touchdown autorotation video - from inside cockpit

[thejacket]

see here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWI5VV5bPdA

[ems300]

looks like he has done that before!!!:eek:

[Bushbandit]

ems300 are your autos that good in the old 500 c .
I thought you had to keep the low rotor rpm horn off ,Not on .

[Hughes500]

Not sure when the low rrpm horn comes on in a 300cbi, which is what we see !

[Lightning_Boy]

I think the pilot was going for an extended range ;)

[HillerBee]

Not impressed at all. As mentioned before low-rpm all the time.

[Hughes500]

Don't think that is an extended range auto as the rate of descent looks too high, but then again he has got the low rotor rpm horn on so he must be pulling pitch. But when he flares you would expect the horn to go off as the disc loads up even though you would naturally check this to contain rrpm.

The worst of all is landing on the concrete what is wrong with the grass, much kinder to the machine.

[widgeon]

scuse my ignorance , does the rotor ever overspeed before you pull collective ?.What is the continous beep just after the throttle is cut ?.

[HillerBee]

That's the low rotor rpm horn. Meaning he doesn't initiate right and then doesn't manage to get the RPM up.

[crispy69]

In the 300cbi the horn has two stages,

When it is beeping on and off the rotor rpm is somewhere in the bottom half of the green (but still in it). For most of this Auto this is where it was sitting. It is hard to tell if he stretching, when you do you don’t go that much further in a 300. Going by the entry point unless there was a strong wind I would not think so.

When it beeps continuously the RRPM is right at the bottom of the green or below it this is where it was on the entry.

He does recover RPM in flare.

Does seem a little harsh on gear doing a Run on onto the concrete

Crispy

[BlenderPilot]

Keeping the RRPM a little low is absolutely normal to strech the glide, he didn't auto aligned to taxiway so he had to make it otherwise, it was what I would consider a Zero speed touchdown so I see absolutely no problem with going for the concrete, it's even safer since the ground could be mushy and he could get stuck with something. The machine obviously gains RRPM during the flare so he might it kept it there on purpose.

I loved it.

[HillerBee]

Running on concrete is better for the gear, because the skids can go outwards that way. The grass is softer but the skids dig in and the shock has to be absorbed otherwise.

[2Sticks]

It looked like a very late flare to me, but then it could have been an optical illusion given that it is only a video, coupled with the fact that I've only ever flown Robbies and the process might be different on a 300

[thecontroller]

i think it was amazing. give him (or her) a north sea job right now!

[Toohey29]

excellent video :D - almost certain it was shot at space coast regional airport in florida so more than likely an HAI machine?

[IFMU]

I learned in an Enstrom F28A, a great little machine to auto to touchdown. I didn't do any power recoveries except to prepare for the checkride. My instructor was a 4000 hour pilot, half in Nam, and he believed in shooting touchdowns to hardtop. Less friction, less likelyhood of it getting ugly and digging in in his opinion. We had carbides on the skids, and yes they wore out eventually, but I guess I saw them as expendables. Is it really hard on the machine to shoot to hardtop? Especially in a 300 with its great oleo gear.

-- IFMU

[mikelimapapa]

IMFU,
It says right in the POH that touchdowns should be less than 36kt IAS on a smooth, HARD surface. Thats why it has skid shoes and oleo dampers. We actually had a helicopter totalled at my school not too long ago because the student gave too much foward cyclic and dug the skid into the grass on a touchdown auto.:=

[MrEdd]

excellent video :D - almost certain it was shot at space coast regional airport in florida so more than likely an HAI machine?

yeap that is spot no 2, on a runway 36 configuration.:ok:

[CYHeli]

In Oz we didn't do too many to the hard top, but then again in summer the ground was hard anyway. Wouldn't want to 'ball' up in soft grass.

At the end of the vid you can see other scratch marks where there had been previous autos. Or was that just an optical illusion?

[heli_spy]

Critics of this pilots auto (not me) should know full well that each and every auto is different with factors such as air density, wind speed and direction, weight, fuel quantity/tank configuaration , passanger position, air density etc etc all playing a part in making each one unique. Coupled with the fact you cant properly guage the flare height/ground speed from this video who is anyone to have a pop at this pilots technique? not me thats for sure!
And hands up who hasn't had the horn on upon initial entry to the auto on the odd occassion?:eek: Well the C model I learnt in didnt have the luxury of such a device and in the 47 autos were a total non event but it was quite common to get the horn blasting out that shrill tone momentarily on instructor initiated throttle wind offs when I did my 22 and 44 endorsements.
My feelings are this video was a demo of a range auto with the rpm at the bottom of the green hence the beep beep of the horn and a textbook ** as per the POH** termination on a suitable hard surface.:ok:

[IFMU]

IAt the end of the vid you can see other scratch marks where there had been previous autos. Or was that just an optical illusion?
We used to scratch the runway. During training, I screwed up one 180 auto and was going to end up in a pit north of the runway on the other side of the airport fence. I opinioned that I had screwed up and should do a power recovery. The instructor told me to keep it going, flare over the pit, hold 60 all the way to touchdown, and milk the collective to get us there. So, we touched down at 60, you should have seen the sparks through the chin bubble window. It felt really ugly at the end as we ground to a stop. I leaned out the door and looked backwards after we stopped, and I'll be darned if there wasn't two wisps of smoke marking the run-on. It was like something out of bugs bunny/roadrunner. That one scratched the runway pretty good. The carbides are hard so they don't wear out too fast, but that means something else is going to wear, namely the blacktop.

