Tough day today. We were learning about some of the specific aerodynamic dangers of flying helicopters and then I had a tough day on my flying lesson. I was getting excited cause I was doing really well with my flying but today my instructor had me do a few things that I just couldn't get right. It made me frustrated. But it is ok. I only have 2.6 hrs total in a helicopter so I cant expect to be doing perfect.
We were also learning about how the wind can really mess up the helicopter if you are not paying attention to what direction the wind is coming from.
http://www.griffin-helicopters.co.uk/videos/playonevideo.asp?videokey=1611
This is a link of a helicopter pilot that got himself into a phenomenon called "Settling With Power" or "Vortex Ring State." Basically it is caused by the helicopter descending into its own downwash. It is started by trying to hover/land too fast with the wind behind you. The wind pushes your downwash in front of you and you settle down into it. The rotors are not as effective in turbulent air and as you can tell by the video it can be potentially "hazardous." The mistakes this pilot made was coming in too fast with a tail wind and he did not correct correctly. He pulled up the collective, which would normally cause the helicopter to rise, but because the air was turbulent, it had no effect (the warning buzzer you hear is the low rotor rpm horn.) Once they hit the ground the pilot fails to lower the collective (the lever on the left side of the seat) and the helicopter leaps back into the air. Then it hits turbulence again and hits the ground multiple times before finally stopping. This pilot is very lucky he didn't roll the helicopter on its side.
I also got to watch a rocket launch tonight. It is about 8 miles away and is relatively small compared to the shuttle. People told me that the rocket is only 10% of what the shuttle launches are.
cj
4 comments:
When do I get my Helo ride?
November India Charlie Echo Oscar November Echo!
We all have "ThOSE DaYZ" in our training... and even after. Keep at it, bro.
I stalled out in Ground Effect a few times in my training, which is roughly analogous to what happens when you slam a copter down in VRS; in ground effect, a fixed wing enters a zone of greatly reduced drag close to the runway, which allows for the aircraft to stay airborne below the stalling speed-- if the airplane climbs out of ground effect at the low airspeed, an abrupt, low-level stall will result. Ouch..... :-(
I guarantee you're gonna make a few touch-downs that'll make you wish you wore brown underpants. Pretty soon, you'll be greasing autorotations with your eyes closed!!!! :-)
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1200
I hear the Space Shuttle crowd wear pampers.....
Wonder if there is a correlation?
hey bro, i found your blog, glad to see how everything is goin in FL
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