I had almost 230 hours in airplanes, but I had been reading about the new Robinson R22 helicopter in the aviation magazines. I saw there was a local flight school giving training and demo rides, so I treated myself to a lesson. I drove to Austin Executive and met with the CFI-H for a demo. I had flown once before in a sightseeing helicopter, and the Robinson was much smaller. It was truly the C152 of helicopters, with barely room for two people. I sat in the right seat, the traditional pilot seat for rotorcraft. The view through the bubble was incredible.

I plug in my Logitech Extreme 3D Pro joystick instead of the yoke for this one. I spawn at Austin Executive inside the helicopter. The craft is beautiful and very realistic inside and out. I have seen the students at Phoenix Arising flying the training missions on FSX with the Robinson, so I have an idea of how to control it. I use the throttle control to ascend and descend, and it is very touchy. The view from inside is realistic, but the outside view is very helpful. After bouncing up and down, I rise up to about 2000 feet, and fly to the north. At first it is pretty stable, but then I notice that the aircraft is leaning to the right. I try to correct with left stick, then a little rudder, and things get squirrelly. I manage to recover and head back to the airport, but in attempting to hover and land I lose control and crash. The simulator resets, and I crash again almost immediately. Another reset, and then the screen starts to freeze. Eventually I am able to escape, but I believe that I will fly the training missions before I try to free flight the R22 again.

During my brief flight, I noticed the runways at Austin Exec. were x'd out. This seemed weird, as I know it is still open. After some research, I find that the field I had flown at was, indeed, closed. The new Austin Executive is the former Bird's Nest Airpark, just a few miles away. Apparently there is an update available for FSX.

VIRTUAL LOGBOOK

Helicopter: Robinson R22 (FSX)

R22-B N8092U

From: 3R3 (Austin Executive, Texas)

To: local

Landings: 3

Helicopter: 0.4 hours

LOGBOOK

Helicopter: Robinson R22

R22-B N888CG

From: 3R3 (Austin Executive, Texas)

To: local

Landings: 4

Helicopter: 0.6 hours