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This book provides a basic overview of helicopter flying. This is a good book for initial training. It is written with a down-to-earth (no pun intended) feel, so it was easy to read and helped simplify some complex issues that were confusing me. I would recommend this book for anyone who is beginning their flight training or someone who has been out of flying for a while and in need of a refresher course regarding the basics.
This is above and beyond the others. I will be attending Bristow Academy this Jan. and bought several books that they recommended to me. The author gives down to earth easy to understand explanations as well as many examples of many of the subjects discussed. For anyone that is looking to fly helicopters and is looking for a good book to explain a lot about them, DON'T MISS THIS TITLE.
If this is correct, you are the target audience for this book. since those motions are necessary for most operations, any time he mentions another operation, he verbally illustrates by mentioning how to adjust each control).The only reason I couldn't rate the book 5 stars was the photography. The problem for me came when he was describing the controls and showing a low-quality, too-small grayscale photo that's not very clear. Since most of the pictures are mainly for general interest (i.e., various full-body shots of helicopters common in the 90s when the book was written), that's not normally an issue. Padfield writes that he learned rotary aviation from the Army when he was an Air Force pilot.The two major differences that make spending money on this book preferable to reading the free Army manual are: 1. I had just applied for the Army's Aviation Warrant Officer program when I ordered this book.
I had slogged halfway through the Army's Fundamentals of Flight field manual when this arrived from Amazon. The theory matched point for point, which shouldn't be surprising since Mr. If you're like me, and I know I am, you haven't attended any flight training yet. Of course, if you're already a pilot, I suspect you won't pick up much if anything from this book, aside from an appreciation for Mr. Also, as the text verbally illustrates the concepts, the repetitive nature of some of the motions helps the reader retain the knowledge (i.e., pulling up the collective and twisting the throttle combine to adjust power. The photos are all black and white, and by today's printing standards they are low quality. Padfield's writing style.
Mr. It is well-written, in a conversational style that makes all the theory of the early chapters and the emergency procedures of the later chapters understandable on a first reading. Also, it's been long enough since the book came out (at least a decade); some of the new gizmos he mentions would be available or common soon should have been implemented by now and even newer ideas brought out. the manual was apparently written for those who have already learned how to fly for the Army, and includes so many acronyms and abbreviations a complete beginner must constantly stop reading to look up the meanings; and 2. Padfield includes tips and tricks and helpful hints gained from many years and 9000+ hours of flying helicopters, all effortlessly included in the text giving the impression that he is sitting in the cockpit next to you helping you out.The book includes many illustrations, photos and diagrams to assist the reader in better visualizing the ideas brought forth in the text. An additional chapter updating these thoughts would be nice.In general though, the theory is the same, making the book stand up well over the years. Although some of the tips, particularly ones having to do with emergency procedures, may help some.It's an excellent book (other than the photos), and I highly recommend it to the novice.
In other words, it's a great book to read if you're thinking about learning to fly helicopters and want to learn more of what it's all about. Don't confuse this with a real flight training manual -- it falls far short of that. But it is a fun read that will make someone interested in flying helicopters more eager to get started. It'll also give you the information you need to better understand what's going on during those first few training flights.
Perfect for the beginner. Lets you know in plain English what flying is all about and what you have to know to do it. Goes beyound laws and theory and explains why things work instead of makeing you memorize. I only gave it 4 stars because it needs to be updated from the 80's.
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