Hmm, good thread. Ghengis has a good point, regarding automatic entry into auto:
"In a helicopter, an RPM drop sensor combined with a weight-on-skids switch would probably do the job and be fairly easy to mechanise."
I'm all for reliable auto pilot safety aids...
Haven't done it for a while, but i used to enjoy gliding. Wind gradient often presented fun on "extended" approaches. Pretty much everyone i knew had a "heavy landing" story, i'm afraid i'm no exception
. Stall speed (what's that?
) was about 40, so low energy stuff - but i often wondered if an airbag would help to keep the options open. It's webbed now so ya caint patent it!
In a heli it could double as a buoyancy aid for forced single-eng VRF sorties over water, but would be ideal below the H-V curve. The best trigger i thought of was an altimeter activated ground dopplar radar or sonar. The best design a multicelled bag, with pressure relief tearouts. It assumes that the aircraft gets to the ground in fairly large chunks, under vague control.
I'm curious as to R22 muster pilots views on that one...
Mart