Helicopter!

I’ve never flown a helicopter and really, really doubt that I ever will. I’ve always been under the impression, through snippets of sporadic conversation, that helicopters are difficult to fly. It seems that there are so many things to control at once. Earlier this semester, during speech class, I wrote in my notebook; ‘Flying a helicopter is like being in your kitchen and operating the stove, refrigerator, toaster and microwave all at once’. Then, I found this:

“The first time I ever flew a helicopter I thought to God I was trying to stir a cake.

The second time I flew a helicopter I was convinced I was stirring a cake. The helicopter seemed to have a mind of its own because no matter what you did on the controls it took a helicopter about a second and a quarter to make up its mind that your command on the controls is what you really wanted. This is called a time the lag common to all helicopters. You don't know how long a second and quarter is until you've flown a helicopter.”

-John Angus Carter

So now I think that flying a helicopter is like being in your kitchen and operating the stove, refrigerator, toaster, microwave, and baking a cake at the same time.