Primary Helicopter Flight Training Part II - Primary Flight Maneuvers

e [Music] primary flight Maneuvers are ordinarily learned in the first month of flying only when a student pilot becomes proficient in them will he be allowed to solo all flight procedures in this film will be shown in an h13 but they are common to most helicopters the first maneuver to be demonstrated will be taxiing to start taxiing you first Advance the throttle until engine RPM is 3100 then set the cyclic slightly forward of neutral and slowly apply collective pitch as the as the helicopter becomes light on its skids ground friction is reduced with the cyclic still forward as more collective pitch is applied the aircraft moves forward in response to the added power speed in taxiing is controlled by the collective pitch reducing pitch will cause more of the aircraft's weight to slide along the ground which will tend to slow it down increasing pitch will make the helicopter lighter which will speed it up but neither ground speed nor collective pitch should be increased to the point where the helicopter leaves the ground a good taxiing speed is about 3 to 5 m hour taxiing turns may be made in any direction they are made primarily with the anti-torque pedals to turn left or right apply left or right pedal respectively hold the cyclic steady except when you have a crosswind in which case you would apply cyclic into the wind to prevent sideward skidding along the ground to stop lower collective pitch until the full weight of the helicopter rests on the ground remember you must maintain 3100 RPM at all times while taxiing the next maneuver will be taking off to a hover starting with pitch down RPM at 3100 and the cyclic in a neutral position add a slight amount of left pedal as you slowly increase pitch as the helicopter becomes light on its skids adjust your pedals to keep the nose straight continue to inrease pitch until you level off at about 3 ft this is your hovering altitude correct for any change in altitude with pitch maintain your heading with the pedals and hold position over the ground with your cyclic the cyclic should be in a neutral position this is your balance check if you must keep the cylic well forward to maintain control the helicopter is tail heavy if you must keep it well afed there is too much weight in the nose in either case you would have to land and adjust the load for better balance to move forward move the cyclic forward slightly it may be necessary to add some Pitch to maintain altitude during Forward Motion maintain a constant Heading by adjusting the pedals hovering movement should be conducted at a low rate of speed to retain the ground cushion of dense air you also use the pedals in making hovering turns to execute a left or right turn apply left or right pedal respectively here's what the hovering turn looks like it should be done slowly and smoothly it is a characteristic feature of the helicopter that it can move in any direction regardless of its heading it can move to the side for example to move sideward at a hovering altitude first look in the direction of your intended movement then incline the cyclic to the side and coordinate the pedals to maintain your original heading sideward flight is peculiar to the helicopter you can stop and start and return to your original position you can even go backwards let's see how this is done after clearing to the rear incline the cyclic slowly after whatever Direction you move the cyclic that's the direction in which the helicopter will go what would you do if your engine quit at a hovering altitude the answer is an auto rotation from a hover we'll show you how to practice it establish your hover 3 ft above ground and head the helicopter into the wind hold a consistent heading and check to be sure you have 3100 RPM in a moment you'll see how to produce the same flight reaction as a power failure you'll see how the pitch is held steady as simultaneously the throttle is sharply closed and right pedal is applied the moment you close the throttle the tachometer needle split about a foot from the ground apply pitch to cushion The Landing that's watch it again it is important to touch down with your helicopter in a level attitude you have seen how to maneuver a helicopter on and near the ground now let's see how to make a normal takeoff first take off to a normal hover you have seen how to do this next execute a 90° clearing turn to make sure that no other traffic is coming your way then head your helicopter into the wind and slowly apply forward cyclic to move forward adjusting pitch is necessary to maintain your 3 ft of altitude As you move away from the ground cushion you may have to use more pitch to prevent loss of altitude in a normal takeoff your climb will start with effective translational lift the helicopter will gain altitude steadily without further increase of collective pitch translational lift gives you a good rate of climb and permits auto rotation in the event of a power failure now watch the instruments closely stabilize air speed at 45 mph you should have 25 in of manifold pressure and 3100 RPM if not adjust throttle and collective pitch accordingly maintain a straight track over the ground with your cyclic select a landmark straight ahead in the direction you wish to travel check the altimeter reading frequently when it indicates 300 ft above the ground setting you will have completed the upwind or takeoff leg of the traffic pattern on a standard pattern to the right you now enter the crosswind leg by turning right air speed and power setting remain constant the turn is executed entirely with right cycling climb on the crosswind leg at 45 milph just before reaching traffic altitude which is normally 500 ft above the ground start increasing air speed to 60 MPH by advancing the cyclic even though its attitude changes the helicopter continues to climb a few feet before leveling off now maintain constant air speed and altitude as you complete the crosswind leg again execute a right turn by applying right cyclic this brings you into the downwind leg maintain 60 MPH and stay at traffic altitude this is the proper place to leave traffic so let's break out and do some air work once you leave the traffic pattern your proper altitude is determined by weather conditions and the nature of your mission maintain at