Originally Posted by
Magplug
The mention of 'dead man's curve' by the media is not so much rubbish as is being represented above.
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The chances of a successful EOL from a free-air hover of between 50 and 1000 feet are negligible.... even before you consider the complication of the confined area beneath you..... that's the dead man's curve.
When I did my PPL(H) in 1998, an AFI demoed an auto from the hover at 1,000'. Rolled off the throttle, dumped collective, pedal turned through 180, controlled RRPM with lever, nosed down for forward airspeed, flared and cushioned landing with lever in the normal way. Type was R-22.
I was only shown it because I asked to see it, but when I asked what its real-world applicability was, they said it would most likely be a skill for pilots doing line work and pylon work. They seemed to suggest that if you took out the pedal turn, you could achieve the same from significantly lower than that.