Originally Posted by
whirlybirdguy
Greetings!
The 412 has proved its utility globally & i am sure that this thread will elicit several replies.
We are operating a 412 in the hills & mountains of North East India. The landing sites range from 500' upto 6500' AMSL.
I am personally curious as to what is the best approach technique for high altitude helipads:
1. Should it be a very flat approach? If yes, the pros & cons of it.
2. Should the approach be made with a say 5-7 degree glide slope? Pros & Cons.
3. In case of strong winds, should the approach become steeper? Consequences in case the winds suddenly die down (as they are prone to in hills).
4. Procedures for ensuring a safe and well controlled approach to a helipad.
Thank you.
Readers are invited to post replies directly to me email
[email protected], if you so desire.
Thank you all.
Happy Landings!
Crikey Mate...For Fvkz sake don't venture into the big hills without proper due training & someone to hold yer hand for a while
India has rules for hill flying & without proper training (albeit average) You won't get a tick in the box to go
Anyways in reply to yer questions......
1. Firstly You should be very clear & confident what margin you have at the designated H height & what power margin You need to arrive & escape, well before committing to land
keep Your approaches as flat as possible, or slightly climbing & don't loose ETL till the forward Rotor-Disc tip is almost over the front edge of your H. Pros; Safer to have no ROD, plus easier escape options. Cons: none
2. Keep Your approach angle well below 5º to minimise ROD & don't loose ETL during the final approach. Reasons...same as above in 1.
3. Unless going into a deep confined H absolutely DO NOT steepen Your approach just because there's wind, ROD increases which may not be possible to arrest? Yes some Mountain flying books & courses say steeper & vertical, but from personal experience having 1,000's of landing above 10,000' & a few hundred above 20,000' that is complete utter Bullocks, may work perfectly fine on a 500' even a 5,000' hill but when Your seriously up there, that is Bullocks to steepen any approach, unless the terrain gives no other option (& only then with extreme caution!)
4. That's a short book to write. A Mountain flying workshop I produced has a ground class of 1 full day with a minimum of 5 hours flying & that is the barest minimum I'd suggest You do to be only just safe! This question cannot be condensed & appropriately answered into a short paragraph here! In other words get some real Life training with someone who has serious real high Mountain time
5. Do everything into wind or on the power pedal side (except pee)
Happy Landings
VF