In short, prior to take off by pressing the CAT A button on the collective you select the takeoff you wish....helipad, shortfield, open area etc which is displayed on the PFD.

On the PFD you then get a PI reference for the selected takeoff, a TDP reference height (with aural alert when your there) and a lovely horizontal magenta line on the ADI to follow as the takeoff progresses....ie at the tdp you follow it to 10 degrees nose down, 0, 5 up etc.

Well something like that.

Turkey

CAT A switch
 

The CAT A switch allows the pilot to select what CAT A departure they require. When selecting the required profile it displays target bugs/beam bars etc on the PFD which the pilot then fly's the aircraft attitude to meet the targets. For example on the AI when the CAT A switch is selected for a back up profile it will display a horizontal bar above the horizon at the desired attitude to complete the procedure properly. At TDP the bar will then change to show below the horizon, again the pilot then follows the command and selects nose down to the bar and at Vtoss the bar moves again to 5 degrees above the horizon.

One big computer game really.

One problem I feel is that it requires the pilot's head to be in the instruments for the whole takeoff procedure.

Mmmmm ...

I think pressing the Cat A button will also select 102%Nr ....


......One problem I feel is that it requires the pilot's head to be in the instruments for the whole takeoff procedure......

And perhaps that problem might be overcome with the 2 crew "team approach" ... and anyway should be no more of problem than the handling pilot having his head outside and NOT seeing something go wrong 'inside' the a/c.

Bring it on ... :ok:

Hi,
CAT A switch is working in our phase v helicopters, and jeepys is right.

spinwing, you still need to flip the 102% switch.

Regards
Aser

JEEPYS

You are correct about no head out. Fly the aircraft, the bit you will hit is outside the cockpit. All very pretty but detracts from good airmanship.

CAT A
 

Spinwing,

if using the CAT A procedure with phase 5 your eyes will be looking at purely capturing the beam bar on the PFD and not the MFD engine page.

The other problem with heads in while taking off is the issue if you have to reject. Your spacial awareness is lost while you are heads in at the point when your eyes need to be out. Now where was that helipad!

And yes 102% does need to be switched in addition to CAT A switch.

Mmmmm ...

Ok thanks for that info ....


The machines I fly have not been upgraded to phase 5 yet but it sounds like our flight standards guys will have some new issues to sort out ..... eh ?

Spinwing,

You have flight standards there ??? :E

Things must have really changed... :p

Mmm ...


Now now Griffo .... play nice! ... You must not mock the inflicted!


;)

Mmmmm,

I'm gonna ask this;

Has anyone recalled any rolling landing with PARK BRK ON?

:ugh: How long did it take the tires to hold pressure?

Um...lifting,

Don't forget it is cleared for single pilot ops..... and we know that single pilot's prefer to keep the check list in their pants :p

As for 2 crew ops.... it should be a criminal offence to miss one of only 2 must do actions before landing :{

Having said that, mine burst in about 5 metres :ok:

Cat A Push-button
 

jeepys

all the Cat A procedures require the pilot to look inside and only the PFD because everything you need is there. With the Cat A button the pilot work load is significantly reduced and the procedure has been prooved to be more consistent.
There is no way that you can carry out a Cat A procedure without monitoring your primary instruments (this is with any helicopter or fixed wing).

If you have to reject, this button does not add anything to the already existing procedure and you can afford to look outside paying attention only to the NR.

Your spacial awarness is never lost.

The whole concept of Cat A lends itself much more to a multi-crew environment - redundancy in all critical systems. The most critical system is the pilot!
In a multi-crew environment, the handling pilot can concentrate on looking outside, whilst the non-handling pilot monitors the instruments and calls any deviations or malfunctions. As a single pilot, you just cant give as much attention to either task.
If you are operating single-pilot Cat A in this machine, you have to at least ask yourself whether this is the ideal situation.

Numbers
 

I'm sure this has been posted already, but I don't want to go back thru 55 pages of posts.

Can one of you current 139 drivers post some numbers?

MTOW, typical EW, fuel burn, max fuel capacity, cruise speed,etc. I have heard it said that the AW139 "is a nice machine, but has a payload of a 407"

Cheers

Mmmmm ....

A/C empty 4480kg (if t'boom has -200 mod. increase by 65 kg approx), MTOWA 6800kg, fuel burn 410 kg/hr (depending on wt & alt flown), Max fuel cap 1670kg (with Aux tanks fitted) and we tend to cruise at 135Kts IAS which usually gives a TAS of around 150Kts ....



:ok:

Thanks Spinwing,
So by my math looks like a limited payload on a 240 mile round trip with reserves......about 2000 lbs......not really very impressive after all.

Mmmm ....

Oh I don't know .... VFR 240Nm round trip gives payload of 1090 Kg (2400 Lbs) ..... IFR well that kinda depends on arrival Wx Alternates etc ...

You certainly won't do better in a 412 .... and with Perf 1 ??? AND Air Conditioning ....

I'm regularly going out 142 Nm (285 Nm) round trip and can offer customer 900 Kg ....


Customers .... LOVE it and so do I !


:ok:

I was just trying to be sure of the facts and as you state other types it is being to compared to, such as a 76 C++, don't have class 1 performance, good point.

I believe that it is a nice machine to fly, just looking for the facts so I can defend it from naysayers.

Enjoy :ok:

Takes a good flogging too
 

I've been running one hard in high desert and at high temps. At first I wasn't sure if she would take the abuse. I assure you that under the prissy plastic there is a beast. There is a combination of manueverability, payload, speed, single engine performance and comfort...I'm sold.

Hey there Bandit

Good to hear these things are performing well for you. How do you find these things in the dust (ie brown out stuff) landing to unprepared sites? Any tips for getting these things on the deck in such conditions without getting the belly (and antennas) dirty?

Thanks

Turkey