We had a fun time today giving rides to nearly 50 Harvard students, faculty, and science post-docs (these folks with Ph.D.s reported a salary of $38,000 per year for 70+ hours/week, not exactly great arguments against my women in science article). The weather cooperated as much as you could expect in Massachusetts, with clear skies and winds at 16 knots gusting 22. We landed on some soccer fields behind the Harvard tennis center. The Boston Logan tower was cooperative as always and there were no massive sporting events in open-air stadiums nearby generating flight restrictions. Nobody threw up. The undergraduates at the Harvard Flying Club had everything organized down to the minute and even managed to run a bbq grill.
The Robinson R44 ran like a champ for 4.2 hours, smoothed out the bumpy air, and impressed the audience during shut-down periods.
Off to Kansas tomorrow in a CJ3 and then for a test flight in the Cessna Mustang.
Sounds like fun, and glad to know that the sight of helicopters was from something positive! Oh yes – I work with post-docs, and I *wish* I could say that the figure you quoted was incorrect!