Going to fly at East Carolina Helicopters...

[RDRickster]

After talking with Captain Cosmic and others, I've decided to give the Brantley a test drive. I'm going to East Carolina Helicopters (http://www.eastcarolinahelicopters.com/) at the end of August to spend a day on the B2B.

Any advice for the R22 pilot?

[Ron Spiker]

If you're used to flying the R22 with the govenor on, you'll notice more throttle handling. Not a whole lot, but certainly more than with a govenor.

It also took me a bit to get used to how far you have to push the collective down when coming in for a landing.

I was scheduled to go down there early this spring for some auto training, but the date kept getting pushed back, so I went to a different instructor.

Let us know how it goes.

[RDRickster]

Will do. One of the main reasons for going down there was to get some quality ground instruction and work my way up to practicing some autos in the B2B. Here is some information sent to me by ECH for comparison to R22 flight (edited for length and content):

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The B2B will offer some immediate smiles with your time in the R22. The B2B has much more inertia in the main rotor system which results in the ability to glide in autorotation and no need to do anything with the collective all the way down… even in turning auto's… just leave it on the bottom stop. Zero G and negative G's do not create an issue or challenge as they do in the Robbie, and the short rigid mast eliminates any chance of mast bumping. Unlike the Hughes/Schweizer/Enstrom articulated helicopters - the unique multi-articulated main rotor makes ground resonance impossible. The landing gear and rigid inboard blade features make slope landings easy and there is no sensitivity to lateral CG as it relates to loading… and therefore no need for a lateral CG weight and balance chart in the POH.

The kevlar centrifugal clutch is automatic, enabling you to be up and flying quickly, and for those times you want to change passenger without shutting down, a quick throttle chop to idle, followed shortly thereafter by application of the effective rotor brake, will stop the rotors with the engine running very quickly… Then when ready, release the rotor brake, roll on throttle and the heavy rotor system is up to full speed and ready for flight in seconds.

The B2B is about 400 pounds heavier empty than the R22 and the weight is placed for maximum stability, safety, and reliability. The main rotor system weighs nearly four times the weight of the R22 rotor system and the 180 horsepower fuel injected Lycoming engine is permitted to operate at full power in the airframe… no manifold pressure limits below 28.2"Hg.

We just had a private pilot checkride here last Tuesday and we joked about whether the candidate did anything when the examiner chopped the throttle at hover… as with the B2B, if you don't do anything with the collective, it will normally settle gently to the ground where any bump is absorbed by the long travel oleo landing gear struts. Aaron says it feels like the R22 with a full collective pitch pull in a hovering auto - if you don't do anything in the B2B.

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RDR

[Steve Chenoweth]

Another consideration between the R22 and B2B is power management. There have been other posts in the forum discussing power considerations for the B2B that can be referred to. However, when operating near max gross weight in a high density altitude situation, the R22 will generally have more reserve power and is not as prone to decay in rotor RPM when operating below ETL. The B2B will do just fine if power needs are understood and effectively managed.

[RDRickster]

Thanks for the advice. The CFI I'm training with mentioned the exact same thing. He was a CFI on the R22, and now teaches in the B2B. One thing I definately like about the B2B is the additional weight it can handle under the right conditions.

After this trip, I think I'll go over to Horizon Helicopters (Newark, DE) to see what the Enstrom is all about. Finally, I'll complete my "tour-de-piston" with Chesapeake Bay Helicopters (Chesapeake, VA) in the Schweizer 300. Hopefully, this will broaden my flight experience a bit. However, I'm dedicating a full day to the Brantly.

[RDRickster]

East Carolina cancelled on me today because of the recent heat wave. DA is up to 1900 feet there, and all the thermal haze makes visibility an issue. The CFI wasn't comfortable practicing emergency procedures in these conditions.

I respect his aeronautical decision making; nevertheless, I'm curious about these limitations. Will 95F degree weather prevent you folks from flying? What happens when you are flying in those conditions and need to perform autorotations?

Perhaps he was being cautious because I've never flown in a Brantly, and his experience in teaching transitioning pilots was a factor. To me, I believe that you should "train as you fly." In the Robbie, I've flown with my CFI in some pretty gusty conditions (for example). I wouldn't do it by myself, but I think training in non-perfect conditions makes me a better pilot.

Comments?

[Steve Chenoweth]

This past Sunday, Kevin Hynes and I were practicing autos in my ship at about the same Density Altitude. Temp was low 90s, but the humidity was not bad. Performance of the Brantly was good, no problems. When I have performance problems, it has been when the humidity was high, and humidity is not routinely a variable in DA calculations, but it makes a huge difference in the performance of my Brantly. So if the haze is an indicator of humidity, it may be prudent to wait. In any event, I would always recommend practicing autos over a runway or other hard surface so that if the performance is not there on power recovery and the skids slide some on the surface, no harm is done.

Steve

[RDRickster]

Well, it's been a long wait, but it looks like I'm finally going down to East Carolina Helicopters this weekend. Although the hurricane ravaged North Carolina, the airport there made it through without any real incident. Therefore, I'm taking the day off tomorrow to drive down for some B2B training over the weekend.

The weather looks good with only a 10% chance of showers. Also, it is much cooler there than it was in August. While I've been waiting for an introduction to the Brantly, I've spent several hours in a B47 recently. I was just getting used to manual throttle control, so I hope this will help me with my B2B flying.

Oh, are there any impedance issues with ANR headsets in the B2B?
(I usually fly with the Bose Aviation-X headset).

[Steve Chenoweth]

We are all eager to hear your trip report! I'm sure you'll be joining the family of Brantly owners soon.