Beam me up Scottie!

[zidek]

we got to Ace Pilot Training in allentown around 3pm and they started the walk through promptly. It started with an explanation of how the heli we were going to fly was layed out, different technologies it had, and what every major part did from top to bottom. while he did that he performed the standard procedure check up and answered any questions we had along the way. the flights generally last 30mins with a 7min cool down but since there were 2 of us getting consecutive rides we were able to get more ride time without the cool down and start up in between. i got in first and he talked me through everything that was going to happen on the flight including an explanation of all gauges, radio check-in with the flight tower, and basic controls showing more of what he explained earlier. then it was time to fly leaving allentown, pa and getting up to about 3000ft elevation. we started with a 10ft or so hover as he tested and demonstrated more controls. when the strip was clear we slowly ascended but with enough speed to not annoy the neighbors. i felt a rush as the g forces increased and that feeling of weightlessness came over. we flew over the turnpike, he pointed out some places of interest, checked out rich people homes as i shot pics and video. after about 20mins he reexplained and then let me take over the controls. the stick was very sensitive only having to be moved about the circumference of a dime for complete maneuvering. the stick was very light and movements were docile. although i never played flight sims as a kid i picked this up very quickly. we did a couple turns, some descents and rises all very smoothly, and then he took over. after that we decided to head back so my buddy can start his flight. as we approached the landing strip he pointed out how you'd use these 4 lights to gauge your height for landing a plane. all 4 red meant you're too low, all 4 white meant too high so 2 red and 2 white was perfect. shortly after we landed and my buddy started his flight. my whole flight was probably 45mins and had a lot more excitement that lasted longer than the sky diving i've done last summer. after they came back we had a flight sim lesson for planes (the mode we used was the Cessna). that was a very fun tool with an unlimited combination of varying factors and scenarios. stalls, where you suddenly spiral down from loss of power was my favorite because i was successful at saving myself repeatedly. the last situation i managed to balance out the plane and regain stability at 50ft above ground. taking off and landing was also fun and overall pretty easy, even when raising the difficulty by also controlling rudders and flaps, using both arms and legs. i spent at least an hour on that and after a little talking the instructor was at first convinced i was already had pilot time but i assured him i never flew lol. then my friend had his turn, pretty much turned out the same as mine. finally we chatted for a bit and called it a night :cool:

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