R-44 Lesson ABORT! (But with good lessons learned)

[@edwardtyson4746]

Thanks Mover! On behalf of all relatively low-time private pilots, I want to say thanks. I have had to cancel or end flights early due to faulty instrumentation and found myself after the flight saying "I wonder if a high-time veteran would have continued on?" Your example today validated the importance of consistent standards, regardless of personal flight experience.

[@jimmorrison2783]

Better to lose out at a little flying than to become a possible statistic.

[@tlevans62]

When there’s a doubt, there’s no doubt, don’t fly. You’re flying for fun, so no need to risk your life for that. You can always live to fly another day. If you lost the engine and did a hard landing after an auto, you could injure your back or something else and then your flying days might be over. Pushonitis has claimed many a pilot. Good call Mover.

[@somethingsomeonesaid6455]

Also known as "get-there-itis"

[@prancer1803]

When there’s doubt there’s no doubt. Perfectly agree!

[@tlevans62]

@@charlesgantz5865 Hence the comment, “you’re flying for fun.”. It’s different when you’re on a rescue mission, then you have to do a risk analysis, do you risk your aircraft and crew, or do you abort. If it’s just an instrument that looks to be malfunctioning and can be cross referenced with other instruments so that you’re fairly certain it’s just an instrument issue, then the risk is low, but if you can’t cross reference, then the risk is higher. As Mover said, it’s risk management.

[@georgew.5639]

Good judgment call. There’s absolutely no reason for taking risks. Too high a price to pay.

[@dabneyoffermein595]

i think the instructor was ok with it though, so it could have just been a jumpy needle or loose wire.

[@jaytrock3217]

Great job at hovering. Just shows you how much your skills have improved.

[@redlock4004]

The only time they can conclude "for sure", is when you crash. Your actions were correct. You are safe, Lester is safe and the aircraft is in one piece so, a good outcome.

[@fastjet714]

I have been flying helicopters for 36 years, watching you hover today, I saw symmetry , your becoming one with the helicopter nice work. great progress.

[@FlyingCC]

As a former crew chief I'd say you're right on the nose with that assessment. Never fly on a maybe, ever!

[@clivedoe9674]

Maintenance doesn't *want* the aircraft to come back. But Maintenance does want the *aircraft* to come back.

[@clivedoe9674]

Take offs are optional. Landings are mandatory.

[@PilotEye-Number1]

Being a air-cooled engine oil temp is vital to being able to monitor engine health. Besides if I'm not mistaken it is required equipment. Good call on the early termination. No need to do a real auto rotation if you don't have to!

[@kevinmadore1794]

In this case, probably a loose connector or intermittent wire attachment someplace. These are analog instruments. It doesn't get better with digital stuff. If anything, there are more connection points and therefore more potential failure points. I've seen more funky gauge indications on G1000 systems than I ever saw in my first 24 years of round dial flying. Digital panels are really nice for the extra situational awareness, but they are prone to all manner of glitches.

[@David-ql1hd]

That's the right call... surprised you were the one that had to make it being the student flying with an instructor.

[@williambyrnes4198]

Some times the instructor will let the student make the call to see what they will do. When working on my PPL the crosswind component was in limits for the aircraft and we had clear skies. I did all the checks and then taxied to the runway and was doing my runup check and the stall horn started going off, it was not steady on but it was enough. I told the instructor that I did not want to fly with the current conditions, he said good call. He also told me that if I started my takeoff roll he would have stopped me and that he was testing me. I was not charged for the time.

[@thunderbolt513]

Hi CW. That's the correct course of action. You know it, I know it, Lester knows it, everyone understanding flying knows it. Good decision. Happy landings from Portugal.

[@ah64adsweetness95]

Good call CW, Casmo knows me, fellow AH64 Apache guy (CW4) but also a Safety Officer as well, 24 years, watched some guys(friends) push it and they are no longer with us, lessons learned in Peacetime, as you well know, combat, we always push it when you hear screaming on the radio.......

[@mikeall7012]

From a former UH60 pilot, that's solid hover work. Very nice! Excellent approach too. Next week we start dust landings and return to targets. Week after that will be 1 skid landings.

[@helicopterdriver]

Personally refused to fly many times because of faulty equipment. Once refused to fly a helicopter with injector/fuel problems (told them it was acting sketchy when I got there) to Chattanooga from our Atlanta base. After it came out of maintenance I looked at the hobbs meter and told them to put a few hours on it before I would fly it again. Their instructor took it out later that day and destroyed it with a student. N42JW... It would have been me in the mountains of NW Georgia instead. Had many problems with them and refused to fly many times and was threatened to be fired for it. 4000+ hours, 5 engine failures.

