HG Helicopters Ltd

I felt it was time that HG Helicopters formally introduced itself to you. Firstly my name is Ryan McPherson and I am the principal instructor for the company. I am sure many of the members have seen me walking around the club in my green flight suit.

HG Helicopters was set up at the end of last year to provide PPL(H) training in Inverness. The reason this came about was the owner of the company Ronald “Chick” Henderson (a Aero Club Member) was having to travel all the way to Cumbernauld or Aberdeen to get training. He felt that the market was not being catered for in the Highlands and decided to do something about it. The result was where HG Helicopters.

I myself have been a flight instructor for a few years now, I initially got my Private, Instrument, Commercial and Flight instructor in America. I worked as an instructor for a year and a half before returning to the UK. I then spent several months converting my FAA Certificates for JAA Licences before coming to work with Chick to set up HG Helicopters.

I am at the club most days during the week at some point and I would like to encourage anyone who sees me who has any questions to feel free to ask. If anyone wants to go out and have a look at the aircraft please again feel free to ask. Unfortunately because of the parking arrangements at Dalcross the aircraft is mostly sitting on the far side of the ramp on the grass helispots which do not provide a handy place to have a quick look.

A few questions I often get asked I will take the time now to try and answer.

How hard is it to hover?

Well hovering at first is like trying to complete a Rubix cube. Every time you think you have made progress you suddenly realise you have destroyed a side you had done while busy with the new one. But gradually as you get more practice you begin to be able to move and correct mistakes with out affecting other parts. The satisfaction you get when you manage it is on another level though.

Why don’t you take off vertically?

Normally a helicopter will accelerate to a certain speed before moving a few feet off the ground. This is to keep us out of the danger area of the height velocity chart. The Chart is also known as the dead mans curve, from that I am sure you can gather that is not good to be in it.

How sensitive are the controls?

At first you will struggle to feel the movements I make due to how small they are but again over time as you get the feel of it, movements become more apparent. Typically when flying you are using only your wrist to move the cyclic (does much like a yoke) as if you try to use your whole arm the movement will be far too large. In straight in level a inch is a big movement.

Why do you wear a flight suit?

I normally fly with a flight suit on for a number of reasons. Firstly there is very little storage space in the helicopter you can get to during flight, so everything I need has to be to hand. Secondly it stops my cloths getting dirty during pre-flight’s. Thirdly it’s very warm and lastly the manufacturer of the helicopter recommends you ware one.

If the engine stops does it just fall out of the sky?

I get asked this a lot - the aircraft will not fall out of the sky. You enter what is called a autorotation and you are just as manageable as with the engine the only difference is you are going down. The plus side is in an emergency we only need a very small landing area in a helicopter.

Finally what does it cost?

A hour of flight instruction in the R22 is £215 + Vat. Not exactly cheap but unfortunately when a large amount of components are rotating there is going to be a fair bit of maintaince cost attached to make sure they keep rotating. Time to get your licence is about 60-70 hours on average, due to the extra difficulty in flying the aircraft.

Well I hoped this provides some insight to HG Helicopters and just like you all I am enthusiastic about flying and like to talk about it so don’t be afraid to ask me anything.

Hope to see you all at the club house

Ryan McPherson
Flight instructor
HG Helicopters Ltd