-- IFMU

[R1Tamer]

Since this is my video recording i'm utterly bemused at how this found itself online.

It's also amusing to read both the positive and negative comments attributed to the performance. Frankly I'd give it ten out of ten - no damage - no injuries and the passenger called the entry and landing spot.

Frankly Thunder Girl you could have done better though!

R1Tamer

[Lightning_Boy]

Better next time I promise ;)

LB :ok:

[FairWeatherFlyer]

Frankly I'd give it ten out of ten

I think it was that heading being 5 degrees off at the end that spurred the back seat drivers into posting. A diversion to south spot half way through would have made it more interesting :)
regards
|<evin

[C of G]

Enter (over spot 6 ?), flare, pedal turn, touchdown and smile.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4103139617948260728&q=helicopter+auto

[Flingwing207]

The first is a pretty standard auto in the 300CBi - a little slack (but not completely unusual) to get the power-off low-RPM horn (390 RRPM, constant tone) on entry. Then the power-on horn (beep-beep), then RPM into the top of the green (us 300 drivers can hum that tune in our sleep). Looks like the back of the skids touched down first (tut, tut), but overall, a pretty solid performance!
Of course, C of G's 180 "ag-turn special" is worth a grin - it's a reminder that being an instructor in a 300CB is perhaps the most fun you'll ever be allowed to have in a helicopter!

[R1Tamer]

C of G - Touche! But you never taught me that manouvre in our few lessons together.

Fling Wing - Ain't that the truth!

R1Tamer

[murdock]

C of G - glad to see you are still kicking about man. Last I heard of you, you had put down a bird in the Mexican Gulf without splashing a drop of water on yourself or any of your passengers. Only to have the recovery boat come along and puncture the pop outs and sink the poor bird!! ;)
I guess all those non-stop full downs paid off!! At least you were always smiling!
Hope all is going well with you - drop me a line some time.
Later,
Steve.

[C of G]

Funny thing, I didn't even recognize the first video as Titusville:ugh: , and I didn't read all the negativity about tarmac touchdowns........:oh:
Murdock: Yep logged one water landing. Didn't even get my feet wet, but I put the Pax in a raft and he got splashed around a bit. Still had a smile on my face for that one...........it got me out of the 120 and into the 119. So, despite it being my first day in the 120 and it was Friday the 13th, I still consider it a lucky day. I have a copy of the mayday call and a few pics if you care to email me. Glad your doing well in Canada. Wish I was utility..................:sad:
Fling: See you on the 30th. :ok:

[MrEdd]

Funny thing, I didn't even recognize the first video as Titusville:ugh: , and I didn't read all the negativity about tarmac touchdowns........:oh:
Murdock: Yep logged one water landing. Didn't even get my feet wet, but I put the Pax in a raft and he got splashed around a bit. Still had a smile on my face for that one...........it got me out of the 120 and into the 119. So, despite it being my first day in the 120 and it was Friday the 13th, I still consider it a lucky day. I have a copy of the mayday call and a few pics if you care to email me. Glad your doing well in Canada. Wish I was utility..................:sad:
Fling: See you on the 30th. :ok:

Any pic´s u might wanna put up for us here on pprune, or perhaps even the call?
/ Blue Steel

[C of G]

Any pic´s u might wanna put up for us here on pprune, or perhaps even the call?
/ Blue Steel


I'm not generally good at posting pics, but here's an attempt (looks like the pic is too small, I'll try to adjust it later when I have more time; anybody have a free hosting site they want to let me in on?):

Photo taken by a company 412 overhead after touchdown and being picked up by a passing ship (engine failure):

http://myspace-814.vo.llnwd.net/00215/41/87/215387814_m.jpg

[Bravo73]

anybody have a free hosting site they want to let me in on?

Try sending a PM to John Eacott. Many of the photos in the 'Rotorheads around the World' thread are hosted by him.

HTH,

B73

[Kangia]

Hey C of G,

nice work in the 300, and the 120.

Long way from when you tried to kill me in an auto during youre Robbie conversion.

Only joking, J O'.

[C of G]

Hey C of G,
nice work in the 300, and the 120.
Long way from when you tried to kill me in an auto during youre Robbie conversion.
Only joking, J O'.

I vividly remember you not even flinching for the controls, you were either thinking of the possible post incident interview where you would be able to say "I didn't interfere with the controls..." or you had nerves of steel. I'm thinking the latter. Maybe I just needed to wake you up. Hope all is well with you....still in Greenland? Tell Mrs. O' I said hello.

[MrEdd]

Thanks for the pic, looks like a sweet setdown, good job.:ok:
Seems like the training really works when it comes to it´s point.

/Blue Steel