Uneven Ground Shutdown/startup

[Vfrpilotpb]

The only area of Heli flying to give me a severe bout of concern is when you have to land on sloping ground for the once a year re-certification of your PPL, I do it for the cert knowing that I would never purposefully land in that way unless in some emergency, however if because of any problem you were faced with having to land in this way and then shut down, how would this be achieved without some degree of hazard such as tail strike or worse, and what then would be the procedure for restart or would it be far safer to physically remove the copter by other means to level ground, before restart?

[HeliGaz]

the thing to do is to land the a/c then recentralise the cyclic and shut down as normal, likewise the startup.

while most machines may land on fairly steep slopes, shuting down and leaving it there is another matter! (wind down slope blowing it over/ off the hill etc)

the lpc slopes are usually mounds at an airfield and therfor a little unrealistic , but do make my job easier ( slope into wind of a known angle)

obviously never land tail up the slope which should discount the probability of tail contact

something else, i think you are a R22/R44 pilot(?) , when solo (in the '44 especially), if you have a strong tailwind the a/c will take off as if you were nose up a slope, a strong headwind , if very light will cause the a/c to sit very tail low( low enough for the stinger to touch if the wind is strong enough) so it is not just a slope landing or take off that is being tested

[SASless]

Slope landings are a normal everyday part of helicopter operations for most pilots and over time you will get to the point that you will enjoy doing them. The real trick to doing them successfully is to pick the slightest angle possible....and if it is not comfortable to you...find a more level place....even if it means refusing to do the required task. Always fly within your levels of comfort....as you gain experience those levels widen. I might suggest that you include slope landings more often than the one time a year you are tested on them. In time....it becomes a piece of cake....especially after you escape from flying Robbies.

[moosp]

As SASless says, they are an everyday part of flying so if you only do them once a year they will worry you.

I found Slopes one of the most difficult things I had to learn during training, so every day I go flying (solo) now, I go to a little patch of 5 degree ground and do a few. Still a bit agricultural, but they are getting better, and I don't have that gut renching fear of attempting them.

Practice, practice practice.

[HeliGaz]

i agree totally with the above.

always remember the difference between SFH and training is not that much, grab an instructor and do a few before your next solo sortie 15 mins of slopes-drop off instructor and carry on it will make you a better and more confident pilot!

[Vfrpilotpb]

Thank you all for your answers, it may seem quite remiss of me but because I dont ever want to go there I always seem to stay away from this particular piece of the pilots envelope, and yet every time I fly I do at least two or three engine offs ( practice that is) to a certain Alt then power recover this now seems second nature, so I guess I will now have to get the old goosebumps excersised and start playing with sloping ground as well,

Heligaz you were spot on R22.R44 and the B206 with a little bit of Gaz thrown in as well

Many Regards to all