If you want to fly...

This is my first entry in this blog site, so welcome and greetings to anyone who reads this! I now have two main blogs I want to keep updated. This blog will be a good one to keep because it will be where I can record other important findings related to aviation. I'm completely crazy about aviation. I wouldn't be who I am today with out it. I love to fly helicopters (they're the greatest, coolest and safest aircraft EVER in my opinoin), and am really interested in air traffic control and aircraft accident investigation. Right now I'm at UAA in the two year program for an Associate's Air traffic control degree. So far it's been a promising program, and while nervous here and there, I think in the end it's going to be worth it if I keep the degree. I won't be graduating right away, however, because I am waiting for a certain special someone to come back to me. That extra time will give me the opportunity either work a little more at Era Aviation, which is where I work in the summer, and to fly the R22 in Birchwood, Alaska.

Alaska is such a great place for flying. The terrain and ever changing weather (as it is ever changing EVERYWHERE) makes Alaska a great place to learn to fly in. While I didn't start off the bat in alaska, 80 or so percent of the progress I've made has been here, through an awesome school called Alpine Air. If you want to fly helicopters and live in Alaska, can afford the lessons and have the time, go give Alpine Air/aka Alyeska helicopters a call-you'll find their website through google. Their main station is located in girdwood, Alaska. That station is at a small class G airstrip (a scan of airspace information will be posted later when I have extra time and am bored, haha). Over there they do glacier flight tours and skiing, snowmachinging, and dog sledding expeditions and all that sort of stuff. They use R44's, which are in fact a 5 seater helicopter with a semi rigid rotor hub system, meaning they only have dual blades and behave differently from 3, 4, or 5 bladed helicopters.

In Birchwood, they use both the R44 and a smaller helicopter by the same maker called an R22 for student instruction. The lessons are expensive, but if you can manage it, it's worth it. While helicopters are a lot slower than fixed wing aircraft, they most certainly have plenty of advantages over them, which shall be listed in a fair bit of detail eventually in the next post when I have time later.

So if you're interested in all this stuff and other things related to everything in aviation under the sun, keep checking in, I'll be sure to post more regardless.