Static and Grass Pollen
Last summer whilst hovering in an R22 over long grass, whilst still a student, I noticed that to remain in the hover I was requiring more and more power. The manifold pressure was now well into the red. The day was hot and dry. The instructor took over. On landing, after a quck tranisition to the helipads, an engineer was called to have a look. It was subsequently found that the blades were covered in pollen which obviously had upset their aerodynamics. The problem was solved by cleaning the blades. Anyone else had a similar experience? Could this happen flying through dust or ash?