Originally Posted by
Jay Sata
Good post Crab but I beg to differ on your last paragraph.
After a decade fixed wing in Wales I obtained my PPL H at Jandakot Perth in 1989.
Waves rotors and downdraughts are not encountered in West Australia.
However I have memories of some pretty nasty ones in NW Wales.
Jay, again you need to look outside your limited box. WA certainly does have wave rotors and downdrafts, albeit not as severe as the Welsh mountains. Glider pilots and the Stirling Ranges spring to mind, odd little ridge lines up Tom Price way, even the Kimberleys can give some difficult turbulence for helicopter ops. If your instructors failed to teach about that as part of your training then they were deficient in preparing you for flying.
Fixed wing in turbulence is quite a different kettle of canaries compared to helicopters, although rigid rotor helicopters do resemble fixed wing reactions. But no doubt you are aware of that?