ROTORCRAFT ROADTRIP
BY STEVE GOLDSWORTHY PHOTOS: MICHAEL EVERHART
Never one to turn down an opportunity
to both fly and eat on the same trip, I head- ed out with some friends in a fixed wing to meet for breakfast at French Valley Airport. Once on the ground a gorgeous red Enstrom 480B sitting on the ramp catches my eye, so I walk over to check it out. A few minutes later the owner, Don Belcher, and his family walk over hoping to leave. But not before I ask a few questions of Don, who obviously loves flying his 480. I doubted that I would ever see that hel-
icopter or Don again, but two years later, I’m strapped into the left seat of that same 480B waving at Don on the ground as he watches his helicopter, with me at the controls, departing over his head.
LIFE IS STRANGE LIKE THAT I gently set down the 480B on the rather
little Pauma Airport runway just North of San Diego, CA. I’m searching for a word to describe just how stable and easy this heli- copter is to fly. During start up, I was searching for the
fuel pump switches or breakers, but alas, there are none as the fuel tanks are gravity fed. Don’t look for a hydraulics switch either as there are no hydraulics. The Rolls Royce 250 C20W turbine sits low in the airframe and the wide landing skids makes a rollover seem almost impossible. Picking up a helicopter when you have
never flown a particular model is always just a bit intimidating. Without hydraulics, I expect the ship to feel heavy. I’m wrong as the controls are light and smooth. I hover downwind to gain some runway length with my eyes glued to the torque gauge. With everything in the green I do a pedal turn into the wind and we’re off. I can’t believe the vis- ibility, the roominess in the cabin and the very solid and smooth feel of the Enstrom 480B.
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