Helicopter Flight Information
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Helicopter Flight Information |
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Poor Flight TechniqueIt is not unusual for a pilot to sink into, or develop poor technique when they end their instruction. In other cases, this is evident during flight training where poor technique is not caught and corrected in the beginning, then it becomes accepted technique and is consequently passed from one student who becomes an instructor to the next student etc. Don't let yourself become one of those who don't do it right. It is also common for a student to do worse on their commercial checkride than they did on their private as often they tend to let their skills slip as they joy-ride instead of practice the boring maneuvers which ultimately make them a better pilot. The most significant areas where poor techniques are taught follows. Aircraft Specific Technique - Students should be taught methods which they will be able to use for the rest of their career without gross changes; they should of course be taught to use aircraft specific checklists, however they should also be taught procedures which will not differ significantly as they move from one aircraft to another throughout their career. An example of this is a pre-landing/pre-departure memory check sequence which is relatively constant. The same sequence with the exception of a couple of model specific modifications will work in multiple aircraft. Flow sequences are also very effective means of ensuring that nothing has been forgotten. A pre-landing/pre-departure checklist which is effective in multiple aircraft such as, 'no cautions or warnings, instruments normal, temperatures and pressures normal, rotor rpm 100 percent, carburetor temp normal, fuel as needed'. Departure from hover - I have witnessed an increasing number of students who either have developed the habit of, or are being taught to control their height above ground with the collective which results in 'collective pumping' during the departure run while accelerating to climb out airspeed. This is very poor technique, is conducive to over-torques, and also counter to the procedures which must be used later in the pilots career when they begin to fly heavier aircraft which are at or near max-gross. Incidentally, the training aircraft is usually at or near max-gross. Proper technique is to maintain a given amount of manifold pressure throughout the departure process e.g. hover power through ETL, then climb out power to the desired altitude i.e. pattern altitude. The Traffic Pattern - It seems common these days for helicopter students to be taught large fixed wing type patterns which are completely inappropriate for those who wish to learn helicopter procedures. Teaching larger than normal patterns initially so that the student has an understanding of the legs of a pattern, and to ease them into the process while constantly tightening up the pattern may be acceptable, however all students by the time they take their checkride should be able to fly a tight helicopter pattern always remaining within 1/4 mile of the runway or taxiway. These sloppy pattern techniques are not limited just to helicopters as we observe fixed wing instructors teaching their students to fly large jet type patterns where their aircraft are not any where close to being able to glide to the runway should they experience a problem while in the pattern. Often times these aircraft are flying patterns a mile or more from the runway. Communications - Communications are becoming increasingly poor as improper procedures are constantly being passed on. Instructors more than anyone else should pass on a quality education to their students. There are several areas where these poor communications are occurring in particular however the poor technique is actually more widespread. Pilots are calling single digit runways such as runway four, runway zero four. When was the last time you heard a controller say, "cleared to land runway zero four"? It just won't happen. Instead of altitude reporting as it should be i.e. 'one thousand five hundred', pilots are stating their altitudes as 'one point five etc. This is counter to the AIM and should not be taught this way. Pilots are stating that 'they have the numbers', or that 'they have ATIS' rather than properly stating '...with charlie'. This is completely inappropriate since the controller has better things to do than baby-sit poor pilot technique. If a pilot does not state exactly what ATIS they have, then the controller must either issue a weather update, or tell the pilot to get the current ATIS since the controller has no idea what the pilot actually has. These are just some examples of poor communications technique. Pilots should care enough about how they present themselves and take the time to learn the proper procedures. The Surface Taxi - Positive control - Helicopter students should demonstrate positive control by making positive 90 degree turns and by always tracking true on centerlines etc. No drifting turns are acceptable since the instructor or examiner will not know if the helicopter is doing what the student intended. With positive control, there is never any doubt. Sloppy Flying - The basics - Always maintain the intended settings whether they are control settings or result settings. By this I mean if you intend to fly level at 2,500 feet @ 22 inches manifold pressure, then do just that. Don't settle for 21.5 inches of manifold pressure, nor 2,450 feet. When you see something is not right, fix it. One of the things I hate is flying with a commercial pilot who flies so sloppy that I can not distinguish when he has absolute control of the helicopter.
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