Helicopter Urban Myths
Time to start the arguments and get this web site fun again! The below was generated by some informal consensus about 2 1/2 years ago:
Helicopter Urban Myths
These Urban Myths pervade our understanding of helicopters and how they operate. Each is fundamentally incorrect, but most are generally held as gospel, because training, lore and reference documents have repeated them long enough that they are simply accepted.
1) Vortex Ring State (VRS) can happen at as little as 300 foot per minute descent, it does not have to be a higher descent rate
2) VRS is more likely at high altitude and high gross weight
3) Hovering with the nose off wind consumes much more power
4) Blade stall is always preceded by vibration
5) Winds affect the power we require when we are in forward flight
6) Downwind takeoffs are absolutely forbidden
7) The Height Velocity curve is a precise guide to the engine failure danger zone
8) Engine failure is the most common accident cause, so full CAT A is the most cost effective safety enhancement we can incorporate into new helicopters.
9) The legal definition of VFR is sufficient to assure flight control and safety using outside references
10) "They" sometimes hide things from us. We should not trust them, the only reliable information we can trust is our own wits.
11) The helicopter is perched on a ball of high pressure air when close to the ground, and "falls off" this ground cushion when it moves forward.
12) Phase lag is cause by gyroscopic precession, and is always exactly 90 degrees
13) LTE is when you run out of power pedal and can be experienced by any single rotor helicopter.
14) NVG are dangerous and should only be used by gifted military pilots.
15) You have to first learn to fly fixed wing before you take helicopter training
16) Torque limits, overspeed limits, temperature limits, hours and airframe limits have huge safety factors built into them by the engineers, so it is OK to bust them every now and then.