PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - ltb, loss of tailrotor bits
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Old 16th May 2005 | 20:02
  #20 (permalink)  
GLSNightPilot
 
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 512
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From: Texas
The AS350 with low skid gear doesn't take much flare to hit the tail rotor. Sitting on the ramp, the end of the tail rotor is well below knee level. I learned to do all my flaring at a high hover, and touch down with no movement, and I was still worried. A little tailwind, when parking, would make the t/r come very, very close to the ground. Luckily there was a very large stinger back there protecting the spinning parts. I have landed in open fields and after shutting down found the tips of the t/r green from cutting grass, which was perhaps 8" high. The AS350 should never have been certified with the low skidgear.
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