you’ve been able to see on this pilot blog. Upon passing my skills test I spent a lot of time on just making sure my CV was finetuned to the Read more…
After a nice Christmas break and quite some paperwork I managed to get all the ratings on my brand new licence at the CAA in Gatwick! It feels like a huge milestone and I am incredibly happy with the result. But now onto the next step… The job hunt! A Read more…
There! Passed my final instrument rating test! I am now fully qualified as an IR pilot! The test went really really well and I am so pleased with the result. I am also so pleased we both managed to do it in the minimum hours required! While I am writing Read more…
We are getting really close to test date now! After about 5 flights each we are getting ready for the progress check. If that goes well we’ll be looking to do our ME IR test soon! Interesting days for sure, especially considering the flights we’ve done today included some different views Read more…
I just flew my first IMC flight! After all that prep, straight away I felt both prepared and excited. Cloudbase was variable, just as the cloud coverage, which resulted in some new and interesting situations while flying through clouds. Constantly going in and out of cloud is a weird feeling, Read more…
Today I passed my final simulator test, officially getting me to the next step: IMC flying in the AS355! It all went so insanely quick, it’s hard to believe we’ve started only 4 weeks ago in the sim. We’ve learned a lot in the sim and put in so much Read more…
We are about halfway through our sim time and really are getting the hang of things now. Most routes we fly have the format of: take up a standard instrument departure using 1 or more nav aids, followed by 2 or 3 legs using VOR’s or NDB’s, join the hold Read more…
Right, after getting used to the basics and having switched our mindsets completely from VFR to IFR flying, it is time to get serious with learning IFR procedures! So far we have logged about 9 hours each. It’s a very good thing we are both allowed to sit in each Read more…
After having completed our AS355 typerating, we have started our simulator training. It’s an FNPT2 procedural trainer, which means it does not have any motion to making the pilot feel control inputs. It’s mainly used, as the name suggests, to train procedures and to get used to not looking outside Read more…
Done! Passed the AS355 Type Rating skill test! The whole type rating course was over in a flash looking back at it, we only started last week and now we are ready for the next step after exactly the minimum course hour requirement of 8 hours: the simulator! The last Read more…
Off we go! We just had our first couple of days flying the AS355 Twin Squirrel above London! After spending quite some time on practicing checklists and startups / shutdowns, as well as getting used to all the different figures and turbine engines, we started with hovering, straight and level Read more…
Here we go, after all the arrangements, prep and looking forward, me and Rida started with the IR course today! For the first two weeks we will be doing the AS355 ‘Twin Squirrel’ type rating with Ian, our TR instructor. Then after that we’ll do 40 hours in the simulator Read more…
There, new milestone. I just flew my 700th flight hour in helicopters! Last couple of weeks have been awesome fun with a lot of flying. New students, new experiences, pipeline patrols and lots of studying / prep for my IR. I did some flight discovery days as well. Which is Read more…
My first year as an instructor has been amazing! It has not been an easy road to get here, with lots of sacrifices, but so worth it. The exercises, the views, teaching, student progression, learning so much every day, it is all very rewarding. I have logged about 650 hours Read more…
It has been an awesome journey already, but last week I passed my EASA CPL flight test to be able to get paid for flying helicopters! I passed my EASA CPL(H) skills test with UK CAA Examiner Richard Craske! It feels great to finally reach this milestone. But the journey Read more…
Finally! After 7 months of full time studying, with almost no flying, I passed all the ATPL theory exams! My last sitting results: General Navigation: 90% Flight planning: 97% With everything completed, my average result is 96%, very happy with it! Next two months will be hour building as much Read more…
Alright, almost there! I just received confirmation of passing all my ATPL exams during sitting 3! Now there is only two left and then, finally, the real fun begins: non-stop hour building! I got my R44 exam to pass, my Bell 206 typerating lined up, and after that my CPL Read more…
Due to some issues with the ATPL exams booking, I was able to do only 3 more exams before my trip back to the Netherlands for christmas. In addition to the studying, I also got my R22 type rating and almost done with the R44 type rating as well! These Read more…
Alright, I passed my first 5 ATPL exams! After my holiday I decided to work 200% in order to make it for the consolidation (which you need to do before you are allowed to sit the exams). It were a rough couple of weeks but I made it through the Read more…
Allright! After 4 months of both flying and studying, I managed to pass my private pilot licence exam and receive it 1 day before the scholarship deadline. The scholarship deadline is set on the 31st of july, the day after I passed for my PPL exam! After a holiday with Read more…
There, done! After some more solo navigation, more practiced forced landings, confined area training and advanced autorotations, I completed my solo cross country flight! I flew from Leicester to Gamston Airport, from there to Peterborough Conington, and back to Leicester Airport! The weather was really good, although a little gusty, Read more…
There we go! I completed my first solo flight in a helicopter! After a flight with a lot of different exercises, emergency procedures and questions about system failures, the instructor said: “land over here, I am happy to say you can go solo!”. I landed next to the H and Read more…
Alright it’s been a while. But I have done a lot more PPL flying and theory exams, and while I haven’t flown that much since my last update, I’ve still made a lot of progress! During my training, my girlfriend Maaike came to see me. We booked a ticket before Read more…
After a lot of both studying and flying, I made a lot of PPL training progress! I got my first hover lesson, which went absolutely perfect! Hovering is so much fun, but hard to get the hang of. It takes familiarisation with the pedals, cyclic and collective, and their secondary Read more…
So the Cabris got some problems with the throttle control, which apparently means I will not be flying for the coming days (also because of the weekend). My first upcoming flight would probably be monday at 9.30 AM.So only one useful thing to do: studying for my private pilot licence Read more…
There we go! I started my training! Today I had my first 2 lessons, and fortunately, both went excellent and it was SO exciting! The day started at 8.15 with an inspection practice for the helicopters, were I basically followed a checklist for every part of the helicopters that need Read more…
I’ve officially started my PPL(H) training! I received all my required flight equipment today. Straight after getting my 4G contract, a bike, a property meeting and some other stuff, I went to the airport to meet all the guys and ladies at Helicentre and to get my equipment. Everything is Read more…
Finally, After 8 years of anticipation, preparation, and graduating, my helicopter pilot career finally begins at Helicentre Aviation in Leicester (United Kingdom). I will be trained ab-initio to Commercial Pilot and Flight Instructor. The helicopter I will be training on is the Cabri G2. The most modern training helicopter to Read more…