Experimental status would be a start - and that's not too difficult to get. Good design practice would be needed, but it has been done with 4 axis sidearm controllers.

There is a Bell47J in Arizona owned and flown by a disabled guy. The aircraft is STC certified with antitorque hand controls. I believe he has a lever on the cyclic to control the tailrotor.

In FAA land disabled people are people too. Forget it in JAA land.

Here you go, check out this previous thread:

http://www.pprune.org/rotorheads/190...-disabled.html


Particularly:

HTH

These 2 vids will also help:

First Paraplegic Flies Helicopter - Video

Paraplegic Pilot Flies!! - Video

Thanks for the info/ideas everyone, I'll pass it on.
TLN

Would have thought a cyclic twist grip would work and perhaps be more intuitive than foot pedals to a first timer. Talk about walking, chewing gum and juggling 5 balls at once though!

Hand controls
 

As your friendly expert in disability & helos, developing the technology is all very well but what is your market? Me plus what, ten max? It's a lot of engineering design for very little return. And one other thing -- I can still fly a Jet Ranger but it takes me 20mins to get in the f*cker.

Andy,

A system (which works!) has already been developed. Please see the links above to Stewart McQuillan.


HTH

"In FAA land disabled people are people too. Forget it in JAA land. "

i have to disagree with that statement, when i had a very serious motorbike accident that caused me to lose both my legs below the knee, although i was told by my FAA/JAA AME originally i would never fly again, a rather nice Doctor from the CAA, Dr. Paul Collins Howgill wrote me and told me if i wanted to get my class 1 medical back it was something i could achieve and i did.
With his help and guidance i accomplished a Medical Flight Test with an FI(E), in an R22, using my prosthetic limbs, and then i continued on to complete the conversion course from FAA CPL to JAA CPL also using false legs. Flight Test by Mr. Fred Cross.
In the past i may have been one of the first to maybe question or criticise the CAA but following my personal experience with the medical team at Gatwick i admit that i was very impressed and grateful.
Chester:ok:

Chester, great story. Good on you :ok:

Good job Chester, sincerely. I often wonder if I should have pushed to get my ATPL(H) back but, I was told, it would take me 20-30 hours as well as the Class 1. A friend (Ian Craigwood) was willing to sponsor me for the 3hrs to PPL but 10x that would have been a bit much to ask.

And who would have given me a job at the end of it? At least the PPL proved I could still do it in a 206.

Chester, are you flying now? How do you manage diff braking/nose-wheel steering?