Learning to Fly Helicopters | 
 enlarge | Author: R. Randall Padfield
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Professional
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $13.78
You Save: $11.17 (45%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 81583
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 368
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 7.2 x 0.8
ISBN: 0071577246
Dewey Decimal Number: 629.1325252
EAN: 9780071577243
ASIN: 0071577246
Publication Date: January 1, 1992
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New, Perfect Condition, Please allow 4-14 business days for delivery. 100% Money Back Guarantee, Over 1,000,000 customers served.
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Product Description
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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
 Great for beginners -- needs some update October 27, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
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.
A Great Pre-Beginner Book August 19, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
In other words, it's a great book to read if you're thinking about learning to fly helicopters and want to learn more of what it's all about. Don't confuse this with a real flight training manual -- it falls far short of that. But it is a fun read that will make someone interested in flying helicopters more eager to get started. It'll also give you the information you need to better understand what's going on during those first few training flights.
For the beginner May 7, 2007
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Perfect for the beginner. Lets you know in plain English what flying is all about and what you have to know to do it. Goes beyound laws and theory and explains why things work instead of makeing you memorize. I only gave it 4 stars because it needs to be updated from the 80's.
 Great Beginner Book August 5, 2006
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
This book immediately draws you in and teaches you the basics. The first few chapters are really easy to read and understand. It does get harder at the end but by then you're hooked. I read this one before moving on the FAA manual. If I had started with the FAA manual I would have been completely lost.
Learning to fly helicopters September 7, 2005
10 out of 12 found this review helpful
Learning to fly helicopters is an undertaking unlike no other. It is more of a calling, actually. And a huge commitment of time, money, and energy. Mr. Padfield understands this. He knows what it feels like to learn, get scared, become frustrated, and he helps the reader through it all with warm humor and inspiration. The text is clear and readable with many helpful illustrations. This is a great book to read as you study, to refer to as a beginning pilot, or to refresh your memory with. This book is unlike the majority of instructional volumes which are very dry and where the authors either talk down to the reader or lapse into technical jargon. Learning to fly helicopters is fun to read and very helpful
It also has lots of cool pictures.
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