least 500 ft above ground in normal flight in straight and level flight both speed and direction are governed by the cyclic you gain speed by moving the cyclic forward when you change air speed you must adjust the collective pitch and throttle to maintain constant Al itude and RPM it may also be necessary to readjust the pedals streamlining varies at different air speeds and the effect of engine torque will vary accordingly keep checking your instruments make sure that engine RPM is at 3100 you regulate this primarily with the throttle there you are now you're about 800 ft above the ground traveling 60 MPH you just checked your engine and it's going fine suppose now that it quit on you this is a rare occurrence in fact it may never happen during your entire career as a pilot if it does however your life and the safety of your aircraft may depend on your ability to make a satisfactory auto rotation there are several kinds of Auto rotations appropriate to different flight emergencies the one you will now see is called a no flare or running auto rotation it's the one you'll make whenever there's a landing area that's fairly large clear of obstacles and smooth enough for a short ground run this is the safest and simplest of Auto rotations now let's see in detail how to do it in practicing the no flare auto rotation you start by heading the helicopter into the wind at a cruising speed of 60 MPH check to make sure you have 3100 RPM see that the altimeter shows at least 500 ft above the ground or when practicing traffic altitude be certain you're clear of other aircraft then look down below and see to it that you have a suitable landing area picked out while learning you'll use a stage field lower collective pitch reduce throttle and to keep the nose from swinging simultaneously add right p pedal the needles now are split apply your throttle to bring engine RPM to approximately 2200 the moment the needles were split the clutch was fully disengaged there is no power going to the rotor the helicopter is reacting as it would with an actual power failure rotor RPM is maintained by air flowing through the rotors even though the collective pitch is all the way down the rate of scent is relatively slow and the helicopter is well under control to obtain a slow rate of descent hold your air speed as close to 45 mph as possible about 100 ft above the ground make sure your rotor RPM is within the green arc on the gauge then turn the throttle past off and into the override position start leveling the helicopter with your sight air speed will drop slightly when about 10 ft from the ground be ready to apply initial collective pitch this will slow your decent sharply use remaining pitch to cushion The Landing apply forward cyclic to hold the helicopter on the ground and keep it straight with the pedals thus completing your no flare auto rotation now let's go back to our fully airborne helicopter and learn how to enter the traffic pattern for a normal approach you enter traffic in the first third of the downwind leg at an angle of 45° here maintain traffic altitude at a constant air speed of 60es hour as you reach the end of the downwind leg turn and enter the base leg at the same time slowly reduce collective pitch and gradually slow your air speed until you reach 45 mph and have descended to 300 ft above the ground then level off when you complete the base leg turn again to begin the Final Approach maintain a constant altitude during the turn and keep your air speed at 45 mph judge your turn so you come out in a direct line with the lane on which you're going to land since this will be a normal approach you will aim for a steady straight line of descent at a constant angle of about 12° when you reach a 12° angle initiate the approach by reducing collective pitch slowly air speed and altitude should be dissipated simultaneously maintain a 12° angle of descent with pitch this takes careful coordination of your flight controls terminate your Approach at a normal 3-o hover stabilize your hover then make a clearing turn and if you are through flying hover to the parking area to land from a hover slowly reduce pitch and maintain a steady level attitude until contact is made with the ground finally put collective pitch full down and reduce the throttle now begin in your standard shutdown procedure first tighten your cyclic stick friction then make a normal Magneto check in the same manner as in your starting procedure close the throttle completely to reduce your engine RPM and make a low RPM Magneto check the engine should shut off momentarily when the switch is in the off position now watch for a 20° drop or a reading of 150° or less in the cylinder head temperature as soon as you see this set the mixture control at idle cut off the engine will then slow down and stop turn off all switches it takes a while for the rotor to come to a full halt do not attempt to stop it in any way as you may injure yourself or damage the helicopter before leaving the cockpit fill out Parts one and two of DD Form 781 if you had any trouble with the aircraft be sure to report it in part two only after the rotor has stopped completely are you clear to leave the cockpit now secure the rotor to the tail boom with a moing block when that's done the aircraft will be fully checked out and your responsibility as a student pilot ended now let's review some of the more important points of your primary flight Maneuvers to taxi Advance the throttle until engine RPM is 3100 set the cyclic slightly forward of neutral and apply collective pitch when taking off to a hover apply collective pitch slowly until you level off at about 3 ft maintain directional control with your pedals practicing hovering Auto rotations is good insurance against serious damage to a helicopter in a normal takeoff your climb starts with effective translational lift Auto rotations are emergency Maneuvers which may save your life someday practice them until you can perform them perfectly normal approaches require careful coordination of your flight controls this maneuver is one of the chief tests of a pilot skill finally perform your shutdown procedures thoroughly to learn your primary flight maneuvers you must practice them until they become virtually automatic only then will you be ready for your first solo and your intermediate Flight Training [Music]