Thursday, January 15, 2009

Family Day



Don't make fun of my crazy hair - it was windy :O)



Today was such a fun day for us. We were invited to family day out at the flight line. Colton, Kaden and I got to watch Dave fly the helicopter for about an hour and a half. We watched him hover, land, take off and perform an auto rotation. It really was so much fun to see him fly and meet all of the people that he works with every day. His Instructor Pilot was so nice. Dave really lucked out in that department (most of the IP'S are a little grouchy). Dave flew great - even though it was SUPER - SUPER windy. It is so great to see him so happy.

**** If you want to watch Dave land his auto rotation click on the link *******************


For those of you who don't know what an auto rotation is - here's a little explanation.

For a helicopter, "autorotation" refers to the descending maneuver where the engine is disengaged (turned off) from the main rotor system and the rotor blades are driven solely by the upward flow of air through the rotor. The freewheeling unit is a special clutch mechanism that disengages anytime the engine rpm is less than the rotor rpm. If the engine fails, the freewheeling unit automatically disengages the engine from the main rotor allowing the main rotor to rotate freely.
The most common reason for an autorotation is an engine malfunction or failure, but autorotations can also be performed in the event of a complete tail rotor failure, since there is virtually no torque produced in an autorotation. In some extreme situations, autorotations may also be used to recover from settling with power, if the aircraft's altitude permits.

14 comments:

Hansen Family said...

How fun, Its so good to see you even if it is a picture!!!! That sounds so cool, I bet your boys just loved it!!! We really miss ya tons!! tell everyone "HI"

p.s. I'm back on the blog again, my computer was down for a little while.

Hansen Family said...

Ok I just watched the video on u-tube, how cool is that. I'm so glad that Dave gets to experience all the things that he is doing. Way to Go!!!

Heather said...

That is such a cute picture of you four! You especially look so cute. And I'm impressed with that techincal explantion of what an autorotation is!

Matt, Lorie, Roger said...

You should be in flight school!!! I had no idea what an autorotation was even though Matt talks about it all the time. I usually just nod my head.
Family day is so fun and brings things to life; I'm glad yours was a success!

Jessica said...

Oh my heavens. Emilie, you put a picture of yourself on your blog! Wow. I'm speechless. You're haircut is actually really really cute even though it's being blown all over the place. I love you!

Deedles said...

How fun for you guys! I'm so glad Dave is doing what he's always wanted to do! That is so awesome!

The Cook Clan said...

That is so cool!! It's so neat to watch the helicopters anyways... so even more exciting when it's your hubby flying...AWESOME! And it's great to see a picture of you!! You look so cute!! Windy hair and all =)

Adam and Sherry said...

I am so glad you had so much fun!!! I love the video it is amazing that he is really flying. I am so glad he has always wanted to and now he gets his dream. It is so great to see you I know it is just a wind blown picture but so good to see you. Miss ya tons

It's a Wonderful Life said...

You look so cute! I love your hair. It made me miss you tons to see you! I love ya and your cute boys! Tell Dave we are so impressed

kim said...

YOur family is so cute1 It is so fun to see you all together! What a neat experience to go watch Dave do his thing!I'm sure it was a proud moment for him, as well!
Also, it was good to be educated on the auto rotation!

Kattelman Krew said...

So he IS in flight school!

just kidding I just cant believe you've been there so long and just barely are having a family day.

YAY for progress! your moving home that much sooner :)

and when did you take up modeling?

Katie Webb said...

Way to go Dave. Emilie, you are so beautiful! I forgot how pretty you are! You all look so great. I'm glad you got to see your man fly. Family day totally brought into perspective what my hubby really does for a living. Its crazy!

Mindy said...

So I am so far behind in the bloggin business and it seems forever since I have seen your blog! Our family day was so windy too that I would never ever post pictures of me on there, but it looks like you purposely had that done to show your beautiful hair that I am so jealous of. Also because it was so windy when I saw Nate land the helicopter for the first time it bounced and went on crazy, everyone gasped. Kinda funny!

Campbells said...

Your family is sweet! Your little guy is adorable, I like his name:)