An Eclectic Mind

Doing your homework is part of flying safely — and legally.

This afternoon, I got a call from a potential client. He’s the manager of a country club that does catering for weddings and other big events. He wanted to know if it were possible for me to land my helicopter on the country club property after dark, pick up a couple — say a new bride and groom — and fly them around Phoenix for about 45 minutes before dropping them off at a hotel with a helipad or an airport where a limousine would be waiting. He also wanted to know whether it was okay for them to have some wine while aboard the aircraft.

Off the top of my head, I said, yes, we should be able to do that. But then I listed the things I’d have to check out before giving a definitive answer.

I thought this might make a good topic for a blog post for commercial helicopter pilots interested in real life helicopter missions. You see, commercial helicopter flying is not always as easy as picking up two passengers at an airport, flying them around for a while, and returning them to the starting point. So, as an example, I’ll discuss the things that come into play for this particular kind flight.

Landing Zone

Off-airport landings are something I’m accustomed to. Photo by Jon Davison.

First and foremost is the safety of the landing zone. How big is it? Is it level? Are there obstacles such as trees, buildings, or wires? What are my approach and departure paths like? Can it be controlled to prevent onlookers from coming too close or walking behind the aircraft? How about neighbors? Are there homes in the area? Is it close to another airport where air traffic control might be an issue? Since landing and departing will be at night, can the landing zone be properly lit so I can find it and land safely on it?

I made an appointment to meet with the client to see the landing zones he had in mind. Hopefully, one will work. I also checked the location of the country club using the satellite view of Google Maps. Although its golf course is indeed surrounded by homes, there’s also a nearby freeway and shopping center that’s likely to be empty at night. I could see some possible approach and departure paths, but could not judge obstacles, such as light posts or wires.

As for a destination hotel — if one is found, I’ll have to go through the entire process there, too. It’s more likely, however, that I’ll just land them at Deer Valley Airport, which is my home base.

Local Ordinances

Of course, no off-airport landing would be possible without a lot of hoop-jumping if there were a local ordinance that prohibited off-airport landings. Scottsdale has such an ordinance, enacted, primarily, to prevent local helicopter pilots from doing asinine things like landing in residential subdivisions. (I guess it was done one too many times.) Wickenburg’s ordinance isn’t quite as restrictive; it states that landing is possible with the permission of the Police Chief. When I asked the Police Chief about this some years ago, he had no idea what I was talking about.

The client said that the mayor the country club’s city is a member, so if there was an issue, he might be able to get permission on an as-needed basis. But when I hung up the phone with him, I started making other calls. First, the local police, to see if they knew of any ordinance. They directed me to the city’s compliance office. They told me they had no ordinances, but that I should check with the FAA. I already know that the FAA is fine with landing a helicopter on private property, as long as it is done safely and in accordance with any related FARs.

So this would not be an issue for this particular location. No hoop-jumping necessary.

Passenger Loading

The lights of Phoenix are beautiful at night. Photo by Jon Davison.

The client wants to use the helicopter as part of the event’s entertainment. At the predetermined time, the guests would be guided to “the patio” (wherever that is) where they could watch the helicopter come in for a landing. The bride and groom would climb aboard and the helicopter would take off, perhaps doing a quick circle of the area before departing.

This sounds great and its sure to make a memorable wedding party. But passenger loading could be an issue here.

Is the client willing to wait for the helicopter to cool down and shut down before the passengers are loaded? And then wait again while the helicopter starts up, warms up, and spins up before departure? If the wait is okay, the pilot (me) can do the passenger briefing and loading. While this might not make for good entertainment, it is the safest option.

The other option is “hot loading,” where the passengers board the helicopter while the engine is running and blades are spinning. Many people will simply not do hot loading, but I will — provided there’s a qualified ground crew to escort all passengers to their seats and ensure they’re buckled in. That means operating with someone on the ground — likely my husband — who would arrive before me and handle briefing and loading duties.

While you might think I prefer the first option, I actually prefer the second. It minimizes the amount of time I’m on the ground and ensures a qualified person is there to handle my next concern: crowd control.

Crowd Control

I firmly believe that a spinning helicopter is more dangerous on the ground than in the air. My tail rotor is literally invisible when it’s spinning — even at idle speed — and if someone walked into it, they’d be dead. That’s why I always set down in a landing zone with my tail pointed away from where people are most likely to be. Any helicopter pilot who doesn’t do this is looking for trouble.

