Table of Contents
- 1 What precautions should be observed when approaching or leaving a helicopter?
- 2 How does the freewheeling unit help the helicopter maintain free rotor rotation in an event of an engine failure?
- 3 What happens when a helicopter loses power?
- 4 How do helicopter pilots eject when the engine fails?
- 5 How do helicopter pilots practice auto rotation?
- 6 How do helicopters slow down?
What precautions should be observed when approaching or leaving a helicopter?
SAFETY AROUND HELICOPTERS Do not approach or leave without the pilot’s visual acknowledgment. Keep in pilot’s field of vision at all times. Observe helicopter safety zones (see diagram at right). If blinded by swirling dust or grit, STOP—crouch lower, or sit down and await assistance.
How does the freewheeling unit help the helicopter maintain free rotor rotation in an event of an engine failure?
If the engine fails, the freewheeling unit automatically disengages the engine from the main rotor, allowing it to rotate freely. Essentially, the freewheeling unit disengages anytime the engine revolutions per minute (rpm) is less than the rotor rpm.
Why do helicopter pilots sit in the right seat?
Most helicopters these days have a collective for each seat, located on the left, so the pilot wants to use the hand in the middle of the cockpit to work the radios and things. Hence, they sit on the right side, which places the collective hand in the middle of the cockpit.
What happens when a helicopter loses power?
If the engine fails, the freewheeling unit automatically disengages the engine from the main rotor, allowing the main rotor to rotate freely.
How do helicopter pilots eject when the engine fails?
Helicopter pilots do not eject. If the engine fails, they autorotate (steep glide) to a landing. This works pretty well on most helicopters with high inertia rotor blades. If the helicopter you’re flying does not have high inertia blades you have to get the collective down very quickly to maintain the inertia.
How do helicopters descend?
While autorotating the helicopter will descend about 1500 to 2500 feet per minute. When the helicopter nears the ground (about 50-150 feet) the pilot will nose the helicopter up which causes the blades to spin even faster, so the pilot can then increase blade pitch to gain some lift. This will slow the helicopter down and arrest the descent.
How do helicopter pilots practice auto rotation?
In training we practice auto rotation by lining up on an approach to the runway and rolling the throttle off. Then just before you would contact the ground in a real power failure, the throttle is rolled back on and we fly away safely. (Usually right into another pattern to drill it again) Helicopters do not generally have ejection seats.
How do helicopters slow down?
Unlike a plane, which can glide a large distance with no power, a helo has no way to slow down—or so the thinking goes. Even Neil deGrasse Tyson tweeted this misconception in 2015. Actually, helicopters have a built-in mechanical control called the collective pitch lever that allows them to descend slowly and land even if the engine dies.