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| Important! To Read! this tutorial, like those about the night VFR and IFR ratings, and about flying the airliners is not as accurate and reliable than those dedicated to the VFR flights. It's because we really practised the VFR flights, as we didn't ever qualify for the night VFR and the IFR ratings nor any commercial license! Our tutorials about such flights are based on our VFR experience only, and augmented with data and readings taken from the Internet! People who would like to find in those the same level of accuracy and details than in our VFR tutorials, should better turn to further websites or source. People who are just looking for a honest level of realism might be satisfied already with the level of our tutorials about the night VFR, IFR flights, the ones aboard an airliner, and the helicopters |
The autorotation, or self-rotation, aboard a helicopter, is the equivalent of GA emergency landing in case of a engine failure. The autorotation allows to land a helicopter in case of a engine failure. In case of a engine failure, the most important is to that the wings of the rotor keep rotate at a sufficient speed to allow for a sufficient lift. The collective, despite the engine's loss, keeps to be efficient as far as the lift of the rotor is concerned. The ground speed is of importance too as it allows to reach the emergency landing area and for the passage into a stationary flight before the landing. The gliding index for a Bell 206B JetRanger III is 4/1 (as 4 miles may be flewn for one mile of altitude) at a speed of 69 kts. That speed is reached through the cyclical only. Aim to maintain a minimal speed of 52 kts; with such a speed, on the other hand, you will not fly a longer distance by you'll stay a longer time in the air; the 52-kt speed, further is to be used for the final approach
In case of a engine failure, the procedure is the following. Just, first, immediately decrease the colletive smoothly. Should you decrease it abruptly the helicopter should fall with a large speed! The action provided unto the collective, in case of the engine failure, allows the rotor to maintain its lift potential. Aim, now, to a speed between 53 and 69 kts. With a rotation beginning, say, about 1,000 ft, the percentage of the rotor has to be of 93-95%. Once about between 75 and 50 ft above the ground, you'll pull the stick slightly back and put the aircraft into a pitch of about 10 degrees. Maintain that attitude until reaching about 15 ft above the ground. Once your ground speed will have decreased, push the cyclical back forwards to have the helicopter to level. The landing is smoothed with a slight increase with the cyclical. Caution to have some rudder right as the rotor's transmission mechanical inertia has the nose of the craft shifting left (which is at the opposite of what occurs when the engine is working). As far as the landing proper is concerned, the helicopter must be level as the ground speed has to feeble or null and no shift has to be extant. A landing sequence thus is passing into a stationary flight, a 10-degree pitch, back to level and a collective increase to smooth the landing! Once landed, just have the cyclical to neutral and decrease the collective regularly to null
Training for a emergency landing in a helicopter is akin to training for a engine failure in a GA plane. The aircraft is first simulationnaly put into a engine failure through the appropriate control. Then you will have to quickly decide for a emergency landing area, function of the gliding index of the helicopter. Then you'll perform the maneuvers needed for a descent towards that area. The simulated engine failure is halted with the engine's restart (as you will take in account the time for the rotor to become functional back) and with back to altitude
The autorotation checklist is like (this checklist is in the FS2002 format):
____________________________________ AUTOROTATION CHECKLIST [ ] collective: ADJUST SO TO KEEP THE ROTOR ROTATION SPEED AT 90–107 PERCENT [ ] Relative Speed: 50–60 KIAS (NEVER EXCEED 100 KIAS) [ ] Landing Area: SELECTED [ ] When Reaching a Low Altitude: THROTTLE FULL OUT, PASSING INTO A STATIONARY FLIGHT, INPUT THROUGH THE COLLECTIVE [ ] Landing: TO OCCUR BEFORE PASSING TO 7O PERCENT OF THE ROTOR ROTATION SPEED [ ] Fuel: THROTTLE OUT, FUEL VALVE SHUTDOWN [ ] After Landing: ALL INTERRUPTORS OUT
A variant of the autoration in a helicopter is the autorotation for cause of a failure -- or failure to control -- of the tail rotor. Then, in the case of a aircraft which features that command, apply full throttle out and then you will have to maintain a minimal speed of 50 kts. Fly fast and straight -- to minimize the autorotation -- until a large open area and land there with as much forward air speed as you dare. Then instantly apply the rotor brake and hope the helicopter doesn't spin like a top and/or turn over on it's side from the uncontrolled main rotor torque!
Website Manager: G. Guichard, site Lessons In Microsoft Flight Simulator / Leçons de vol pour les Flight Simulator de Microsoft, http://flightlessons.6te.net.htm. Page Editor: G. Guichard. last edited: 2/15/2018. contact us at ggwebsites@outlook.com