Hmmmm
Robinsons are like Islam, should be banned!!
regardless of all the banter and sh*t slinging going on. EVERY pilot should have in his or her mind what they will do in a low G situation.
Personally, I always self briefed Aft cyclic. And always had that in my mind. Hold the cyclic still, then gently aft.
how the hell are you supposed to know if your 0.0 deg low g or .99 low G I will never know.
Plan for it guys, same as places to land if the donk stops. Have a plan of what the recovery is.
Plan. That will save your ass.
An addition to this. Neg G will not cause mast bumping. It's the incorrect pilot actions that causes it. Correct actions can and will stop it from happening.
During low G, there is no main rotor thrust occurring. But the tail rotor still produces thrust. The TRT causes the 2 bladed heli to roll to the right which put the flapping of the blades at maximum. The incorrect but natural reaction of the pilot is to correct the right roll with left cyclic. As the flapping is already at maximum it is then exceeded which causes the blade drop stop to contact the mast. In a very lucky situation the mast may only be bent but somehow holding on. More often then not, the mast is damaged enough the main rotor departs.
To reload the disk, aft cyclic. The pilot must be mindful that low g, you will have a light feeling in the seat of your pants. Then the roll. Aft cyclic (although at that point unnatural) is the best way to reload the disk.
Regardless of different procedures. Robinson state ( well the last time I watched that video) was aft cyclic.
Also, just slow the hang down. What's a 10kt reduction in airspeed?
Condolences to the crew.
Last edited by Hughesy; 15th Jul 2016 at 20:42.