Originally Posted by
212man
I would have thought a fenestron failure at low speed is relatively simple to simulate, as the aerodynamic modeling is less complex than forward flight. It's simple physics. The Helisim EC155 always seem to behave in the manner I'd expect, and the stuck TR controls certainly replicated real world training with jammed pedals. One session will always stick in my mind, where the crew were given a TR drive failure in the cruise st 2,000 ft. They decided to do a handling check (on an aircraft that was basically still straight and level). Eventually they washed off the airspeed and the 'thing let go'. Unfortunately, we never reached any 'crash' parameters to 'red screen' and freeze. Conversely, I couldn't reach the stop button as I was hanging on to the grab handle. My colleague had been thrown on the floor from his jump seat and was covered in books and papers. It took a while before we hit the ground. Seemed pretty realistic to me!
SIM-Time might help to condition a pilot to react in the right manner instead of asking "what t.. f... is the helicopter doing...."
I found it really impressing, how violent the the movement was even at a fenestron-failure at hover in ground effect.
Not slamming the collective down and bouncing all over the runway would lead to violent movements as noted above with loose parts flying through the SIM and a crash screen....
Wether the height would have been sufficiant for a complete recovery? I doubt it but may be a more controlled crash would have been possible with a slighty higher chance of survival.