Primarily for general aviation discussion, but other aviation topics are also welcome.
#1895867
Wickenby is such a wonderful historic bomber airfield. What a shame it went the way it has! I really hope the new cafe is a sign of new beginnings there.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2tH8OVAICjQ

Incidentally, I drove past the White Hart at Lissington last week. I believe it may have recently re-opened after being closed for a very long time??
mick w liked this
By TopCat
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1895878
Chipmunk Carol wrote:KOSH, Wittman Regional, Oshkosh Wisconsin.
There has always been 500,000 of my closest aviation friends there on arrival.

That's odd. I flew in there once, and it was almost completely deserted.
#1896053
Favourite UK airfield/aerodrome? Don’t have one; I view UK aerodromes only as locations for getting fuel – excepting my home base, none are a destination that I would visit other than the aircraft having a need (I’m a helicopter pilot not fixed-wing).

Favourite outside the UK? Visited several in other countries (and thought “this is nice; why can’t we have something like this in the UK?”)

My best pick has to be Fort Lauderdale Downtown Heliport (DT1) for it’s uniqueness and fun to visit. Large rooftop helipad atop a multi-story carpark (10 floors) in Downtown Fort Lauderdale, Florida. With a quick phone call you are given an elevator code to take you down to street level and then a short walk to the ocean front for a nice visit/lunch. Opening hours and landing fees: open 24/7, no landing fee and 4hrs free parking

https://www.flyfxe.com/operations/dt1-downtown-helistop
Iceman liked this
User avatar
By Iceman
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1896060
@RisePilot, as a matter of interest, in the US in general, is it as easy to rent a helicopter on a 61.75 licence as it is to rent a fixed-wing ? I presume that there are also schools doing PPL(H) ab-initio training ?

Iceman 8)
#1896070
Sadly no; whereas fixed-wing has fantastic availability and pricing in the US, finding helicopters for SFH is dreadful.

You can generally find an R22 fairly easy, but finding an R44 seems to always take up most of a day on the internet/phone searching. I’ve done helicopter SFH in Florida, North Carolina and California, but it is always mind-numbingly difficult. This is one US/UK comparison where the UK wins hands down – the US has nowhere near as good of a private helicopter pilot community as the UK or Europe.

Aside from finding a helicopter to hire, if your query is re them being happy with an FAA piggy-back (or FAA standalone & holding CAA/EASA), I’ve always found them to have higher regard for European trained/licenced private helicopter pilots. I once had an FBO owner say to me “I don’t want my CFI to hear this, but I find you European guys better trained (surely an indictment on the US style “CPL mills”).
Last edited by RisePilot on Thu Jan 27, 2022 9:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Iceman liked this
User avatar
By Iceman
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1896071
Interesting, I assume that’s because of the longer distances involved and the multitude of airports available to fixed-wing. It hadn’t really occurred to me to ask until I saw your post.

Iceman 8)
#1896073
When you do finally find an R44 for hire, it's usually a good price and they're quite friendly/helpful. Albeit, you may end up with a Raven I instead of Raven II, but you take what you can get in the US re helicopters.

* Raven II is Lycoming IO540 fuel injected and MTOW 2500lbs; Raven I is carb-version and MTOW 2400lbs.

Us spendthrift UK pilots always opt for Raven II's; I don't think I've seen a Raven I in England in the past 10 years. Maybe we're not smart enough to know how to use carb heat.
Iceman liked this