Originally Posted by
arismount
remote hook wrote,
>>I too have flown both FW and RW commercially, and I'm not sure where you've trained/worked in rotary, but I have done hundreds and hundreds of Full-on Auto-rotations covering every type I fly.<<
Well, that would certainly make you and the operators you work/worked for very much the exception to the industry rule. Based on my personal experience, which includes 15 years of helicopter flying in two military services and in commercial offshore and EMS work, I seriously doubt that even 5% of pilots flying commercially today could truly make that statement.
5%?
Sorry, I have to disagree there. If you're involved in the Offshore and EMS work, of course you wouldn't, there's no reason to take a twin to the ground. Flying singles there's been one outfit I've worked for that did exclusively power recoveries, and even they did numerous hovering autos from all types of hover heights.
Now, I'm not saying that in any given situation I, or anyone else can be certain of a positive result, but I know several people who've lost the engine in cruise flight, and not only walked away, but left the machine relatively undamaged. Those of us involved in extensive long line work, especially in the mountains, are certainly less likely to achieve the ideal result. That doesn't mean we don't practice those situations as well.
RH