Unfortunately, when landing in an uncontrolled area, there’s nothing to stop people from running up behind the helicopter. There’s a restaurant in Peoria, AZ that I used to land at for lunch quite often. It’s in a relatively remote area with lots of open desert around it. I always landed just outside the parking area with my tail rotor facing away from the building. The last time I landed there, however, a bunch of kids on off-road motorcycles saw me come in and began swarming around the helicopter as I was shutting down. Good thing my husband was with me to keep them clear. I haven’t gone back since.

When I inspect the landing zone, I’ll try to determine how well it can be controlled. And then I’ll put a plan in place to control it for my arrival. Having a reliable and experienced ground crew person will certainly help when the time comes for me to operate there.

Alcoholic Beverages

The final request that requires research is the glass of wine during the tour. FAR 135.121(a) states:

No person may drink any alcoholic beverage aboard an aircraft unless the certificate holder operating the aircraft has served that beverage.

This means they can’t bring their own alcohol aboard — it’s also why you can’t legally bring your own alcohol aboard an airliner!

If you’re wondering who the “certificate holder” is, well, so am I. It’s either me personally — since I have a single pilot Part 135 certificate and I’m the pilot — or it’s my company, Flying M Air. If it’s me, serving wine while I’m at the controls of a helicopter will be nearly impossible. If it’s my company, I can theoretically have an employee or agent of my company serve the alcohol for me, preferably right before we take off.

If there are any pilots out there who have real knowledge about this, please do use the Comments link or form to share what you know with me. Otherwise, I’ll just ask my FAA Primary Operations Inspector (POI). He’ll either tell me or help me figure it out for myself based on what I know.

One thing I do know: if I can’t legally serve alcohol on the flight, I won’t. No client request is more important than my certificate.

FAR 135.121(b) and (c) offer two other rules regarding alcohol:

(b) No certificate holder may serve any alcoholic beverage to any person aboard its aircraft if that person appears to be intoxicated.
(c) No certificate holder may allow any person to bard any of its aircraft if that person appears to be intoxicated.

That means I can’t serve them if they’re drunk and I can’t even allow them to board the aircraft if they’re drunk. This is something I need to make sure the client knows. It would be a shame if I brought my shiny red helicopter in for a landing at the big party and the bride or groom was too shitfaced from champagne to fly. (It would be a bigger shame if one of them puked on my leather seats.)

The Other Usual Stuff

Every flight has the usual collection of pilot tasks before it can be completed. I’m talking about things like calculating weight and balance, getting weather and NOTAM information, creating a flight plan, preflighting the aircraft. I might want to do a daytime landing at the landing zone in advance, just to make sure I was familiar with it. There’s lots of the usual responsibilities, none of which can be taken lightly for any flight.

This Is What It’s All About

This should give most folks an idea of what goes into planning what seems like a simple mission. Any pilot faced with a client request like this who doesn’t look into these things — at a minimum — is simply not doing his job.

I’ll know by Saturday, when I review the landing zone, whether we’ll be able to work for this client. I hope so. It would be great to have some regular gigs like this throughout the year.

Flying charter, FAA, helicopters, landing zones

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I want pilots to know what they’re doing — and prove it.

In the first part of this post, I explained the prerequisites to taking the tests you need to take to become a pilot. If you haven’t read that yet, read it now.

In this part, I’ll tell you about the two tests: the knowledge (AKA “written”) test and the practical test (AKA “check ride”). You’ll also find a few links to useful resources to help you pass them.

Written Test

The first of two tests you must pass to become a helicopter pilot is the knowledge test, which is also known as the “written test.” This is the test that has Stu — remember the blog reader from Part I? — so worried.

The written test is proof that you understand all the things you learned in ground school. If you don’t know or understand these things, you won’t pass the test.

The written test isn’t really a written test. It’s a multiple choice test with four possible answers per question. You can get a study guide that actually lists all the questions with their answers. This is possibly the best way to cram for the test — if you like to cram. It’s not the best way to learn the material, though.

Want to see what’s on the test? Download all the questions.

Want to learn? Talk to a flight instructor and other pilots. Watch the videos. Read the AIM. Read articles in Vertical, Rotor & Wing, HeliNews, and even Flight Training. Visit blogs and forums where experienced pilots discuss flying issues. Ask questions; listen to answers. Hang out at airports. Buy a scanner and listen to the local airport chatter.

The written test and ground school knowledge are important . It makes me very sad that Stu (and so many others like him) isn’t taking it as seriously as he should. After all, the first time he gets hit with LTE in a hover, is he going to know how it’s caused and what he can do to stop it? When he does a photo flight with a fattie on board on a hot day in that R22, will he know how to avoid settling with power? Will he understand the danger of thunderstorms or virga or what a lenticular cloud means? Will he know what to expect when flying close over the top of a mountain ridge with a tail wind? Will he be able to read a chart well enough to keep out of a restricted area or learn whether military operations in an MOA affect his operating altitude? Will he bust Class Bravo airspace because he doesn’t know which magic words from ATC grant him entry? When the clutch light flickers on in his R22, will he know what to do?

