I was planning to get my PPL this summer in a Cabri G2 …
I’m told that a Cabri is a totally different thing from a Robinson and other very light helicopters. It has heavier blades which means more energy and longer reaction times for the pilot. And it seems to be much less prone to tailboom strikes by the rotor blades in low (or negative) g manoervers. Which does not mean that no Cabris have been lost in accidents…
I have been in Robinsons a few times for work and totally agree with the above – not my cup of tea! These things just feel so temporary……
The Robinsons looks really terrible to me from an engineering point of view. The Cabri struck me as a very solid and well thought out design. No way I would do the training on a R22, that machine has far too little energy in the blades and its control system is different from all other others.
I believe Cabri are doing a lot right. He even put in electronic ignition (plus magneto for the 2nd) and there are a lot of very clever design decisions. The rotor system looks like it’s from Eurocopter.
The value of a private helicopter in Germany is close to zero because you can only land at airports. Spending a lot of time and money on something that has no utility value is usually not at the top of the list of things I want to do but I would really like to master the challenge of controlling an inherently unstable flying machine. Airplanes want to fly, helicopters don’t, more like rodeo.
I want to fly helicopters too – the day i can afford an EC135.
The rotor system looks like it’s from Eurocopter.
That is because Mr.Guimbal was a designer with Aerospatiale/Eurocopter before starting his own business. Btw. Cabri stands for “Comfort in Autorotation Belongs to Rotor Inertia” which is missing from all those other light and ultralight helicopter designs.
The value of a private helicopter in Germany is close to zero because you can only land at airports.
And when landing at airports you have to do that either on the runway or a dedicated helipad and then hover-taxi along normal taxiways to your parking position. Not really what the helicopter was invented for.
The value of a private helicopter in Germany is close to zero because you can only land at airports.
Aren’t there even heliports?
The heliports are usually special purpose, either private or associated with a hospital, police station, etc. Getting permission to land on your own property is usually not possible.
Comfort in Autorotation Belongs to Rotor Inertia
I cannot judge if this works out, but at least it does sound good.
Getting permission to land on your own property is usually not possible.
Situation in BE: Heliports are either associated with hospitals, police stations and other emergency services, or with private operators. These can be helicopter operators, either as their main business or as an aside; but a few heliports are operated by restaurants/hotels. I reckon these must be on the upscale side… But it seems not impossible to create a heliport at one’s property. There will be some cost to it, but hey, helo’s aren’t cheap anyway, are they?
PS for an amusing story about what helicopter can operate where under what conditions, read http://mobilit.belgium.be/nl/binaries/AA-6-2_tcm466-209194.pdf and read between the lines.
Maybe I’ve watched too many videos like this one: www.liveleak.com/view?i=df5_1409919095
Settling with power?
In Spain there is more freedom to operate helicopters, which makes it very nice to fly one. Hard to beat having lunch with a friend by hovering into his field or back garden.. The only drawback is that the lunch will be without a drop of alcohol for the pilot..
Yes, helicopters have this nasty treat of having an operational window (no or little forward airspeed and while in a certain bracket of heights above terrain) where you have a serious problem when the engine loses power, see the liveleak video above. Then again, what about a single-engine aircraft right after departure quitting an engine over hostile terrain…?
It is also true that being well-trained and being current is especially important when flying a helicopter. You only have a few seconds to do the right thing when the engine quits to keep that big fan above you turning (immediately transitioning to a certain minimum airspeed, 70 KIAS in a R44). If you do, the descent is rapid but stable and you can flare into a hover to land on a small piece of land (unlike a fixed-wing aircraft). In general I find flying a helicopter more difficult than a fixed wing. It feels more unstable (can’t let go of the controls for a second, and no autopilot on the R44) and there are some tricky aerodynamic effects that keep your hands and feet busy. And some things that are contrary to fixed-wing flying. Like that the ‘power pedal’ is the left one, which I constantly need to remind myself of! Well, all this from a perspective of the relative rookie that I am.. I know quite a few helicopter pilots who really carry the craft as if it is their rucksack.
