Originally Posted by
NorthEh
- via Claude Vuichard on Facebook today.
Apparently simulators are the only hope at preventing accidents?
“The solution to rapidly reducing these accidents can only be achieved through efficient, evidence-based training in modern simulators."
Not quite. That may be A solution. It certainly isn’t THE solution.
There is some great work on helicopter flight simulation in Northern Switzerland, which is a long way forward of old procedure trainers or pretty crappy FNPTs. Modern software such as X-Plane, the rapid development of VR and even “affordable” full motion devices to put steering hardware onto, does indeed mean that a significant portion of flight training will surely be done on such devices in the future. Perhaps Vichaurd is making the case for getting his technique embedded into the syllabus? That would fit his suggested revisions for avoiding all VRS events as per the website:- From the beginning, train only "Vuichard Recovery" during the first few hours of PPL until it becomes a reflex when feeling a low-G at low speed
- Equip all helicopters with a string (woolometer) to have a clear, visible and correct flow indication
- Equip all helicopters with an IVSI
- Train downwind approaches with special emphasis on a max. rate of descend <300ft/min
- Review the procedure during all check flights
- All civil aviation authorities should amend the FTO’s training manuals
- All helicopter manufacturers should publish safety notice
- All simulator manufacturers should review simulator behavior in VRS
- Forbid all backward CAT A procedures in the AFM/POH
- Amend asap the FAR&CS 27 and 29: manufacturers should provide data showing the rate of descent to enter in VRS in function of weight, altitude and temperature
- Never use the autopilot in Auto Hover mode outside of flat areas, if the reference is taken from the radar altimeter
The recommendation of forbidding backward CAT manouevres is a curiosity. Such manouevres are bread and butter for some kinds of ops and are invariably used during take-off. Hard to see the VRS risk whilst going upward.
Perhaps more concerning is that VRS is a beast that is hard to quantify and that begs the question of how reliably the behaviour of the helicopter can be simulated. Let’s hope that the tail won’t be wagging the dog when it comes to programming X-Plane and similar engines to accommodate the new gold-standard recovery method that Monsieur Vichaurd would like to promote.