What are /r/Helicopters' favorite Products & Services?

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I was thinking the same thing a few years ago, so I made this map. It resulted in a handful of places but then no one else contributed. It's open for anyone to edit so if you know of any off airport places for a helicopter to land, feel free to add it along with any information you have about that spot.

Edit: Something else that would be helpful to accompany this is a listing of any towns, cities, etc. that have ordinances against landing a helicopter. As far as the FAA is concerned, you can land a helicopter pretty much anywhere as long as you have the land owner's permission, but you can still get fined by the local government if they have laws against it for that area.

This is at the (Nebraska National Guards Greenlief Training Site)[http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=40.514843&lon=-98.239746&z=11&m=b&show=/26841061/Greenlief-Training-Site] a few miles east of Hastings. On the map at the link, Greenlief is the small rectangle nested in the larger triangle putting it in the footprint of the former Blaine Naval Ammunition Depot - largest naval munitions plant from 1942-1946.

I haven't been there in about 9 years but I know location area well and have spend a lot of time on those ranges. I'm going to guess you guys landed (here)[http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=40.546731&lon=-98.264680&z=18&m=b&show=/26841061/Greenlief-Training-Site].

Not sure what is on the BSc, as this is a new style of course in the UK. Pilot degree programmes have been around a while elsewhere, but not here.
The required reading for ATPL(H) essentially consisted of course notes/manuals from the ground school training provider, in my case Bristol.GS. They are used by some integrated facilities and widely used by those of us on the modular professional licence route, and you may find older copies of their manuals on online auction sites.

The general textbook situation is a little poor for the rotary world. When I did my PPL(H) I was advised to use Wagtendonk's Principals of Helicopter Flight for the technical exams and some of that knowledge came in useful for the ATPL(H) exams. It is available on Amazon here https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1560276495/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_Jk8lvb0192FZT

Sorry I can't be of more use, as I say these courses are new and I understand some within the industry are little dubious about them as they are seen (a little) as a way of milking the student loan system.
Either way, good luck, hope you find something more helpful.

I used to use your app but it didn't have 350 or 355 so stopped, but i always thought it was good.

if I remember right though you have the mass of jet as .85kg/L instead of .81, but you had the option to put in kg of fuel which was just as good.

2 things would be awesome for a w/b app, 1 is if it could spit out a pdf that was drawn over the relevent pages from the manual, I used to work a contract where I had to submit my paper weight and ballance before flight which is awesome for helicopters with multiple cells thats moment go back and forth.. this is still dodgy if the app isn't in a company's sop but closer to being legit than screenshotting the tables.

The other was that there is another (meant for fixed wing) w/b app on android that's just listed as “weight and ballance” that has a really nice interface with sliders that move the graph in front of you as you change the fields, it really helps for making minimal adjustments and seeing their effect, rather then going in and out of the graph screen and loading screen.

There use to, ages ago, be an app called ”helicopter weight and ballance” I even had the paid version, iorc it only had 22,44,g2 in it but it was just like ibal with the overhead view of the helicopter showing the stations, which is flashy but I think unnecessary.

Thanks heaps for contributing with that app years ago though!, I did use it heaps!

source is this book which I highly recommend. Also, chill out bro.

[https://www.amazon.com/Bell-AH-1-Cobra-Vietnam-Present/dp/0764354515/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?crid=10JDMBOY49GBP&keywords=ah-1+history+book&qid=1646532602&sprefix=ah-1+history+book%2Caps%2C425&sr=8-5](source) is this book which I highly recommend. Also, chill out bro.

A piece of silk or other type of streamer in a bright colour would be better than a smoke grenade.
Those ski tracking ribbons for use in powder would work. I've seen them made with very light material.
eg:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dynafit-DYNAFIT-Accessoires-FINDER-orange/dp/B00F9KMQ5S/

Use it like a windsock. It can be attached to a ski pole but make sure it's secured - don't want it flying off when the helo approaches.

Smoke grenades aren't approved for carriage in aircraft and I bet the helo pilot won't like it.
A road safety flare would be easier to acquire, and lighter. They last longer than smoke. They're pretty much universal so a lot of people will know how they work, and they're better at night.

An extra usb power pack for your phone - you don't know how long you might be stuck with a person needing aid.

An LED torch with strobe option is definitely good for low light/night use. If your buddy goes down at 3PM, chances are you're in the dark when they arrive.

