Well gang, I went for my first helicopter ride on Thursday! The bird I flew [in] was a Huges 369E. Huges developed this style of helicopter in the early 1960's as an answer to the US Army's requirement for a light observation helicopter. McDonnell Douglass acquired Hughes in 1984 and continued to build this model and classified it as a MD-500 Series. This Helicopter is equipped with a Alison 250-C20B turbine engine rated at 420shp (shaft horsepower).

I basically got a lesson in how to fly a helicopter. Let me tell you, they are something special! You basically have to become a part of the aircraft. The rudder requires constant attention just to keep the aircraft straight as well as the yoke to keep the aircraft level. Hats off to those that can fly these wonderful pieces of machinery well.

We boarded the helicopter on the platform and took off from there. After that I tried a hovering exercise that went fairly well. We then shot up like a rocket to about 800 feet! This helicopter has some serious power! There we viewed most all of Hampton Roads in about 20 seconds. I watched the instructor as he flew the pattern and  listened as he commentated on what he was doing. The pattern is an imaginary rectangle that includes the runway as one side of it. We did this about four times.

The second time around it was my turn. I very carefully made small adjustments to the helicopter as we flew the pattern.  As we descended to the runway each time we did what was called an "autorotation." This is the manuver that is performed when the engine quits when you are flying. You have about 1.5 seconds to react or it will be your last ride in anything!

I never felt comfortable being in charge of the collective, which is what controls to input rate and amount of power to the turbine engine. However I was just fine going 120mph down the runway ten feet off of the ground! This is a phenominal piece of equipment with a very good instructor. If you ever get the chance to ride in one, DO IT!