FLIGHT SKILLS

 

Assisted Beginners

(5-15 minutes), with throttle remotely controlled by instructor:

 

  • Low taxi neutral and slow forward
  • High taxi neutral, forward and turns
  • Deep water takeoff
  • Forward flight and turns
  • Landing practice

 

Beginners

(15-60 minutes), with own throttle control:

 

  • Low taxi neutral and slow forward
  • High taxi neutral, forward and turns
  • Deep water (floating) takeoff
  • Forward flight and turns
  • Landing practice
  • Landing in waist-deep water

 

Intermediates

(1-10 hours): Beginners skills, plus …

 

  • Standing takeoff in waist-deep water
  • Fast forward translation
  • Fast turns
  • Slaloms (precisely controlled 90° turns alternating between left and right)
  • Figure-8 (precisely controlled 180° turns alternating between left and right)
  • Vertical climbs and descents
  • Hovers at up to 20 feet
  • 90° yaw turns to either side while hovering at up to 20 feet
  • Descending 180 (From hover, roll into 180° turn and forward translation)
  • Walking/running on water
  • One-handed flight (fly briefly using right hand only)
  • Pick-up (pick up floating objects on the water with left hand)

 

Advanced

(minimum 10 hours flight time): Intermediate skills, plus …

 

  • Donuts (tight radius circles)
  • Slanted donuts (donuts with one end of circles higher than the other)
  • Hands-free (in high taxi mode and at slow speed only; brief flight with hands off)
  • High hovers at 25-30 feet
  • Penthouse express (accelerate vertically from water to 30 feet)
  • Sea otter (short surface travel on back rest)
  • Sea otter flip (flip 180° from Sea otter to forward travel)
  • Brick wall (from forward translation, come to abrupt stop with reverse nozzles)
  • Level approach dock landing (approach dock only inches above, then touchdown)
  • Dock takeoff (standing on dock, increase thrust until gentle liftoff and steer out to water)
  • Leaping takeoff (similar to dock takeoff, but coordinate with leg leaping action)

Instructors

(minimum 15 hours flight time): Expert skills, plus …

 

  • Training skills
  • Basic equipment maintenance
  • Life saving & CPR

 

Banned maneuvers
(due to high risk to pilot and/or equipment):

 

  • Vertical takeoffs from shallow water, shore, dock, boat, etc.
  • Vertical landings to shallow bottom, shore, dock, boat, etc.
  • Drops (rapid descent with little or no power)
  • Fall arrest (arresting a drop by gunning the throttle)
  • Flying backwards
  • Underwater travel (special equipment and high underwater visibility required)
  • Yaw turns beyond 90° in each direction
  • Summersaults  and tumbles
  • Other unstable and high risk maneuvers