Any pilots..How do you fly a helicopter/plane?

Question

Helicopters look easy.What controls are there and how do you use them?And are they really safe?And is being an airline pilot really that glamorous?

Answer 1

Been flying Helos for the last 15yrs. It's easy now! LOL
Basically you have three controls
Cyclic (the stick your right hand is on)
Collective ( where you left hand rests)
Anti torque pedals ( your feet )
The Cyclic controls back/front/left /right . It moves the disc (spinning rotor) tilting it in the direction you wish to go.
The Collective controls your power and therefore altitude and airspeed. It works by changing the pitch on the main rotor and signalling to the motor to produce more power.
The Pedals are to counter-act the torque that develops as a result of the main rotor. The more COLLECTIVE you pull...the more PEDAL you require
SO as you can see..every control movement affects another control. There is no natural stability in a helicopter. It is the constant movement of the controls by the pilot that keeps everything in equilibrium.
It will generally take about 10-15hrs to be able to hover with reasonable accuracy...and you never quite completly master it but you can get pretty damn good!

Airplane:

Now airplanes are whole other matter. Here you have a control column /or stick , rudder pedals and throttle.
The Control stick/wheel controls your lateral axis (Roll) by moving the ailerons on the main wing and it also controls your horizontal axis ( nose up/nose down) through the elevators, located on the horizontal stabilizor (rear wing)
The Rudder Pedals control your Yaw..(nose left/right) by moving the Rudder located on the vertical stabilizer.
An airplane has natural stability and will , unlike a helicopter,. fly hands off.
Hope this helps

Answer 2

Helicopters are far from easy, but can be learned like anything else. I've been told that learning to hover is the equivalent of learning to ride a unicycle on a basketball. Helicopters have 4 flight controls. Rudder pedals control your the tail rotor, and therefore the yaw, which is the direction you go if you were spinning in an office chair. The cyclic controls the direction that your rotor mast points. Push it forward, you go forward, push it left, you go left, etc. The collective controls the angle of the blades of the main rotor which essentially makes you go up and down. The throttle is a twist grip on the collective. It controls how much gas is going to the engine. More gas = more power.

Planes have rudder pedals similar to helicopters, but they won't make you do a 360 like in a chopper. The yoke controls your pitch (climb/dive) and your roll (left/right). There is also a throttle that controls how much power the engine produces.

Flying is funner (is that a word?) and safer than ever before, with the advent of new technology. Check out www.aopa.org for everything you needed to know about flying (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association). The latest plane I was trained on has computer screens instead of guages and it also has a parachute! (www.cirrusdesigns.com)

Answer 3

I think helicopters are easy to fly. Most would disagree with me and say they are much harder than airplanes.

Helicopters have three basic controls -
1. Cyclic stick
2. Collective lever
3. Anti-torque pedals

You can get a good explanation of how those all work at the link in the source section.

I'm not an airline pilots, but most of my friends are, and don't think it's very glamorous.

Answer 4

Helos are not easy to fly, and it depends on what plane you fly as to whether its glamorous or not, none of it is really.

Answer 5

only thing i know is they dont work too well upside down so dont try that one and ejector seats arnet a good idea either very messy