[@CWLemoine]

Absolutely. Part of a good safety culture is emphasizing when NOT to go flying.

[@JS-wz3km]

Good to know your own minimums when it comes to aircraft quirks and malfunctions. Too many guys have stories about how they let something go that made them uncomfortable and turned into an "almost punched my ticket" story. Great that your instructor respected your feelings on it. Also, 91.205.

[@christopheroliver148]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/faLPnZx4hsaMfZI

[@Str8From215]

Yup that would distract the hell outa me as well I wouldn’t want to fly with that gauge bouncing good call

[@Jaco_and_Monique]

Totally agree. I called a flight for a silly oil temp gauge too.. Turns out it was a gauge issue but you don’t know what you don’t know... good call.

[@zanehissom6848]

Probably caused by a loose connection on the sensor. The gauge is designed to go to full temp when disconnected so a loose connection or broken wire would cause it to bounce between the true reading and the gauge max.

[@mattnsac]

@@mmichaeldonavon Depending on the style of pressure sensor, it will exhibit different issues. On a typical single wire sensor that grounds through the sender body, shorted circuit will go full scale and an open will go bottom scale. If its a newer 3 wire sensor that has 5v, gnd and sig, Ive seen them do all types of clugy shit as there is a little circuit board built into the sensor and are prone to cracking from vibration (very common issue on Corvettes and the same sensor is used in all kinds of aftermarket applications).

[@mmichaeldonavon]

@@mattnsac Thanks for the info.

[@RhYn0n]

Hovering for that long in ground effect… BRAVO!!! 🎉

[@CWLemoine]

Thanks! The R-44 is a lot easier than the R-22 was.

[@halfrhovsquared]

@@CWLemoine - I think that with helis, the more mass you have, the easier they are to fly.

[@CWLemoine]

Yup. Rotor inertia and power available help also.

[@halfrhovsquared]

@@CWLemoine - I fly an autogyro. I once flew a gyro with much heavier rotors (more inertia) than the one I regularly fly (it was the same model, just more mass to the rotors). I hated it. I also much prefer to fly two-up with full tanks than light. I know that an autogyro and a heli are very different beasts, despite their outward appearance, but I also fly R/C aircraft (multirotors, helis, and fixed-wing) as a commercially qualified UAV pilot, and certainly more mass makes a heli a lot more docile and forgiving in its handling. I would like to try flying a manned heli at some point. I envy you and am following your progress with great interest.

[@dereksmith1803]

Great job at the hover. I hope he didn't charge you for this flight, LOL. Seems like you've had a lot of mechanical issues with this company. Good call on the abort.

[@mandersontx1116]

Good call on ending the flight. Complacency kills.

[@PVTHighspeed]

Agree 100% with your call to call it. It’s your life and your money! Live to fly another day! 👍🏼

[@kenbryant2570]

Good judgement. I like it. I completely agree with you Mover.

[@andymontemayor175]

That is a good buddy you got there at the beginning of the video. Lesters great too but that buddy at the start!👍👍

[@CakePrincessCelestia]

Video is about 20% better just because of this :)

[@CommomsenseSmith]

I really appreciate how skilled of a pilot Mover is he just doesn’t second guess and made the call. 👍🏻

[@HappyBear376]

That was cool I think lester was testing you.

[@youtert]

Yeah, that's the ticket.

[@HappyBear376]

@@youtert You're Scottish too.

[@CakePrincessCelestia]

It takes a good pilot to bring back home a malfunctioning aircraft (you know, the "perfectly servicable airframe, just trim it out" type of aircraft... :D). But it takes a great pilot to abort a flight ASAP or not taking the flight at all if something's quirky. Very important lesson. Those Robbies tho almost remember me of FIAT cars in the late 80s. Everytime you take seat behind the wheel, you're guaranteed to end your trip in a garage - if you didn't manage to make the thing dump the lock while trying to insert the key. Fix It Again Tomorrow, literally! :D

[@andyvanzant8670]

I'm not sure if anyone has pointed this out before, but I noticed immediately that the "theme music" is very similar to Airwolf. Clever, and I think much deserved. Lol

[@lynnecheermom]

Hello sweet Luna! You really got hovering down! Good decision, never fly with a maybe thought. Loved your decisiveness. Great call Mover.

[@Viewfromtheturret]

Good call.

[@Harrison1Bergeron]

airwolf theme is a nice touch. love that show

[@redeyeracing2]

I had oil temp peg hot.. sending unit went south in my 206. On take off. back to base. EGT was normal so felt OK. But never compromise personal minnumins.

[@alje311]

Like Lester said, mechanics are really scarce. For every A&P that gets minted you probably have 10 pilots, and rotary wing mechs are even harder to find since most A&P students want to get into the airlines.

