Originally Posted by
gazpad
No doubts about the competence of the crew flying, it looks smooth and precise.
I agree it is difficult to estimate the clearance from the video!
What I read from the discussion is that a short contact of the the rotortip with an uncompacted soft snow surface doesnt necessarily stop the machine from flying as long as there are no rocks?
Regarding autopilot malfunction, do you leave the AP/SAS on for a maneuver like that?
Thanks for the insight from the professionals, I'm just a PPL student who gets nervous with less like 1.5 meters rotor clearance on my S300.
I'm still impressed like an amateur driver watching a racedriver taking a corner at three times my speed.
My worry with your statement is that you're happy for less than a 1.5m rotor tip clearance as a PPL. As an ATPL I wouldn't use 1.5m as a comfortable clearance unless doing a job like the above. But seriously, you might want to revise your clearance figures upwards somewhat. I hope you never have a blade contact with anything as your insurer will have a field day after reading your comment above. Just saying. As for AP, yes they'll be in use with SAS im sure.