Osage SkyNews 6 HD Journalist Discovers What It Takes To Fly A Helicopter

Multimedia Journalist Matt Rahn spends most of his time behind the camera in Osage SkyNews 6 with pilot Dustin Stone, but recently he got a chance to see what it takes to actually fly a helicopter.

Turns out it's a lot harder, and a lot more fun, than he ever imagined.

Flight instructor Bryant Smith with Fly Tulsa did most of the heavy lifting, but for a few short moments, Matt had control of the aircraft.

Before they could take to the skies, they took to the classroom for some required ground school and helicopter 101. Anyone new to flying a Robinson R-44 has to go through a short briefing to explain potential dangers and the basics of handling the helicopter.

Fly Tulsa is based at Jones Riverside Airport and does everything from helicopter tours to flight instruction.

Smith has a passion for flying and loves seeing new students catch that excitement.

"It slowly starts a progression and you kind of start seeing [the student] come along and the student gets more confident and they start to enjoy flying a lot more,” said Smith.

After a pre-flight inspection, they fired up and took off. To say it was challenging is a major understatement.

And who was behind the camera for this story you ask? None other than Pilot Dustin Stone himself. You could say they switched roles for a day.

Dustin: “How was it?”

Matt: “It was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be.”

Dustin: “Thank you very much, say that one more time for the camera so we can hear you.”

Matt: “Dustin Stone has a hard job; he does a really good job at it. There I said it.”