Originally Posted by
johni
Is a Gazelle any more dangerous or harder to fly than an R44? I would think not?
Bell Ringer's point was that inexperienced drivers could easily end up way behind something like a Ferrari because of its performance - the same can be said for the Gazelle with less experienced pilots.
The Gazelle is a fabulous aircraft with few vices but that is why some are tempted to do things in one they would never dream of doing in a 44 or 22.
The one thing that does catch many converts is the Fenestron - very powerful but it delivers that power in a different way to conventional TR - the thrust curve is S shaped instead of a straight line and it is possible to end up with undemanded yaw if you don't anticipate that sort of 'dead zone' either side of neutral and use more pedal (especially right) than you might think is correct for a conventional TR.
Having said that, there is no rate of yaw you can put yourself into that the aircraft can't get you out of - it just requires the correct and sustained inputs.
The manoeuvrability of the Gazelle also tempts people into horsing it around (it will loop and barrel roll in the right hands) but jackstall (servo transparency) can be a killer in a hard right turn.