Originally Posted by
megan
Helicopter ten commandments I've just received. Item 8 applies to our fraternity as it does your FW, and a few others also. I'd have to say scud running is the major cause of helo accidents.
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, lest 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.
Love those rules, and yes many also apply to FW.