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Piston helos? Were you working on the H-34's or Flying Bananas? That was a while ago!
In the Navy I worked on HRS-3 and HSS-1 (H-19 and H-34) helicopters. (Sikorsky S-55 and S-58)
In the Army we had OH-23G helicopters (Hiller UH-12E). I can't say we "worked" on them, because the Army detailer stuck me in an Organizational Maintenance unit, and we were not allowed to "work" on them! we were glorified service station attendants!
Yes, it was "quite a while ago":
Navy: 1959-1962
Army: 1963-1966
I think I was born with mechanical aptitude. I got my first socket set when I was about 10 years old. Started messing with the lawnmower, then my first car, then boats. Made plenty of mistakes...the one I remember best was the time I changed the points in my mother's '50 Pontiac straight 8. Somehow I grounded them out and the thing wouldn't start to save my life. Luckily, I worked at a gas station at the time and I talked one of the guys into coming to the house to look at it. He got it fired up in about 3 minutes and nobody was the wiser. Mom used to brag to her friends what a fine mechanic I was...LOL.
The most important lesson I ever learned was to NOT force anything when taking something apart (or putting something together). If it won't go...FIGURE OUT WHY it won't go...don't just grab a bigger hammer!
The first thing I tell anyone is to get a basic tool kit, find a cheap car on Craigslist and take it apart. Bonus points if you could sell some of the parts. You could try to put it back together, but just tallying it apart will teach you so much.
Some people say they got their start with small engines. They would buy, fix and sell mowers, chainsaws etc.
YouTube is amazing for repair videos. I watch a few before I start any job, 1A auto has a great YouTube channel.
Start by going outside and disassembling your car down to the last nut and bolt and reverse the process to put it back together.
That is exactly how I learned mechanics.
When I was a kid, even before I had my license, my dad bought an old junk Chevrolet(1947 coupe), parked it in the garage, and help me tear it done to bare bones, including most of the engine.
Her said if I was going to own a car, then I had better learn all about them.
When finished, he said, "Now son, put it back together."
Took me about four days, and only had to get his help a couple of times.
Now, THAT was an education.
I learned what makes a vehicle run, and better yet, what makes a vehicle not run.
Been working on my vehicles ever since, and I recently turned 78.
It isn't that I am cheap, and can't afford someone working on my vehicles, but I really enjoy crawling under and fixing what ever needs fixing.
I want to teach myself how to fix/repair all sorts of motorized vehicles from sedans, to boats, to jet skis, to diesel, heck even hovercraft if applicable. I want to get to the point where I can actually bootleg a motorized vehicle out of seemingly irrelevant and random parts I find lying around anywhere in MacGuyver-esque style. I would even like to move onto to flying vehicles too. I wish to accomplish this without having to spend money on a school. How shall I go about? What are the first steps, then second to last steps I must take?
You need to make friends with someone who can show you, not having your location in your profile doesn't help you.
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