PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - AS 350: "Hold my beer son and watch this!"
Old 17th Aug 2018, 10:58
  #195 (permalink)  
cattletruck
 
Join Date: Apr 1998
Location: Mesopotamos
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Helicopters are just not bolted together by the manufacturer for acrobatic manoeuvres - and the RFM reflects that. However, I too am guilty of testing that paradigm.

Way back in the free'n'easy days as a student (although I had a FW ticket with some experience on a number of aerobatic types) I was doing some solo circuits in a H300 with a steady 35/40 knot headwind. As you know, the top climbing speed of a H300 is not much more than that headwind component. My first turn to downwind saw me almost end up outside the circuit area. Feeling around the flying envelope my second turn to downwind was was quite steep. My third turn to downwind was at 90 degrees, and my fourth turn to downwind was a deliberate 100 degrees angle-of-bank - I wanted to go a little inverted. All turns were super smooth as was the recovery, however, when I parked the thing I realised the stupidity of my actions - these machines are fragile and this kind of flying just adds to their wear and tear. In the commercial FW world I was told you could lose your job for being an ape with the wheel brakes while taxying, which makes this kind of flying in a helicopter irresponsible. I figured this out early and have since given the machines I operate the respect they deserve.
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