How can anyone consider himself a pilot if he doesn’t possess the basic knowledge required to be a pilot? Passing a multiple choice test about the basics of flying the aircraft is the least a future pilot should be required to do.

And you must pass the knowledge test before you can move forward to take the big test. FAR Part 61.39, “Prerequisites for Practical Tests,” starts with:

(a) Except as provided in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, to be eligible for a practical test for a certificate or rating issued under this part, an applicant must:
(1) Pass the required knowledge test within the 24-calendar-month period preceding the month the applicant completes the practical test, if a knowledge test is required;
(2) Present the knowledge test report at the time of application for the practical test, if a knowledge test is required;

It’s a really good idea to take and pass the knowledge test as soon as you get the required endorsement. It gets a big part of the learning process out of the way, clearing your mind so you can concentrate on the flying and use your knowledge to understand how the flying works.

It also starts a clock ticking: once you pass, you have just 2 years to take and pass practical test. Otherwise, you’ll have to take the written test all over again. How’s that for a motivator?

Check Ride

Once you’ve met all the other requirements above and have passed your written text, you’re ready for the practical test, which is better known as a “check ride” or “check flight.” The practical test is administered by a special examiner who is authorized by the FAA. In some instances, it might be a CFI at your flight school. It could also be someone who works directly or indirectly for the FAA.

I personally believe that a check ride with the FAA or an examiner not employed by your flight school is a better check ride. Your flight school has too much riding on your test and might pass or fail you based on any number of factors other than your knowledge or ability.

Did you pay a flat fee for all your training with a guarantee of completion with a set number of flight hours? Are you near the end of that time? What’s the flight school’s motivation? Do you really want to become a helicopter pilot if you’re not ready? Sadly, a now-defunct flight school that passed too many students before they were ready has gotten a reputation for it. Many of those students, now pilots looking for jobs, aren’t even getting interviews.

Or perhaps the flight school’s enrollment is down and they need your hourly dual rate revenue to pay their bills. What’s the flight school’s motivation? Do you really want to keep financing your flight school?

Before I go any further, I should remind you that before you take your practical test, you need to meet the rest of the requirements of FAR Part 61.39, “Prerequisites for practical tests.” I won’t quote them here; use the link to read them for yourself. In general, no good flight school will sign you off until you meet these requirements. If they do and you go to take the test, you’re likely to have the test stopped before it gets going. That would be a real embarrassment, because it would show the examiner that you didn’t bother to read Part 61.39 and have wasted his time.

The practical test is actually two tests in one. The first part is an oral exam, where the examiner asks a bunch of questions he thinks you need to know answers for. These are usually the same questions covered in the written test — but there’s no multiple choice crutch to lean on. There are also questions specific to the helicopter you’ll be tested in. Better know the engine horsepower, RPM limits, emergency procedures, fuel capacity, best RPM and speed settings to extend your range in autorotation, and just about anything else in the POH. This part of the test can be as short as an hour or as long as three or four. It depends on the examiner and how confident you can make him about your knowledge.

Once the oral part is finished, the flight part begins. FAR Part 61.43, “Practical Tests: General Procedures,” gives a good idea of what the goal is. It starts with:

(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, the ability of an applicant for a certificate or rating issued under this part to perform the required tasks on the practical test is based on that applicant’s ability to safely:
(1) Perform the tasks specified in the areas of operation for the certificate or rating sought within the approved standards;
(2) Demonstrate mastery of the aircraft with the successful outcome of each task performed never seriously in doubt;
(3) Demonstrate satisfactory proficiency and competency within the approved standards;
(4) Demonstrate sound judgment; and
(5) Demonstrate single-pilot competence if the aircraft is type certificated for single-pilot operations.

This is the meat of the matter. Does the pilot know what he’s doing? Can he prove it beyond doubt?

The flight part of the test usually includes preflight inspection with questions, examination of aircraft documents, and the flight itself. Then you fly. From the moment you step in to the moment you step out, the examiner is watching you. If he thinks, for even a moment, that you’re unsafe or don’t know what you’re doing, he’ll fail you. If you scare the crap out of him — or even make a big boo-boo — he’ll stop the test.

Want to know what the entire practical test will cover? Download the Practical Test Standards.

Pass it and you’re a pilot.

