B is for Block Time
Windlifter had always taken pride in the act that he was a late bloomer. There was no reason to rush through life when there were so many interesting things to explore along the way. Most of his teachers had learned to overlook the quiet helicopter's sometimes convoluted way of getting things done once they were able to determine that he was perfectly capable of getting the correct answer…eventually. Unfortunately for the young Skycrane, there was one part of his education that everyone in his life was currently breathing his intakes to get him to complete. That of course was the process of fledging.
So far Windlifter had successfully delayed his fledging as much as he could manage. But eventually he ran out of both excuses and time to make them. Which is how he ended up sitting on the tarmac at the local flight school sitting in front of a particularly grumpy-looking flight instructor.
"Okay Windlifter." The Robinson glared at the younger helicopter with a look of sheer annoyance. "I know you have a reputation for being a pain in the other teacher's tail boom, but I am going to be straight with you. You have 10 hours of flight time to pass off all of the flight skills you need to solo. If you take longer than that, the fault will solidly be at your tires, and you will have to bear the cost of that." The Robison quirked an eyebrow. "Understood."
"Understood." Windlifter replied without batting an eye.
"Good." The flight instructor settled on his tires. "Now, let's see if we can give you a new perspective on the world."
That last statement struck a chord deep in Windlifter and it awakened a restless reservoir of curiosity. Perhaps the world could be just as interesting from the air as it was from the ground. The only way he was going to find out was to try. So, for the first time, Windlifter took a deep breath, kicked his engines to full power, and broke the surly bonds of earth…
Term – Block Time – This term refers to whenever an aircraft is (or should be) moving under its own power. Block Time is primarily used in two settings. The first is commercial aviation because it allows airlines to schedule and sell tickets for flights. The second is at aviation schools where students are often given a set number of blocks to learn how to do a particular flight skill. If a student is unable to learn that skill in the time allotted they usually have to pay for additional time in the aircraft to pass off that task.