In a pinch you can write an easily visible sign with a brightly coloured energy drink. You can get tiny concentrate bottles that you can dilute with water.

A foil safety blanket is ultralight, and great for anyone who needs help and can't move in the mountains.
Get one that has the hi-viz orange side to it. They will also double as a windsock.

I use an old Adidas gym bag like this

It holds my helmet and a decent amount of clothes and gear. I also fill my backpack up and that's usually good for my 12 days

I'd like to recommend Shawn Coyle's books on helicopter flying. They include some great discussions of aerodynamics. There's Cyclic & Collective and an older version of that same book.

It depends on the helicopter type and weather conditions. For small helicopters like the AS350, AS315... you don't need a stick to discharge the static charge. But even with a Bell 412,Bell 429....it is very uncomfortable in wet weather conditions or with heavy dust, yes you can say painful. It is very bad in powder snow. With guys like AS332,KA32,Kamax...you need a stick or you can't feel your arm at noon.

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As the saying goes; form follows function. Thats not to say they have no regard for aesthetics but you won't willingly make it worse simply to make something look cooler, especially for a combat aircraft like the Apache where lives are on the line. Helicopter design comes from its intended purpose and what technology is available and/or affordable. For example something like the Sikorsky S-55 looks like that because its was a transport designed in the 50s and powered by a radial piston engine. The piston engine was large and had to be placed in the nose to allow room for a passenger cabin. So the Apache was to replace the AH-1 Cobra as the Army's primary attack helicopter. Hughes Helicopters took the experience they gathered from the Cobra and the next generation of weapon, engine, avionics, and aerodynamic research to design it. There are two books on helicopter aerodynamics and design by Ray Prouty that are very good. Not sure if you can find a pdf of it online somewhere though. As for the designers you can find a few notable individuals like Igor Sikorky or Arthur M. Young but much of the work is credited to the companies that produce the helicopters themselves rather than to specific engineers. Bell, Sikorsky, Hughes, Vertol, Piasecki, Mil, Kamov, and Aérospatial are some big names in the history of helicopter manufacturers.

Austin County STAR Flight.

A good read by a former pilot: Life Inside Dead Man's Curve by Kevin McDonald.

Make sure you have enough saved to complete the training to CFII without stopping for long periods of time in between finance lows.

Just getting your commercial severely worsens your chances of getting a job out of flight school.

I've seen it happen, but the chance are few and far between.

In terms of reading material get yourself a Test Prep Book and start memorizing the correct answers. The knowledge test is silly and your score on it doesn't affect your career at all as long as you pass. Best bet is to memorize the answers until you can pass the test. You won't be missing out on information or not learning stuff, your instructor will ensure you know what you need to know for the checkride. Also as /u/Cropgun mentioned, the Rotorcraft Flying Handbook is a good start. If you get it, don't read into it too seriously, just get yourself familiar with the terms, again, your instructor will teach you what you need to know.

I just heard about this company via a FB post, XGO. Was looking at their FR options and saw they have a bra. Maybe its worth trying?

Edit: Check amazon, much cheaper than direct from manufacturer.

This case and this legstrap

I took the SIFT test a year ago and scored pretty high.

Having gotten my PPL last year absolutely helped with orientation and flight mechanical questions but if you don't have any helicopter experience i would say that the helicopter flying handbook as well as the FAA helicopter book would help with that.

I purchased this off of Amazon and studied it extensively for a week and a half before the test and it definitely helped. It has all of the sections of the test, the time you will have to answer the questions and it has practice questions and answers. It explains the information you will need to know to answer the different sections. I found it accurate on what sections are adaptive and what aren't.

As far as advice while there, dont stress out so much. The accepted inc. book has advice on managing your time and whether or not to guess or skip the question. But don't fret too much if you don't answer all the questions in a section. I thought i messes up and missed a lot of questions in 2 sections but it turns out i scored high in those sections. Don't get too hard on yourself and end up distracted on other portions of the test.

Why don't you just pickup the instruction material? Some of the best reads :)

Helicopter Flying Handbook Principles of Helicopter Flight

I used this stuff on the leather fingertips of my flight gloves. Works good enough on the tablet for most things. Not very specific for smaller buttons. I have a stylus pen on my kneeboard that I can pull out if I need to hit a small button accurately.