Tur-bine or not Tur-bine? That is the question : Capt. Berry talks us through his B206 Jet Ranger Type Rating

Yes! Yes is the answer I would give. Lighter, more powerful and make a really cool noise when you turn them on. The last one is the main reason… and you feel like James Bond when you press that starter… just me?

The Bell 206 Jet Ranger is the first helicopter I ever flew in. At the tender age of 9 I had flight in one at Farnborough Air Show. It was up, round the circuit then back down and those 8 minutes certainly had a lasting impression on me. The Jet Ranger is a REAL helicopter, I don’t mean that to diminish what Robinson or Cabri G2 are but when you look at a 206 you feel its size, you hear its power, the ground shakes with its presence! Ok well maybe I’m being a little dramatic but I was an obsessed kid so cut me a little slack.

I have been fascinated by aircraft since I was a very young child, I played with little helicopters, had a remote control one as a teenager and used to park up with my stepfather on a rural road and listen to the landing aircraft on the radio (that was more of a fixed wing thing but we can forgive our less skilled runway dependant cousins some of their misgivings), I’m paraphrasing nee condensing my aviation exploration, there was a small explosive phase with rockets too!

Why did I choose to do a type rating now and why with Elstree Helicopters?

Well in some respects its wishful thinking and bucket list ticking, for those of you who don’t know me, I am in the process of becoming a commercial pilot with an instructor rating. I LOVE the 206, it’s my favourite helicopter in fact. Have I mentioned that before? Did you know I like helicopters?

Ever since I discovered Paul White’s flying school and found they had a Jet Ranger I had been hoping for any Open Day deals or discounted trial lessons. This finally came in the form of a 30min trial lesson at an open day in August 2020. It was however a blessing and a curse, I was in love from the first throttle twist and have been fighting internally to add it to my license since. It wasn’t an easy choice, I am on a limited budget to make it to the end of my flight training so I have to make wise choices to ensure I keep enough in the CPL purse. In that sense, the type rating was quite an extravagance, however the knowledge and experience gained as I am reaching the end of my pre CPL hour building I believe will stand me in good stead for later employment plus I hope to fly it professionally one day.

Turbines are different beasts to pistons and flying an R22 for 95% of my current experience does not fully prepare you for a bigger more powerful machine. You must think in front of the helicopter (This is something you should do anyway but you get away with a lot more quick corrective action in the smaller R22), take actions before they are needed: yes she’s powerful, but she’s also heavy, a quick stop requires bringing in that power before she starts to sink if you don’t want to pull the guts out of her. She’s also fully hydraulic and so it is difficult initially to feel her, to fly her naturally, however this is somewhat true for all unfamiliar cockpits. The other thing to mention is also that just because the power is there, you don’t always need to use all of it, all the time, treat her kindly and she’ll do the same to you.

The frustrating traps I have at least noticed as a low time pilot is often the mental game, managing your own expectations of your abilities and being open to instruction. Its seems obvious and easy when written there doesn’t it? However at 115 hours in an R22 you feel quite calm and comfortable and flying isn’t as taxing as it once was during your PPL, however stick that same pilot in a 206 at 1.5 hours and we have a different story. They’ll be requesting brie over the radio, forgetting their feet exist and shouting about the good old days when they could perform an autorotation and remember their name at the same time – I swear I used to be smart!

You don’t have to fly quick, and you don’t have to fly fancy to impress anyone. In fact fly slow, give yourself time to think in this new machine, don’t over control, be patient with her, she’s a very stable animal the 206, if you calm down and hold that stick steady, she’ll more or less hover herself. It’s often described as the safest aircraft in the world… AIRCRAFT and that includes those flying planks we always moan about.

The next stats aren’t to be gone out and tested… unless you are Paul:

• They can still fly at 55% RRPM
• After power failure in the hover you can land, take off, and perform a 360 degree turn all on rotor inertia alone
• Lever lowering in flight can be delayed by 3-4 seconds whilst flaring and that’s a lot of thinking time
• 40kts only needed for autorotative landings

There are many reasons to fly one, starting from the fact that there have been more Bell 206 Jet rangers built than R44s, 7300 to Robinsons 6300 (correct as of 2019), so you can find them everywhere. They look and sound AMAZING! They are about as safe as it gets and have 5 actual seats (The ’66 only has 5 if one of you is 3 foot tall and hasn’t eaten all the pies), which makes the experience of flying even more comfortable. Cheaper to run than R66s, they take Jet Fuel – which is also cheaper and more widely available than Avgas. Ultimately, the main thing is you look great in them and can pose for heroic looking pictures (see example below).

Why did I learn with Elstree Helicopters?

I have flown with a fair few different schools in the UK and have found that I have a particular fondness for this place. The way Paul and his instructors teach and the standards expected are high, there are no shortcuts, and this school produces very attentive and fastidious pilots. You are taught to understand why the rules are what they are and how they work in what is an incredibly dynamic environment.

What I am trying to say whilst sounding fancy is that Paul knows what he’s doing and I take great pleasure flying with him, trying to absorb some of that knowledge. He has a calm manner and attentive style that will get you flying not only professionally but also calmly and eventually effortlessly.

I can’t recommend it enough, the course was fascinating, intense and tested me. I will take what I have learnt not only about that aircraft but also in general forward into every subsequent flight. I hope to fly this beautiful machine more and more so if anyone reading this needs some company in the cockpit for a ride share, please, don’t hesitate to get in touch with me, I know jokes and do voices too for inflight entertainment.

To follow more of my flying adventures see contact details below…

Instagram: @berry.blades
FB: @berryblades
Email: info@berryblades.co.uk

A big thank to James for writing such a TURBINETASTIC blog about the Jet Ranger, his type rating experience and sharing his flying journey so far with us. If you fancy Test driving a Turbine then head over to our trial lessons or find out more about a turbine type rating by getting in touch.