[@tommyarnold890]

The "Airwolf" theme came on and I turned into a 7 year old again. Started jamming out.

[@halfrhovsquared]

“I’m not flying with that !” - Good call, Mover. Your CFI should be proud of you. Okay, you’re not a novice airman, so your decision making process should be fairly well developed by now, but still - Your CFI should be patting you on the back for making that call.

[@David-ql1hd]

And kicking himself for not making the call himself.

[@TXHusker05]

This is easily the most important teaching moment from the entire series. Knowing when NOT to fly is as important a lesson as any a pilot may learn in the air. Way too many damn good pilots have died because they didn’t know when to call it a day. Doesn’t matter if you’re on hour 1 or hour 10,000. If there is even a little doubt in your mind, park it. No one has ever regretted calling it a day early. Even if it is nothing, just the doubt may be enough to distract you from the next thing that is trying to kill you.

[@SsgtHolland]

Great call.

[@wilsonle61]

I was taking Helicopter lessons at Orlando Executive and they left me hovering at the runway intersection, for 20 minutes. That was my last day of helicopter training. Those Bell 47s get really heavy in a windy hover. (BTW, I cant believe your IP was fine with departing in the first place).

[@JL-uv1ms]

It has been a while for me to watch due to personal things going on. I don't know why, but I really enjoyed this session. Mover, you are very professional in your communications with your experience as a fighter pilot very much in control and command !Your step by step diagnosis of the mechanical problems!! A good lesson and reference in how to handle or avoid an emergency! It is better to observe, diagnose and abort.. rather than to look good on take off and have mechanical failure and loss within minutes being in the air!! It teaches us the critical skills of alert, active Vigilance that applies to anything ...while driving, being at the helm of a boat or flying.. whether , helicopter, or jet aircraft... Always good to walk away from a potential disaster!! If something isn't right, better to follow your intuition,observe, diagnose , and return to base... to live to fly another day!! I think Lester was impressed and very much in agreement!! Wishing you happiness and success in all you do!! 🇺🇸❤️🇺🇸

[@On-Our-Radar-24News]

Mover, good call! Fly safe in your T38. Thanks for the videos.

[@dogsbd]

Love the Luna opening! Good catch on the oil pressure and good decision to abort.

[@MillionFoul]

100% on that, my first thought is a loose connection or frayed wire, and you simply do not play with possible electrical issues, especially if that also makes you unable to monitor your engine properly. Helicopters are badass, but less so when they're on fire or having engine trouble.

[@RichGillin]

Good job on the long hover

[@WxWaterFire]

The Airwolf-esqe intro is just too awesome

[@Cleared_To_Land]

Good Call Mover! Yeah helicopters are definately more scary. 5:58 you can see it go from steady to crazy mode... It's good to see your military acceptance level is kept, rather than get swept up in the GA aviation level of acceptance.

[@seanconlin8712]

Good call Mover always safety first never want to have to auto rotate. Good luck with your check ride

[@tbolt2948]

When you fly by beating the air into submission safety is number 1, you are a good safe pilot.

[@rainhart458]

Thank you for showing us, you cancelling a flight.

[@034G63EVO]

I know it was most likely on purpose, but man the intro music reminds me of Air Wolf. Damn I loved that show as a kid! lol

[@cshamm]

Love this video---> PERFECT caution/warning/advisory to pilots "I'm NOT flying with this".... LAND AND LIVE

[@reisereise4277]

Good judgement. Fundamental Teaching Moment for students in any potentially dangerous setting.

[@vladislavlatipov2122]

Good call

[@Boodieman72]

It's better to be on the ground wishing you were in the air than in the air wishing you were on the ground.

[@halfrhovsquared]

With a heli, you don’t have to wish for long !

[@perriwenplays9215]

I remember seeing helicopters on that guard ramp yeeeeears ago at Lakefront, when the B-29 FiFi was in town for a visit.

[@Flipper-mno13]

So glad you err on the side of caution. ⚠️ Makes it a lot easier to come back another day. 😳Always stay safe.👍

[@cnknguyen]

PIC moment. Good call.

[@ceklahn]

Nice Air-Wolf homage

[@austinmporter]

While they’ve at it, get them to fix the headliner above your head. It doesn’t look so hot flapping in the breeze.

[@CWLemoine]

It's been on order.

[@richb313]

Odds are it's just a loose or dirty connection but that does not matter your life is not dependent on faulty readings in a car but could be in any aircraft, helicopters especially. Will be curious as to what is found but in the end that does not matter either.

[@krisjs1767]

Good ADM. Helos are scary enough as it is!

[@briansims4365]

The water at the end is from the AC

[@Rsenior1981]

100% great call. I don't like driving my car with bad gauges, let alone a helicopter... With a probe measuring liquid, you have to be concerned that a moving needle means air in the system.

[@spacedmanspiff1543]

Lester got himself a new helmet !

[@SIDEKICKONYOUTUBE]

BUT SIR ! that is the air-conditioning temperature gage. 🤣

[@Ruonkrak]

Are you not allowed to produce any videos of your T-38 flying? That would be awesome!

[@CWLemoine]

Unfortunately, no.

[@jjpunpun]

oh snap I fly into there quite a bit with the coast guard for lunch

[@lcamber]

What do you fly with the CG?

[@jjpunpun]

@@lcamber HC-144 Casa I personally am not a pilot but I operate the mission systems

[@lcamber]

Is that the mini Herc?

[@lcamber]

@@jjpunpun doesn’t matter if you’re the pilot or not! No reason to fly if you’re not there to do your job, no reason to fly! If you don’t go, they don’t go!

[@indianajon7980]

Great hover practice mind. It's a hard life..... I'm going to go fly the T38 for a little while 😁 how the other half live 😁

[@DeltaVxx]

good on you for making that no-go call. way to be.

[@dudehuh5491]

for a fast mover Mover. thats some fine hovering!

[@Kuruqan]

Honestly, without an oil temp gauge, you're not airworthy. What I am happy to see? Lester said OK. I've been in too many dumb situations because a CFI wants to keep the flight going. I assume that any good helicopter pilot can manage an engine out and an autorotation. But a great one will be back in the hanger before they need to!

[@randommadness1021]

Nice cover of the Airwolf music👍

[@driftertank]

Good call on the abort, Mover. Always frustrating, but better to be angry on the ground than scared the air...

[@dennismason3740]

It's Mover. He just brings out the tricksters in aircraft.

[@muzzaball]

Good call Mover - the reason choppers are more scary than fixed wing is 'no real glide', and as you can't pull over if you have a problem...... There is always next time. Cheers mate.

[@tedm.3961]

Love the decisiveness; done. Discipline keeps you safe.

[@MeppyMan]

Came here for the helicopter flying… stayed for the dog.

[@Skyrat12]

That's the right call for sure.

[@dvergar1]

You passed the good judgement test. Check that one off!

[@christopherfischer6998]

Good to see you behind the cyclic again mover!

[@dwizzleusa4202]

Oh yeah the hovering has improved great job mover.. almost balance that thing on on a dime literally

[@bferrell]

Dude… loved me some Airwolf….

[@Theoriginalbubbafett]

The maintenance technicians love to hear pilots troubleshooting. We just nod and uh huh, uh huh, uh huh.

[@theshazman]

If there's ever any doubt, trust your gut. Set her down and live to fly another day.

[@eazymoneyracing]

Looks to me like you are ready for a check!! Great job!

[@glennwatson]

Had my first rotary solo. A lot less exciting then your flight at least. The characteristics of the ship changes more dramatic then I expected though for solo, much more nose high attitude for hover.

[@ryansmithza]

That was the correct choice, well done!

[@Kobaneko2005]

Even the helo had to take a piss after that flight...

[@wshakes3661]

Let your Yes be Yes and in this case your NO be a big NO i am done for now until they fix this. Being blunt without hesitation and to the point is very effective. Today with people hemming and hawing and afraid of others feeling or reactions we don't always go forth with that kind of directness. But in this case no doubt right move. I know you got alot on your plate but seeing you walk pass that Cessna, I thought about the views that a fixed wing GA vlog would bring to your site?? Also nice quick commute from LA to Florida when you get recalled to fly the bus in the sky

[@flippinnickelproductions298]

Airwolf theme , sort of, cool!!!!

[@bobd2659]

That's what I thought! Just enough to remind you of it, just enough change to not need to licence it!

[@jamesbanditpudgy194]

Love the different color eyes on puppy

[@CLK15]

100% not only do you not know if it's "just" a faulty gauge, you KNOW you can't monitor your oil temp.

[@robertspeer8340]

Did Lester get a new helmet?

[@denisberkson5737]

Mr. Lemoine, question, have you seen any accident reports of the Alabama crash of a T6B Texan earlier this year? The IP and student were killed.

[@syedhussain7634]

Better safe than sorry, risk management is the name of the game

[@johnb5348]

A kind question i am not a mechanic or pilot i just want to ask what is the liquid dripping under the helicopter? When flying back to the hangar?

[@robertjohnson8537]

If I was you, and obviously I am not, I would walk away from that helicopter and put it in the history of things that I wanted to do but then changed my mind😁

[@hookedupboer]

What does that pull cord on the overhead console do near the end of the video? Does it slow the blades down or something?

[@KPX-nl4nt]

The 80s theme from “AIR CHIHUAHUA”!