Throttle back on downwind

On Tue, 14 Mar 2006 15:18:11 -0800, The OTHER Kevin in San Diego wrote in :

Heh heh. Of the making of helicopter jokes, there is no end!

Q: What makes helicopters fly?

A: There are various theories:

1. Money. 2. They don't really fly; they beat the air into submission. 3. They're so ugly, the ground repels them.

Marty

Common misconception. They'd never get certified if they couldn't autorotate. At engine failure the pilot drops the collective to reduce the pitch on the blades, the copter begins to descend and the airflow now comes upward through the rotor, driving it and making it produce enough lift for a rather steep glide. Forward speed is necessary, as is some altitude to get the process sorted out. Approaching the ground, the collective is raised as the forward speed is arrested using cyclic, and the energy stored in the rotor (usually weighted at the tips) keeps it spinning long enough to land the thing relatively softly. Heli students have to do this well to get a license.

I had thought the Airwolf machine was a dressed-up Agusta 109, not a Bell 222.

Dan

This assumes, of course, you have enough altitude to auto-rotate. ;)

Every reference I've found gives it as the Bell 222. The wikipedia entry for Airwolf even gives the serial number. After the first three seasons of the show, the helicopter was sold/re-leased and converted to an air ambulance in Germany, IIRC. It later crashed, killing all three people aboard.

I didn't save the link, but there was one web site that belonged to the guy that actually designed the modifications to the heli that detailed the process of the modifications to the prop fuselage (used for interior shots) and the real flying helicopter.

On 15 Mar 2006 08:15:43 -0800, Dan_Thomas snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com wrote in :

Spoiling the joke with facts! :-P

Yes, I practice autorotations on the flight simulator.

The links in the thread leave no doubt. Folks know the serial # and the craft's tragic end: three people killed in it. RIP.

Marty

Actually, students going for their private and commercial heli licenses only need to power recovery autos. CFI candidates have to do full downs.. (All of which I think are fun as hell - at least when you're practicing)

Hover autos!!

If you're low and slow in a helo and the engine pukes on you, the landing is gonna hurt. Low and fast is ok, you can convert some speed into altitude (just don't overspeed the rotor as you pitch up and don't get too slow) High and slow you can convert altitude into airpseed and rotor RPM. Just don't fly it like an airplane and pitch the nose over...

The problem with having a lot of telemetry and down-link imagery, is that you take your Mk One EBaller off of the plane.

Question: why do you want to throttle back on the downwind leg -- to maintain a consistent appearance of still-air performance?

It's like the old argument of the downwind/upwind turn -- ground speed versus airspeed.

Forget about groundspeed and concentrate on airspeed.

My $0.02 Cdn ($0.0175US) worth

On 15 Mar 2006 10:09:20 -0800, "byrocat" wrote in :

I'll bet the guy was just trying to catch his breath.

I fly at a windy field.

In my first summer of flying, it seemed like I had no time going downwind before it was time to turn around again. I'm pretty sure I've dropped the throttle in situations like that to give myself more time to think about what comes next. The B-52 driver may have done the same thing, not realizing that he'd set himself up for disaster (if that is, in fact, what caused the accident--just because that's what he SAYS happened, it does not follow that his account is accurate).

Marty