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Old 30th Jan 2011, 13:22
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ShyTorque

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Join Date: Nov 2000
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I don't see why some helicopter pilots get so worked up about this. The limits of controllability of these aircraft is published. Fly within the limits and there is no problem. I think of this in the same light as spinning a fixed wing - know about it, know how to recover from it, and after that concentrate on how to avoid it.

The RAF used to include a jackstall demo on the Gazelle basic rotary course to instill the idea in the students' minds. Demonstrating this to my students never frightened me as an individual (it did some others) but it did make me wonder what it did to the fatigue life of the aircraft over a period of time.

I think it safer to limit the likelihood of airframe damage by preventing the pilot from reaching a flight regime where it may occur. Having said that, obviously the pilot must be properly trained to understand what he is doing and what may happen if he pushes any aircraft too far.

Perhaps the late Colin McRae and his passengers might still be alive had he been shown this phenomenon during his training.
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