And That’s All There Is to It

Yes, the heading is a joke. Getting a pilot’s license is not easy. But should it be?

Let’s face it: a pilot flies aircraft over the ground. If he screws up and crashes, he can kill innocent people on the ground as well as his passengers. It’s a heavy responsibility. Don’t you want pilots to know what they’re doing? I do.

Flying is not something to be taken lightly. Want proof? Search this. I’d say that 95% of aviation accidents are due, in one way or another, to pilot error. Don’t think so? Read the reports. I do.

My message for “Stu” is this: If you want to be a pilot, get serious about it. Study hard, learn what pilots need to know. Stop making excuses. Put up or shut up.

Because the last thing the world needs is another “lazy” pilot.

Flying aviation, FAA, helicopters

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It can’t be too easy, can it?

A few weeks ago, I got this e-mail message from a blog reader. In an effort to keep him anonymous, let’s call him Stu (short for student). Here’s what he had to say:

Perhaps you could post an article about the difficulties of initial licensing. I have some 40+ hours of instruction and believe I can fly a R22 quite well. My problem is the written test. I just can not get my arms around studying for and taking it. Partially due to time constraints, partially due to me being much better at practical things than book learning.. and partially of course, laziness.

I know I have to do it.. I just procrastinate a lot and simply have not gotten around to studying.. nor of course taking the test itself.

Any words or advice, thoughts, inspiration (LOL).

I wrote back, telling him that he’d just given me a topic for a blog post. I finally have time to write it.

So allow me to explain what you need to do to become a private helicopter pilot. In this first post, I’ll talk about the pre-test requirements. In the second part, I’ll talk about the tests and link to some useful resources that can help you pass them.

Hours

There’s a lot in that e-mail message, so I’ll start at the top. Stu says he has “some 40+ hours of instruction” and believes he “can fly an R22 quite well.” That’s great. If it’s true, it also makes him a better than average pilot. Most pilots need at least 60 hours of flight time before they’re proficient enough to take a check ride.

FAR Part 61.109, “Aeronautical experience” states, in part:

(c) For a helicopter rating. Except as provided in paragraph (k) of this section, a person who applies for a private pilot certificate with rotorcraft category and helicopter class rating must log at least 40 hours of flight time that includes at least 20 hours of flight training from an authorized instructor and 10 hours of solo flight training in the areas of operation listed in Sec. 61.107(b)(3) of this part, and the training must include at least–
(1) 3 hours of cross-country flight training in a helicopter;
(2) Except as provided in Sec. 61.110 of this part, 3 hours of night flight training in a helicopter that includes–
(i) One cross-country flight of over 50 nautical miles total distance; and
(ii) 10 takeoffs and 10 landings to a full stop (with each landing involving a flight in the traffic pattern) at an airport.
(3) 3 hours of flight training in preparation for the practical test in a helicopter, which must have been performed within 60 days preceding the date of the test; and
(4) 10 hours of solo flight time in a helicopter, consisting of at least–
(i) 3 hours cross-country time;
(ii) One solo cross-country flight of at least 75 nautical miles total distance, with landings at a minimum of three points, and one segment of the flight being a straight-line distance of at least 25 nautical miles between the takeoff and landing locations; and
(iii) Three takeoffs and three landings to a full stop (with each landing involving a flight in the traffic pattern) at an airport with an operating control tower.

The short version of this is that to be a private helicopter pilot, you need 40 hours of flight time, of which 20 must be dual, 10 solo, and 3 cross-country. Stu might meet this requirement.

Training

It isn’t enough to have the hours you need to be a pilot. You must also meet the requirements of FAR Part 61.107, “Flight Proficiency.” It points out, in part:

(a) General. A person who applies for a private pilot certificate must receive and log ground and flight training from an authorized instructor on the areas of operation of this section that apply to the aircraft category and class rating sought.
(b) Areas of operation.
…
(3) For a rotorcraft category rating with a helicopter class rating:
(i) Preflight preparation;
(ii) Preflight procedures;
(iii) Airport and heliport operations;
(iv) Hovering maneuvers;
(v) Takeoffs, landings, and go-arounds;
(vi) Performance maneuvers;
(vii) Navigation;
(viii) Emergency operations;
(ix) Night operations, except as provided in Sec. 61.110 of this part; and
(x) Postflight procedures.

This means it isn’t enough to just get 40 hours that meet the requirements of Part 61.109. You must also get training on all of these areas from an “authorized instructor,” or CFI. If Stu went to a reputable training organization to get his flight training, he might meet all of these requirement’s too.

Ground School

Aeronautical knowledge or “ground school” training is also required, although the FAA does not specify a minimum amount of time. This training helps a pilot understand the important part of flying: aerodynamics, aircraft operations, communications, weather, navigation, flight planning — the list goes on and on.

FAR Part 61.105, “Aeronautical knowledge,” gets pretty specific when it states:

(a) General. A person who is applying for a private pilot certificate must receive and log ground training from an authorized instructor or complete a home-study course on the aeronautical knowledge areas of paragraph (b) of this section that apply to the aircraft category and class rating sought.
(b) Aeronautical knowledge areas. (1) Applicable Federal Aviation Regulations of this chapter that relate to private pilot privileges, limitations, and flight operations;
(2) Accident reporting requirements of the National Transportation Safety Board;
(3) Use of the applicable portions of the “Aeronautical Information Manual” and FAA advisory circulars;
(4) Use of aeronautical charts for VFR navigation using pilotage, dead reckoning, and navigation systems;
(5) Radio communication procedures;
(6) Recognition of critical weather situations from the ground and in flight, windshear avoidance, and the procurement and use of aeronautical weather reports and forecasts;
(7) Safe and efficient operation of aircraft, including collision avoidance, and recognition and avoidance of wake turbulence;
(8) Effects of density altitude on takeoff and climb performance;
(9) Weight and balance computations;
(10) Principles of aerodynamics, powerplants, and aircraft systems;
(11) Stall awareness, spin entry, spins, and spin recovery techniques for the airplane and glider category ratings;
(12) Aeronautical decision making and judgment; and
(13) Preflight action that includes–
(i) How to obtain information on runway lengths at airports of intended use, data on takeoff and landing distances, weather reports and forecasts, and fuel requirements; and
(ii) How to plan for alternatives if the planned flight cannot be completed or delays are encountered.

So it isn’t enough to know how to fly the aircraft. You need to know all the other things that are part of being a pilot. That’s what ground school is about.

There is a way to complete ground school quicker, more conveniently, and probably more cost-effectively: buy a video training course. I used the King Schools course for my primary training as a way to supplement ground school. John and Martha may be among the most corny and/or boring people on the planet, but they do cover all the basics very well. When I used the course back in the late 1990s, it came with a certificate that can could be used as certification that I’d completed ground school training. (Remember that the FAA says a “home study course” is okay.) Of course, your CFI won’t sign off on you unless he knows that you’ve covered all that material and understand it, so don’t be surprised if you still need additional ground school after watching all those videos. Still, when I took the written test right after watching the videos for days on end, I passed easily with a 94.

Endorsements

Before I go any further and start talking about tests, I do need to comment on endorsements or “sign offs.” To solo, you need an endorsement. To take the written test, you need an endorsement. To take a check ride, you need an endorsement.

What is an endorsement? It’s a signed and dated note in your logbook that confirms you’re ready to do whatever the endorsement is good for: solo, take the written test, take the check ride.

Who gives you your endorsements? Usually, it’s your flight instructor, but in some instances, it could be another CFI at your flight school. Good flight schools often require you to take a “stage check” with another CFI before getting an important endorsement. This helps prevent an ineffective CFI from pushing a student forward when he’s not ready. It also helps identify ineffective CFIs and unprepared students.

This is the gotcha that a lot of student pilots don’t get. It isn’t enough to have the 40 hours and meet the requirements of Parts 61.109, 61.105, and 61.107 quoted above. You also have to be able to prove that you have the knowledge you need to pass the written test and that you can perform the maneuvers you’ll be required to perform on a check ride.

And in the real world, 40 hours usually isn’t enough flight time to get the endorsements you need to move forward.

Up Next

In the second part of this article, I’ll tell you about the two tests you need to take and pass to become a private helicopter pilot. I’ll also provide links to some resources you might find helpful for preparing for — and hopefully passing — these tests.

Flying aviation, FAA, helicopters

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It’s not as easy as it seems sometimes.

My R44, parked on the side lawn at the Lake Pateros Inn in Washington State. Sadly, heat from my engine browned the grass.

One of the benefits of operating a helicopter is that you can land it almost anywhere. One of the drawbacks of this, however, is that not all landing zones are legal.

The other day, I was asked by a client to find a pickup location for him that was closer to where he was staying than Scottsdale Airport. He suggested two possibilities that I knew I couldn’t use:

• A private helipad at the resort where he’s staying. That helipad is owned by another helicopter operator who gets three times what I do per hour of flight time. They do not allow others to use their helipad.
• A private, residential airport near the resort where he’s staying. They have a strict “no helicopter” policy.

