Learning to Fly Helicopters
by R. Randall Padfield
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Book Summary Information
Author: R. Randall PadfieldEdition: Paperback
Published: 1992-01-01
ISBN: 0071577246
Number of pages: 368
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Professional
Book Reviews of Learning to Fly Helicopters
Book Review: Great for beginners -- needs some update
Summary: 4 Stars
If you're like me, and I know I am, you haven't attended any flight training yet. If this is correct, you are the target audience for this book. 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. 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. 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. 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. Mr. 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. 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... 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 photos are all black and white, and by today's printing standards they are low quality. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Padfield's writing style. 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.
Summary of Learning to Fly Helicopters
An introduction to helicopter flying techniques, many of which are difficult to master, as well as a discussion of emergency procedure, human factors, advanced operations and even a section on careers.General Books
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