The First Time
This morning we started with the A-Check, also known as Pre-Flight.
Again, there is a checklist to work through. This involves walking around the helicopter with the checklist and having a closer look at all the different parts. Chris explains how they are all connected and exactly what they do.
There is a lot of information and engineering expressions which can be difficult to follow as I have never been in close contact with any kind of engines before, not to mention the inner workings of a helicopter, the rotor blades, etc. and English isn’t even my first language!
The first A-Checks take more than one hour and all sound really complicated. There are so many new things that sometimes I am more just following than really understanding.
A New Relationship
However, from here it becomes a daily routine and the checks come more easily the more you do them. Also, the more I advance and the more I read the book about Aircraft / General Knowledge the different functionalities start to fit together perfectly.
Despite the R22 is one of the smallest helicopters to reach the market at the same time I was born, 40 years ago, it is amazing what they had thought about.
During the training you fly almost every day, you control them during the A-Check and you feel them in the air. You can even start noticing differences in movements or behavior between the different R22’s at the school..
It’s like a relationship that starts to build & it is really nice to touch the little bird and make sure everything is working fine.
