Pedal-jams

[discobeast]

I am busy with pedal-jam exercises for my comm.-training and can do hover-position pedal jams okay, but am struggling with left-pedal forward jams. I can manage bringing the machine around to the right okay but struggle with the final touchdown-part. I always bounce it and have used up my "nine lives" not rolling it. It feels like I am not progressing at all after doing 5 hours of it!!
Have any of you got any tips or tricks on how to fix it? I am training in a 22.

[Ascend Charlie]

The secret (if any) is not to lose your airspeed.

Do this by saying out loud "Keep the picture flat! Don't let the nose come up!"

This way you will control the rate of speed bleed-off, because once the nose comes straight you cannot slow down any more. Bouncing is the result of having the nose up and touching down on the heels of the skids. Wheels are easier - why don't you train on an A109?

[Oogle]

Firstly - why don't you ask your instructor??? If he can't answer you, train somewhere else!

Jammed pedals allow you some time (as long as you keep the airspeed up). Ditto to Ascend Charlie's post but also, as soon as you have ground contact, the friction with the landing surface (once you touchdown) will keep you relatively aligned. SLOW movements from then on!

As your speed decreases, let the aircraft slew around and follow it with the cyclic. Don't try and overcome it 'cause you will roll it over.

Hope it helps.

[Whirlygig]

Firstly - why don't you ask your instructor???

Different people have different ways of explaining things; an instructor may have three ways of explaining something but if none of those ideas works, then the student will still end up confused.

There are also differences in the way some brains understand and retain information; some like a graphical depiction, some verbal explanation and others like to see it in writing.

Another person's viewpoint and ideas are good to read. In addition, something like this will probably mean I won't have to ask the same question in a few months time!

Cheers

Whirls

[Dis-Mystery of Lift]

Try going back to the basics.Before you go up the next time do some run on's with the instructor to get your run on attitude sorted then try again.

Safe flying and good luck with the CPL

[SASless]

Never flown a Robbie...but in most helicopters....roll the Nr back to the bottom of the green and see how the nose comes back towards center. Make a long flat approach to the threshhold....hold height about a foot....decelerate ever so slowly until the nose aligns with the runway and direction of movement and ease the aircraft upon the surface using collective...sometimes a bit of throttle reduction might be required. One should be able to hover or be very, very, slow at point of touchdown that way.

Left foot forward....good day! Right foot forward....bad day!

[212man]

Be aware also, that despite the left pedal forward being the best scenario for landing (i.e. minimal speed on touchdown) if you start in that condition at high speed and power, the 'picture' gets a whole lot worse before it gets better! You may find yourself tracking down the runway looking through your side window for a while, but eventually the power demand will rise again and the nose will start to align as you apply collective.

In any failure case, never let the nose go right of track or you may not recover!

[deeper]

Five hours of jammed pedals, are you kidding, and the left one forward at that.
Don't run it on, stop it and land from the hover. then find another school.

[SASless]

212man....

If the nose goes right of centerline just accelerate till the nose flops over on the other side and start over again. Power pedal forward is not a big deal...just a nice slow deceleration and touch down when aligned.

Mind the termite mounds!

[discobeast]

Cheers everyone who replied with ideas etc. The pedal-jams are going a lot better.