An account of my first helicopter ride

1. First Helicopter Experience “ Everything you need nothing you don’t” Edward Harrison

2. The cool crisp morning engaged my senses in which I had no idea how engaged my senses would be in just a few minutes. The hypnotic whine of the Bell Jet Ranger’s starter broke the silence of the morning. The pilot methodically performed the pre-flight check that would bring the helicopter to flight. Being that this was my first time encountering such an event, I was careful not to miss anything. When the turbine engine had warmed up sufficiently the rotor slowly began to turn as the engine picked up speed. Within a few seconds the mass of the rotor twirling over your head takes on an ominous appearance. Instinctively I feel that I am in to close of a proximity to such a large object rotating that fast. Slowly the rotor begins to blur as the velocity increases, and is only visible at a point in time when you glance. Your instincts won’t let you be unaware of the danger that is present. The pilot begins ascension and pulls up on the collective, the pitch of the rotor changes as it dominates the air in order to lift. Each rotation of the rotor produces a distinct concussion that is felt through the body.

3. Everything within a large proximity of the helicopter blows outward with unrestrained fury, while all eyes in the same proximity gazes toward the center of that same fury in awe. Everything about the machine communicates a sense of purpose and urgency. There can’t and is not any compromise in this aircraft especially to weight. A simple yet almost exotic time tested construction, techniques and designs expose themselves in every direction. I say to myself, “This is truly an engineer’s playing field”. “Everything you need nothing you don’t”. Everything on this aircraft is purpose-built, that purpose being to fly in any direction, on any plane, to hover, or anything in between. As I take in this experience I can’t help but realize the elegance and efficiency that abounds. Failure of any part to contribute toward the purpose brings on the possibility of the gravest consequences. Successful design opens opportunity and freedom that otherwise would not be experienced.

4. Witnessing the takeoff sends your mind in all different directions. The analytical left-side of the brain tries to make sense of this apparent impossible and make it possible. It continues to analyze and evaluate the implication of failure while present with such power, trying to calculate the potential outcome. As this is going on the analytical side of the brain teeters on the brink of screaming “RUN” and then the creative right side counters with, “This is soooooooo cool”. Feigning for the adrenaline, it just can’t soak up enough of the experience. Once airborne, the noise-canceling headphones bring an eerie silence to the Bell Jet Ranger’s cockpit. It feels as if you are in the eye of a hurricane. Outwardly is power and fury, while the cockpit is unexpectedly smooth. Conversations with the pilot are the only thing that punctures the silence. The constant comforting whines of the turbine engine are the main auditory input. The senses are in overdrive by the excitement. You see, feel, and hear everything around you, like never before. The over-load of adrenaline seems to make time slow down, as if to allow you to fully comprehend the incredible event.

5. I am told by the pilot that during the entire flight, it will only be necessary to move the top of the stick within a diameter the size of a quarter. All of the other controls are equally hyper-responsive as well. It is amazing that the control of such power ironically is all finesse. Normal flight requires forward motion and all actions surround sustaining sufficient forward motion to remain flying. Now the helicopter frees the pilot from depending on forward motion and frees the mind to fly 360 degrees in any plane and allows hovering with no directional motion at all. As we where flying I asked the pilot how did flying make him feel. He said that it is like the first time he ever rode a bike. It’s a complete sense of freedom, adventure, and excitement. Then surprisingly he said “It’s the most fun you can have with your clothes on” and then he sled back into the zone, the total involvement that the aircraft constantly demands of him.