All
I love this thread! What daring, what outrageousness, what innocense, what outright arrogance!
CJ
"You must have a weak spine to be hurt from a hovering auto at 15 feet."
Although I do not have a "super spine", my spine has served me well all these years. I have no aches, pains, or injuries after many years of flying and high altitude mountaineering. Given the differance in our age, my spine is probably not as strong, or as supple as yours. Given your "strong spine" perhaps you would not be injured during a practice autorotation from 15 feet. Fail the engine while you hover at 15 feet, add normal pilot reaction time to your response, consider your remaining inertia, and then the risk of injury can no longer be ignored.
You have accepted this risk. You are betting that Textron Lycoming will never let you down. Perhaps you will win that bet. Should the day ever come that you confront a real engine failure, you are betting you will make all the right moves and not freeze like a deer in the headlights. Perhaps you will win that bet also.
My concern is that you are teaching students who may follow your example without a clear understanding of the risk they are assuming. They will believe that engines rarely, if ever, fail in the R-22. They will believe that a practice autorotation is the same as a real autorotation. They will believe that the risk of injury from dynamic rollover is orders of magnitude greater than the risk of an engine failure while hovering at 15 feet. They will believe that their strong, supple young spines cannot be injured.
"Heck, I can jump from that height without injury. And if a hovering auto can be successfully done from 15 feet, whats the risk?"
There is a reason why parachutists land on their feet. We all have weak spines in a sitting position. Part of this derives from the simple fact that after the lower part of your spine stops moving at final impact, the upper part continues in a whiplash motion. Spinal injury can occur just from compression due to the sudden stop.
Ignoring death, spinal chord injury is the greatest occupational threat facing a professional helicopter pilot. I hope that neither you nor your any of your students will have to live life in a wheel chair, unable to change your own colostimy bag because of an actual engine failure at 15 feet.
Charlie S. Charlie-Excellent insight sir!
PPrune Fan #1 "Few...as in "none?"
I did not want to misrepresent the opinion of the "entire" industry. Who knows, there might be one...somewhere..hey, it could happen...right?
Captain Eagle
Given your last response, I salute your wisdom. Your age is not relevant to the discussion.
Hingeless Rotor
May you sow your seed with wild abandon for an eternity. I have very little cream remaining in my twinky, but I remain very fond of it nonetheless. Ah, the Death Snail! Always relevant to any discussion in general and this in particular!
While I await the response of CJ, I think of Psalm 22 (King James Translation-forgive me if my recollection of the passage is in error):
At 15 in a Robbie
my engine doeth fail
I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint:
my heart is like wax;
it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
My strength is dried up like a potsherd;
and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws;
and thou hast brought me to the dust of death.
I have heard that every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats and like S.A. Robinson's Miniver Cheevy, I do so miss the medieval grace of iron clothing. But hover at 15 feet in a Robbie?
In closing, I hope that you will always remember to pillage BEFORE you burn