maintaining height in a heli
There are 2 methods of maintaining height in a helicopter. I am interested in how different flying schools teach this basic skill.
1. You can fly at a constant power setting and adopt an attitude that will keep you level. So when light your IAS will be higher than when heavy (obviously).
or
2. Adopt an attitude and use power as required to maintain height. This method increases the workload, particularly for a student, as any movement of the collective will require small adjustments of pedal, throttle and cyclic to counteract secondary effects.
The first method is basically how most, say VFR Bell 206's are flown. ie - pull a torque setting and accept whatever IAS that gives you. However for IFR approach profiles where a constant speed may be required if you have only ever used method 1, I have been told by experienced IFR pilots that these people tend to struggle with accuracy.
Any thoughts?