I went through the motions and called the managers of both facilities. I was told what I expected to be told: that I could not use them.

What Do the FARs Say?

Around this time, I commented on Twitter that I was conducting a search. Another pilot, who flies airplanes, wanted to know how I was searching and where legal landing zones were covered in the FARs (Federal Aviation Regulations).

The truth is, they’re not. There’s no FAR that clearly states where you’re allowed to land a helicopter.

Instead, the Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM) offers some clear guidance on where you’re not allowed to land any aircraft. 7-4-6 Flights Over Charted U.S. Wildlife Refuges, Parks, and Forest Service Areas states, in part:

The landing of aircraft is prohibited on lands or waters administered by the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, or U.S. Forest Service without authorization from the respective agency. Exceptions include:

1. When forced to land due to an emergency beyond the control of the operator;
2. At officially designated landing sites; or
3. An approved official business of the Federal Government.

I assume this is in the FARs somewhere — the AIM is generally a plain English translation of most FARs, better organized and easier to read — but I can’t track it down.

So Where Can You Land?

This heli-outing brought three helicopters, including my old R22, out in the desert near the Swansea Townsite.

When I first started flying helicopters, knowing where you were allowed to land in a non-emergency situation was a big deal. Everyone dreams of landing on their best friend’s driveway or backyard. Was it legal? How about showing up at your kid’s soccer game? Dropping off a friend at work in an office park? Stopping in at Krispy Creme for a donut and coffee? Landing along the lakeshore for a quick afternoon swim?

Is any of this legal?

My answer: it depends.

Before you read any farther, understand that I am not a lawyer. I cannot advise you on these matters. If you get in trouble for landing somewhere and use what you read here as a legal defense, you are an idiot and deserve to lose your license. I’m just sharing what I’ve learned through experience. I don’t know all the answers and certainly cannot advise you in your specific situations.

Landing in the Middle of Nowhere

A blast from the past: My old R22 sitting in a wash south of Alamo Lake about a day after it flowed. Hard sand makes a good landing surface.

Keep in mind that I live on the edge of nowhere. Wickenburg is on the northwest end of Maricopa County. There’s not much other than empty desert in most directions. Go southeast and you’ll get to the Phoenix metro area within 30 minutes, but go in almost any other direction and you’ll be driving (or flying) for a while before you get anywhere else.

That said, friends and I have landed our helicopters at many remote patches of desert, both privately owned and owned by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

I discovered through telephone calls, an exchange of mail, and a $270 fine that I’m allowed to land on BLM land that’s not Wilderness area as long as I don’t do it with paying passengers on board. Commercial flights must have permits for landing on BLM land. And trust me: BLM will drag its collective butt in getting you a permit once you apply for one. It took 18 months for me to get permission to land at the Swansea Townsite and costs $90/year to maintain that permit. (I’ve landed there once with paying passengers in the past three years; do you think I should renew?)

But land on private land just footsteps away from government-owned land and you’re okay — as long as other factors don’t come into play.

Permissions and Local Ordinances

Parked at the semi-annual Big Sandy Shoot. The event is held on a mile-square parcel of privately-owned land northwest of Phoenix.

What are the other factors?

Well, you need to have permission of the property owner. After all, it is his property. It doesn’t have to be written permission, but if you don’t have permission, you could be prosecuted for trespassing.

You also need to be aware of any local ordinances against landing. Wickenburg has one of these ordinances, although they only seem interested in enforcing it when it’s convenient to them. (This is the case with many of Wickenburg’s rules, especially those regarding zoning.) Scottsdale also has an ordinance.

Moab, UT didn’t have an ordinance until after I landed at a friend’s 2-1/2 acre property there. The cops rolled by and I thought I’d get in trouble, but they just wanted to see the helicopter. A week later, the ordinance came out and was on the front page of the local newspaper. Oh, well.

There are two ways to find out if a locality has an ordinance against helicopters landing within town limits:

• Land there and see if you get in trouble. I don’t recommend this approach, but it can be effective, especially in remote areas where you might not even be seen by anyone on the ground.
• Call ahead and ask. In most cases, they won’t know. You can make a lot of calls and get nowhere. Then you can try the above approach and see where it gets you. Hopefully, not in jail.

Parked in the desert north of Phoenix. Photo by Jon Davison.

Of course, this refers to towns and cities. Within those are subdivisions that may be controlled by written rules (such as that private airport that won’t allow helicopters). And everything is inside a county, which may have its own rules.

