FH1100: Very well said.
If only the reporters who cover this event would read what you posted. Hope a few do.
Been a while since I flew Jet Rangers (~30 years). A question for those who fly them in and out of heliports:
Is it common practice to do a power margin check, (IGE and OGE, do I droop OGE?) before take off/transition when you are near to max gross (MTOW). (I would hope so).
Thinking through the flying problem confronting the pilot in leaving the heliport at that locaion.
Depending upon where the wind was from, it would seem that if you can't transition into the wind, what with all those buildings in the way, the conservative way out of the heliport is via "the downwind getaway" which would call for a gentle right pedal turn into the transition direction as one begins to accelerate away from the heliport. You are still at the mercy of the engine,
vis a vis the HV diagram. That little bit of right pedal would reduce total power required slightly, and leave you with a slightly increased power margin as you move toward and through translational lift.
In re egress training: as noted above, even people with egress training have drowned / been trapped in a helicopter, during sudden landings in water ... for a variety of reasons. (RIP, Ed K.
) .
EDIT: reviewed the comments on wind, and looked at orientation of heliport.
- The weather was clear but a little windy Tuesday, with winds of 10 mph gusting to 20 mph and visibility of 10 miles, according to the weather station at LaGuardia airport.
- Wind at the time from the NW at about 15 mph
As I said before wind from the NW at 15 but a news helicopter pilot reported gusts upto 25mph.
- Having flown into the East River for 2 summers, I found the NW winds can make for some interesting times. With 15 to 25 Kt winds, the air flow can come over the buildings and then down along the west bank of the river. When added to the wind eddys coming around the buildings, it can be a little sporty.
Sporty indeed!
