Beautiful sunny winter day for a flight. The R-44 just had a 100-hour inspection so I did a leak test and went for a local flight.
Prior to the first flight of any pilots day, a full daily inspection of the aircraft is mandatory. As you can see in the main rotor head below, all bolts are marked with paint to easily identify if one has come loose. There are many things to check manually as well as several other indicators throughout the vessel to alert the pilot of potential problems.
Gaining altitude, flying over our frozen lake
Headed back. You can see the frozen lake has too much snow on it for skating, but it is ideal for ice fishing.
Inbound for landing