Sounds like a pain in the butt? It is. But if you don’t do your homework before you land off-airport, you’re liable to get in deep trouble with the local authorities and FAA. You could have your pilot certificate suspended or even revoked. I don’t know about you, but I have enough time and money invested in my helicopter pilot certificate, aircraft, and business to act wisely. If I can’t find a legal landing zone where I think I need one, I won’t land there.

Please Read This

Before buying my own R44 in 2005, I leased a friend’s. This shot was taken in Congress, AZ, where I attempted to sell helicopter rides a few times.

If you’re landing off-airport, whether you have permission to land at an official helicopter landing zone or you’re just taking a risk landing where you might or might not be allowed to, please, for the sake of all of the helicopter pilots out there, keep these things in mind:

• Only land where its safe. This applies to the terrain of the landing zone itself, as well as your approach and departure routes. Wouldn’t you be embarrassed if you had a dynamic rollover in your buddy’s backyard?
• Land at the edge of activity — or farther away, if possible. I used to do rides at the Mohave County Fair. My landing zone was at the far end of the event, beyond the carnival rides. There were many people at the event who didn’t even know there was a helicopter around. I’ve also landed at remote restaurants far enough away that no one even heard me approach.
• Only land where you can secure the landing zone while the helicopter is running. I’ll land places where there may be people on the ground if I have a second person on board with me to get out and keep the landing zone clear of curious bystanders. But if I’m alone, I wouldn’t even think of landing where someone might approach the helicopter while it’s running. Do you really think it would be a good idea to land at your kid’s soccer game? What if a bunch of those kids ran toward you from behind and ducked under the tailcone? Do I have to paint a bloody picture for you?
• Do not overfly people, vehicles, animals, or buildings at low-level. This is for courtesy and safety. Engine failure on approach or departure means a possibly messy crash into whatever’s below you. Crashing into an empty parking lot is very different from crashing into a crowded soccer field or county fair arcade. (By the same token, anyone who buys a home within a mile of the approach/departure end of any airport runway should have his/her head examined.)
• Be courteous to people on the ground. Don’t spend more time than necessary circling the landing zone at low level. Once you know your approach and departure routes, get it on the ground. Don’t give bystanders a reason to complain. That’s why localities make these ordinances. Because some jackass pilot annoyed just the right number of people to get the ordinance voted in.
• Do not draw attention to yourself. Sure, it’s cool to land off-airport and yeah, everyone will be jealous. But aren’t you above all that? If you can land and depart in such a way that no one even knows how you arrived, that’s even cooler.
• Do not walk away from the aircraft with the engine running and blades spinning. I can’t believe I have to include this no-brainer on a list, but here it is, for the folks who have no brain and actually leave a running helicopter unattended.
• If asked to leave, do so quickly and without argument. Be apologetic. Be nice. Don’t be an asshole.

The rest of us are depending on you to act wisely so the FAA doesn’t add a rule that prevents us from landing off airport.

My Advice

Parked at the house of some friends just outside Wickenburg town limits. They cleared a small helipad up there for me to use. Photo by Jon Davison.

My advice is that you don’t land anywhere where safety or legality may be an issue. Do your homework and get the information you need to establish whether your landing zone is legal.

Or simply land at the nearest airport. That’s what I’ll be doing for my upcoming charter flight.

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Or why I had to turn down a potentially lucrative charter flight.

One of the things I’ve said again and again is that it’s nearly impossible to load a Robinson R44 helicopter out of CG. Nearly, but not completely.

What is CG?

For those of you unfamiliar with the term CG, it stands for center of gravity. All aircraft have a specific center of gravity or point at which they could (theoretically) be lifted and hung level. While an aircraft doesn’t need to be in exact balance to fly, there are limitations to which it can be loaded out of balance. These limitations form an envelope of acceptable loading and if you’re loaded within this envelope, you’re said to be within CG or simply in balance. The aircraft controls are rigged with this in mind.

If you load an aircraft out of CG, you’re asking for trouble. For example, if I load my helicopter too heavy on one side, I could run into trouble in a turn by not being able to move the cyclic enough in the opposite direction to come out of the turn. After all, all controls have limits, normally defined by a physical stop. Running out of right cyclic while trying to come out of a left turn would be very scary indeed. Of course, I probably wouldn’t get to that point because I’d feel the problem as soon as I pulled up into a hover — I simply wouldn’t be able to keep the aircraft from drifting left.

[Note to all you flight instructors out there; if I completely mangled this description -- since I'm not a CFI -- feel free to step in to clarify in the Comments. This is my understanding after 10 years and 2,000+ flying hours, but I never had to teach it to anyone.]

