As already said in a AF447 thread, I'm interested by degenerating dutch roll since 1979, and was creating only in 1992 a method to stop it with greater efficiency than just put hand off the stick and feet on the floor. I recovered with bank never more than 30°, lost less than 1000 Ft, in less than 30 seconds (MD83 Sim in Helsinki).
Before that, the other crew -6000 hours on type- lost 11000 Ft, understood nothing, flying right and left on the back, with overspeed, alarms and tutti quanti. The instructor -in flight instructor too- was not able to comment, and rejected the idea to ask me how I had done, himself had many thousands hours flying Learjet....
I never found an editor to publish my method.
1. As Machinbird said it, in AF447 the roll oscillation started immediately, and we know it was after the law change, where the roll rate has been modified (increased with facto 4 if I remember well) and get different from pitch rate.
2. In that situation no need of panic or starttle factor to think " I will immediately get level again pulling the stick right or left to stop the roll" and attention is immediately captured forgetting to watch the pitch. In that bank correction the good pilot is the quickest to counteract the bank change... Imagine your body being suddenly at 10° from vertical ! You think only to get vertical again and don't fall (I liked Machinbird's snake comparison!)
Since that first moment, if never trained to that situation in the Sim and theory of systems, you are on the bad way...
The crash of the KC-135 in Kyrgistan in a dutch roll shows that roll PIO was not enough taught..… when taught - in airlines it is never taught.
Last edited by roulishollandais; 18th Feb 2015 at 01:48.
Reason: trying to improve the text and supress source of confusion…