Arm,
The US Army proclaims itself to be the world's best operator of helicopters. I too believed that for a very short while after I got out of the Army. It did not take long to understand that Army concepts of flying and flying helicopters were sometimes very much removed from one another. Our Canadian friends understand mountain flying as well as anyone on this planet.....paying attention to them when they talk about it can prove beneficial. Picking up tips on bush flying techniques can go a long way towards keeping one from repeating someone else's mistakes.
One can talk charts all day long...but it is the application of the information in those charts and understanding the characteristics of the aircraft you fly and using tricks others have learned and passed on that will set you apart from the crowd. One can fly a helicopter using the charts as divine gouge or one can learn to fly and work the machine much better than the chart says. They are after all....approximations and not etched in stone.
If I do an engine health check in the morning...then fly all day....of what value is that engine check in the 7th or 8th flying hour?
The before landing performance check is of more value I would suggest....knowing what performance the aircraft is doing at that height and temp is of more value than a HIT check on the ground earlier that morning. Again the HIT check takes you to the chart....and the chart is theory.
If you can find still air....slow to Vbroc...pull power until you reach 500 fpm rate of climb....in a 205....will that not approximate the power required to hover IGE at any given weight? Assuming an into wind hover with "normal" strength of wind. That way you stay well above a HOGE, maintain a safe airspeed at or above Vtoss and assess your power/performance? No worry of LTE as well by being at the higher airspeed as compared to your technique of coming to a HOGE hover.
That is one trick I learned that seems to work for me....who has a trick they use to assess aircraft performance?
Last edited by SASless; 24th Feb 2006 at 03:27.