Flying the Rotorway 162F

weight position for solo flight

Yesterday, in beautiful weather, I went and flew the Rotorway, going solo for the first time.

I was a bit nervous in advance, and, coincidentally, on the way up to Stansted there was a programme on the radio about the psychology of risk. According to the speaker, we overestimate the risks involved in most events, but then are optimistic about our own skills, which allows us to do things which otherwise we would be too scared to do. I knew what he was talking about!


Of course, in the event I had indeed overestimated the difficulty... the Rotorway 162F flew beautifully.

First, I went flying with Jonathan Bull, the owner of this Rotorway and the UK distributor. We had a lovely flight out to the Hanningfield Reservoir and beyond. I tried out all the various manoeuvres that I will be testing my candidates on, so I will know what to expect from them and the machine.

We then flew back and I went off solo for an hour. It seems quite different solo - more vibration at certain power settings, but otherwise very manoeuvrable... I had a really lovely flight.