Ten Commandments For Helicopter Pilots
I know there are many versions, but this one just came across my desk and not seen before. Retelling of the messages should not fall upon sterile ground.
1. Keep always thine RPMs, for without them the gates of heaven shall close to thee, and though shalt pass directly to Brick City.
2. Guard thy tail rotor as thy loins; it is a sacred thing and its loss maketh the earth spin, and rise up and smite thee.
3. Pickest thou up and sittest thou down with great care lest thy machine roll in the mud like the swine and makest thou an impoverished pedestrian.
4. Loadeth not thy machine unevenly or excessively, les thou wander and stumble like the braying ass.
5. Run not thy fuel or oil dry, for surely it is easier for the camel to pass through the eye of the needle than for a fool to autorotate into the wilderness.
6. Linger not in the curve of the deadman, for it tempteth fate, and shall bring thee back pain.
7. Swoop not low without good reason, for many are the snares of Edison and Bell; their wires yieldeth not, and maketh thee a yo-yo.
8. Loseth not sight of the earth if thou are not a master of the black art of “hard IFR”, else thy machine shall seek the earth without thy counsel, and thy friends shall mourn the passing of a fool.
9. Loseth not thy Gs for the sake of a pushover or other folly, lest thy blades shall smite thee, and journey on without thee.
10. Descendeth not without airspeed, for the air beneath thee is wrathful, and wouldst conspire with the granite to swallow thee up, far from the seeing eye of SAR.
For the non-birdy/non-helicopter folks:
• Rpm = keep the rotor blade speed within limits, or the blades may ‘clap hands’ and you die.
• Tail Rotor = Lose it through hitting something and you will crash. Also, walk into it and die.
• Landing = Pick level ground to land on or you may experience ‘dynamic rollover’ with the possibility of dying.
• Weight and Balance = Keep it within limits or the helo will crash and you may die.
• Autorotation = ability of the helo to land if the engine dies (lack of fuel or oil) using high rate of descent to keep the rotor blades turning to help you land safely. Requires fine judgement, which if stuffed up, may cause you to die.
• Edison and Bell = Running into power and phone lines will cause you to crash and die.
• Curves of the deadman = a section of the flight envelope where, if you experience an engine failure, you won’t recover before striking the ground (and potentially dying).
• Hard IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) = Flying in cloud when you don’t know how to will cause disorientation, loss of control and...you die.
• G = In some rotor types, inducing negative G will cause a ‘mast bump’ and possible rotor separation. You will certainly die if this happens
• Descending without forward airspeed can induce ‘Vortex Ring’ with catastrophic results. You may die.