Mr Gillies: I have to read and re-read your posts to fully grasp your message and I am going to suggest that there is a disconnect caused by translation between the american and english language.
[Does that sound condescending too?].
Statements like:
very few helicopter pilots and instructors realize that not catching the rotor rpm before it drops below the point of no return is the end of the flight. The airplane equivalent is that of losing a wing in flight. Not a good way to fly
are bordering on the ridiculous. If you really have to broadcast this detritus please qualify it by pointing it at your fellow american pilots and not us europeans. Because, believe me - every professional pilot I have ever met has this ingrained in their DNA.
Reading back, I think we can reach an understanding as it is down to semenatics and also the way you have phrased it:
Thank you for your responses, both pro and con, regarding my emphasis on applying aft cyclic as well as collective down at the first sign of loss of power to the rotor system
.
The correct (global) way to enter an auto after engine(s) failure is to lower the collective first (not dump it as HC keeps referring in all of his posts), followed by
and this is the seminal point MAINTAINING attitude. The time frame between lowering of collective and cyclic input may be minimal but it is always done in this strict order: collective 1st and cyclic 2nd.
Some may say - ah, got you: To maintain attitude always requires aft cyclic. NOT the case...it all depends on where your LZ is.
Now if you don't believe me then take a look at DAPT's link to the FAA web site and read up on engine failures/autos. This is what the Feds are recommending to all their pilots:
At the instant of engine failure, the main rotor blades are
producing lift and thrust from their angle of attack (AOA)
and velocity. By lowering the collective pitch, which must be
done immediately in case of an engine failure, lift and drag
are reduced, and the helicopter begins an immediate descent,
thus producing an upward flow of air through the rotor
system. This upward flow of air through the rotor provides
sufficient thrust to maintain rotor rpm throughout the descent.
Since the tail rotor is driven by the main rotor transmission
during autorotation, heading control is maintained with the
antitorque pedals as in normal flight
Several factors affect the rate of descent in autorotation:
density altitude, gross weight, rotor rpm, and airspeed. The
primary way to control the rate of descent is with airspeed.
Higher or lower airspeed is obtained with the cyclic pitch
control just as in normal powered flight. In theory, a pilot
has a choice in the angle of descent varying from a vertical
descent to maximum range,
.
Pilots should practice autorotations with varying airspeeds
between the minimum rate of descent to the maximum glide
angle airspeed. The decision to use the appropriate airspeed
for the conditions and availability of landing area must be
instinctive
.
Cyclic input has a great effect on the rotor rpm. An aft cyclic
input loads the rotor, resulting in coning and an increase in
rotor rpm. A forward cyclic input unloads the rotor, resulting
in a decrease in rotor rpm. Therefore, it is prudent to attain
the proper pitch attitude needed to ensure that the desired
landing area can be reached as soon as possible,
.
I think I now know where you are coming from PG, you simply have to be more succinct about what you mean and how you post it [
].
And no more silly remarks about the bleedin bloody obvious re Nr decay.
