To: Nick Lappos
“Lu is wrong again! The maneuver he so poorly describes is known as the "yaw kick" maneuver, and is a Design Requirement, which means that an analysis of the aircraft's structure is required so that the strength of the rotorcraft to withstand this hypothetical maneuver is documented. NO flight test of this maneuver is required for civil certification”.
“Lu is wrong further above when he says the sideways quick stop is "in violation" of part 4 of the POH because only the operating limits section, section 1, is Required for compliance, the other parts are guidance but not legally required, so you “cannot “ violate them”.
Response:
Once again you have twisted my words. I stated that the maneuver should not be performed in a Robinson helicopter because the pilot would violate the requirements of the unnumbered page of the POH. The first part of the maneuver is to kick the pedal to the stop, which places the aircraft in a side slip. Paragraph number 4 of the unnumbered page in section 4 of the POH states: Avoid sideslip during flight. Maintain in-trim flight at all times. This point which is one of 5 was to clarify the paragraph immediately above which stated that that each of the conditions described in the 5 points would lead to excessive flapping and result in mast bumping or, rotor incursion.
It would appear that if the first part of the maneuver caused severe flapping loads and excursions then a cyclic flare should be the last thing on the pilots mind as excessive control input under these conditions would ensure the pilots demise.
I read the information on the web site provided in your post. It is similar in wording in the description of the sideslip and out of trim tests for normal category rotorcraft. In the Certification document for noirmal category rotorcraft it states that the helicopter demonstrate the capability of entering into an instantaneous side slip at a stated speed relative to Vne and also to demonstrate an out of trim condition of 10-degrees +/- at rated speed relative to Vne. However on smaller helicopters the test is performed to demonstrate controllability and not structural integrity.
If you read my previous posts on this subject I never stated that a “Yaw Kick” test is in the certification requirements. I indicated in a previous post that the first part of the “Yaw Kick” maneuver (sidslip) is not allowed on the Robinson helicopter. There are no other restrictions in the limitations section of the POH that refer to the restrictions on the unnumbered page of section 4 of the POH.
I also indicated in another post that the UK CAA determined that the instructions on the unnumbered page were in support of the mandatory restrictions placed in the UK version of the Robinson POHs but otherwise did not matter relative to the contents of the CAA approved POHs.
That means that Frank Robinson got a free ride relative to mandatory restrictions placed on the Robinson’s with an “N” registration.
What would you think if the CAA placed a restriction on the flight envelope of one of your helicopters after you had demonstrated the capability of the helicopter to safely perform that maneuver during certification trials?
My main point in bringing this subject up so frequently was to show that the R-22 and R-44 are at this time not certifiable since they cannot meet the FAA requirements to demonstrate an instantaneous sideslip or out of trim flight. The question that arises from this is if the helicopter had to demonstrate these maneuvers to gain certification and are now restricted from performing those maneuvers then how did they pass the test in the first place as to do so would result in mast bumping? Now put on your test pilots hat and respond to the question.