>> We had a fantastic time :-) There were five of us there for the two days and it was great to meet the others for the first time and put a face to virtual identities. Having the stand in a helicopter in the main hall definately created much more of an impact than we would have had downstairs in a booth. There was a queue to fly for the whole of the two days - one of the few real problems was that due to the five minutes or so it took to get each person seated, instructed, and up, round and down a smallish looking queue actually represented quite a long wait timewise. It was good to talk to everyone waiting though - almost without exception everyone was very enthusiastic about FlightGear, although most had not tried it before. Quite a few had flown MSFS. Kids under 13 or so seemed to pick up flying the chopper much faster than anyone else! There were quite a few fixed-wing pilots, but not many rotary pilots - the only helicopter pilot I spoke to (I believe there was another) discovered that our model won't autorotate. One chap had flown in the actual helicopter on display as a passenger many years ago. Congrats to Jon for putting all the hard work in organising. I don't have a digital camera but I think the others did. I'm sure there'll be longer reports from all of us soon.
In summary - Fantastic :-)) <<
Hi,
Wearing my linux user/ expo visitor hat; I agree that having the aircraft in the main hall was a great idea, having an aircraft there at all was a fab idea.
Wearing my helicopter flying/instructing hat :- ditto :) ... apart from the lack of real world autorotation. I don't usually have such a spectatular landing when practicing the real thing :)
Single engine choppers glide quite nicely albeit to a relatively nearby field.
Engine fails, lever fully down, adopt autorotation speed (depends on type flown and where the field is) keep nose into wind with pedal*, adjust rrpm ( depending on weight ) ...wait for the ground to get nearer, around 30 - 40' stick gently back, gentle flare to reduce forward speed, level ship, let her settle onto ground.
Switches: off, get cup of tea.
I was most impressed with Flightgear and if I can help with any real heli stuff just me know.
Off to practice some more.
Tracy
* which pedal depends on direction of blade rotation.
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