Auto Rotation for real
 

Here is an excerpt from my book "Running For Home":

So far that day, it had been exhilerating but not frightening, now it was instantly terrifying. There was'nt much time to think about it as the earth rushed up to meet us. The pilot had just enough time to say "this is going to be hard". I braced myself for the inevitable impact as the pilot struggled to apply for real what he'd been practicing only moments before. Just before impact, the engine decided that it too was also scared and instantly burst back into life and just as the power began to engage, we hit the ground.

The cattle in the field rapidly dispersed and had never before produced so many cow pats.

It was one hell of a thump which though expected was nevertheless shocking, the rotors thrashed at the air making that whacking sound so characteristic of a helicopter doing a stressful manoeuvre. The suspension bottomed out with a thump and recoiled violently, bouncing the Wasp airbourne again in an almost comical way. Since power had at this juncture been restored, it was just enough to keep us airborne. The pilot had got it just right and it proved beyond doubt that this sort of manoeuvre actually worked. The Wasp seemed totally unscathed and is testament to the quality of construction.



Here is the link to the book which includes a lot more farce and dangerous incidents enough to shatter anyone's nerves: RUNNING FOR HOME eBook: Christopher Dawber: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store

It's "airborne" - no "u" ...

There are a couple of good reviews on Amazon for this e-book, but I fear the worst if some of the "grammar police" get to grips with this excerpt.

Thanks
 

Thanks for pointing that out. As I say in the foreword of the book, it may not be well written, but at least I had a go at writing it. This particular excerpt was typed in rather than pasted from the actual book which has been edited to the best extent possible. I also wrote it to encourage others to do the same and not be scared of making mistakes of which I made many in my life.

Dont' worry Tevios, ignore the Outrage and Tedious police, bunch of @*^%$£;~#=+!!!

Ivan, you've spelt incorrectly.

:E

Yeah. Taking due care is a dreadful affliction. It's the only thing that stops you putting 660Kg of fuel into an aircraft instead of 860. Fancy getting fussy about one measly little character. Idiots!

Bloody stupid trying to get simple things right so as not to make a plonker of yourself. Tedious indeed...:ugh:

Wage.., I think what your referring to is a Human Factors issue, maybe cognitive error?
I'll admit that I probably was a little quick to jump in and post, Floppy just corrected a spelling mistake.

I guess I'm the tedious and outraged one, @*^%$£;~#=+!!!

Good on you for having a go and writing it.

Re the 'grammar police', though, if the aim of the game is to set an example to others as well as sell your book, surely you should take care editing an excerpt you're going to post on the web.

Even the thread title, Auto Rotation, should really be Autorotation.

Exhilarating, not exhilerating.

wasn't, not was'nt.

If power had been restored, why was it only 'just enough to keep us airborne'?

If the pilot had got it just right, why did they hit with such an almighty thump?

These are the things your readers will pick up, so best to do it before they do!

Tevios:

Brilliant... Genius... You truly are a master in the art of deception and misdirection. With that simple little "u" craftily placed where it should not be you successfully took everyone's attention away from the fact that you are spamming the forum with commercial advertizing.

My hat is off to you Sir... :}

Ahvan, if y'd forgive ma rudeness, ah'm jest glad y'all gat a sensa'umor.

;)


A somewhat simlar surprise happened to me on my CPL H conversion training - on a Bell 47.
We entered an auto, suddenly the controls stiffened right up and we were no hydraulics too. Ooh! Bugger! "Hey. you switched the hydraulics off?" I cried to the beefer. "Nah, not me" he replied. And after a suitable pause, continued, "Just get on with it".

Bell, in their lack of wisdom - because back in the early days these things simply hadn't been thought through - had put the hydraulic pump on the engine and not on the gearbox so if the engne quit, as piston engines sometimes do at idle in a practice auto you lost the hydraulics too. As you did in a real engine failure. Welcome to the real world buddy, and as the beefer said, "Just get on with it".
Lesson learned. Unexpected real auto, hyd off. DCO.

As a member (mostly social) of the Troodos branch of Cyprus Mountain Rescue I was part of a team called out to a helo crash in late 1974 (post Turkish invasion). The pilot did an auto rotate landing into an orchard halfway up the mountain and the only injury was a pax who twisted his ankle on exiting the machine. I was hugely impressed with the walk away rate and felt a lot safer when flying in rotary in subsequent years (Chinook excepted).

Are there any Pruners out there who had personal experience of this incident as pax, crew or "rescue" team? Love to hear your recollections.

BTW we got jiffed as crash guard and partied all night with the local militia who guarded us.

Happy days

AA:

Tssk! True mind. :ok: