Originally Posted by Teefor Gage
If only life was simple.........
407 too's second post talks of the difference between legality and practicality. You try explaining that the accident happend "cos you only left the controls unmanned for a few seconds while you did whatever" and see how far it gets you in court.......
Do as my CFI told me to do. If you prang it and it's on fire, jump back in it. If it's not on fire, light it then jump back in it.
I have seen a UH-1 with just one on board hot refuel with the machine at flight idle during fire fighting ops. He parked at an unmanned heliport next to the bowser, locked the controls at idle, then jumped out and hot-refuelled himself. Aslo saw a BK-117 do it at the same place for the same fire.
It seems the bigger the machine, the more inclined you are to leave the controls at idle. I don't know anyone who would do it in an R22 (even with an occy strap over the collective), but it seems safer in 206's and up. I guess the only time you wish you didn't do it was when the machine goes haywire, rolls over and blows up - all whilst you're standing in the bushes with your slug in your hand, now wishing you'd held on!
SFU