Pilots are required to have an aircraft Weight and Balance (W&B) calculation on board for every flight. This is part of the Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) in the U.S. In non-commercial flight, it’s usually enough to have the W&B for the empty aircraft. But in commercial flight, there are usually requirements for an individual W&B to be calculated for each flight with the given load.

So yes, when you fly on a commercial airliner, there’s a computer program somewhere that’s spitting out a W&B calculation for your flight. Your pilot has it in his possession in the cockpit.

Now you might say, “Hey, wait a minute. How do they know what I weigh?” They don’t. They’re allowed to use estimates. It all depends on the airline’s Operating Specifications (Ops Specs), which are established with the FAA.

I have Ops Specs, too, but I’m not allowed to estimate for my Part 135 Charter work. That’s why I ask for the name and weight of each passenger when I book a flight.

Four Fatties is Too Many

When I asked for names and weights yesterday while booking what was supposed to be a 2-hour aerial survey charter, I got three weights that I knew would be trouble:

A: 240 lbs
B: 220 lbs
C: 195 lbs

That’s 655 pounds of passengers alone.

Add the pilot (who is trying hard not to reveal her weight; don’t do the math, guys!) and you could only put on about an hour and 20 minutes worth of fuel to stay below the 2500 lbs max gross weight — the absolute maximum weight of the aircraft at takeoff time — limitation of my Robinson R44 Raven II.

Of course, the situation gets worse when you factor in the simple fact that all passengers lie about their weight. Every single one of them. If I put a scale out and made them stand on it, I guarantee anyone over 200 lbs. has shaved at least 10 pounds off their weight when reporting it. They either don’t figure the weight of their clothes or they’re in denial about their weight or they’re afraid that I’ll say they weigh too much. Even folks under 200 lbs are guilty of this. So I routinely add 10 pounds for each passenger. That 30 pounds corresponds to 5 gallons of 100LL fuel or 15-20 minutes of cruise flight.

Since I’m really supposed to have 20 minutes more fuel on board than I expect to need — per FAA reserve requirements — I was really sunk. Apparently, I’d be able to load up my passengers and just enough fuel to take us on a brief flight around the departure airport.

This is just the weight portion of the equation, which is easy enough to do. Add empty aircraft weight to passenger, baggage, and pilot weight. Then add the weight of required fuel. If the number exceeds 2500 lbs, something’s got to come off the aircraft. It can’t be the pilot and it can’t be the fuel required to complete the mission. Simple as that.

How the CG Stacks Up

While I could have done the math in my head, I did it as part of a complete CG calculation. It’s a pain in the butt do to one of those manually, but I have a spreadsheet solution that I worked up to do it for me. I punch in the weights and amounts of fuel and it draws the CG envelope with points for takeoff weight and empty fuel weight. So while manually doing this task would likely take 15-20 minutes of calculator punching, I can do it in about 30 seconds. I can also easily play “what if” by changing fuel quantities and moving the passengers into different seats.

Here’s what I got for the proposed flight and 2 hours of fuel on board:

Note that both points (square and triangle) are outside the boundaries of the CG envelope. The red line indicates the rotor mast. The points clearly indicate that the CG is way forward. In other words, I’m front-heavy. If I pick up to a hover, I’m likely to start drifting forward immediately. I may hit the back stop of the cyclic when I try to stop that forward motion. In other words, I won’t be able to stop.

Of course, the aircraft is also 100 lbs over weight.

Just for grins, I moved the passengers around in a what-if scenario. I’d put the biggest guy up front, since that’s where the leg room is. After all, maybe he’s not fat. Maybe he’s a former professional basketball player. It doesn’t matter for my calculation how tall a person is — all I care about is weight. But if he’s got long legs, he’s likely to be miserable in the back seat.

So I put the light guy up front and got something like this:

A little better, but not safe or legal. But I kept playing. I really wanted to do this flight. The only thing left to fiddle with was the fuel, so I started off-loading fuel on my worksheet until I got within weight limitations. I needed to drop 99 pounds to get down to 2500 takeoff weight. That’s 16.5 gallons or about an hour’s worth of fuel. This what-if scenario would produce be for a short flight, with only 56 minutes of fuel on board:

And this is where the sad truth of the matter emerged. It didn’t matter how little fuel I had on board — we would always be out of CG for this flight. Too many fatties on board. Both points remain outside the envelope.

I called the client back and told him the problem. I said that together, we weighed too much. I gave him two options: leave one of the passengers behind or fly with a company that had larger aircraft. I suggested a company based in Scottsdale. He wasn’t happy, but he understood.

I’ll be interesting to see if the big fatty (A in my list above) gets left behind. If he does, we’ll be good to go — with full tanks, as you can see here:

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