2020 was a bad year for a lot of reasons, but one bright spot for me personally is that over the course of the year I learned to fly helicopters. Back in January I had never even sat in one of these contraptions, and by Christmas I had earned my commercial helicopter pilot certificate with instrument rating. Due to the incredible expense I don't foresee myself doing any more helicopter flying just for recreational purposes, but this was a satisfying goal to accomplish. It was also a lot harder than I thought it would be! It's barely an exaggeration to say that the only knowledge that's really transferable from airplane flying to helicopters is the general aeronautical knowledge stuff, and the only reusable skill is knowing how to talk on the radio. Below are some pictures from a year of helicopter flying.
Somewhere over the Willamette Valley:
On the ground – I think this might have been after a checkride:
Visiting a mountain lake:
Short final – I believe this was during my first solo:
Down by the river:
Panel view:
On top and under the hood:
Mountaintop perch:
Last of three checkrides complete:
