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For my rotor bretheren

phrogdriver

More humble than you would understand
pilot
Super Moderator
For those of us steam-gauge, stick-and-rudder-types, can you provide a little insight into the cockpit and crew resource management required to terminate such an approach without convening the AMB? How much flying are you actually doing on a RVL (i.e., do you "set it and forget it," or are you still at least going through the motions, and letting HAL direct the 'trons as required?)

For the no-hover, you've got a hover screen (bird's eye view with an attitude indicator superimposed) you can program to come up on an MFD when you pass below a set groundspeed. It shows how much you're drifting and what your trend is. Make sure you have no sideways drift, then work the vector towards the center (zero drift), hopefully at the same time the RADALT reaches zero (you generally work a 200-400 fpm descent to touchdown).

For the hover coupled, you terminate in a high hover, and get the drift small enough the computer can grab it. Then you reduce power while George keeps the plane stable in the horizontal plane.

The CRM involved has the aircrew checking visually for obstructions, backing up on altitude calls and drift. The non-flying pilot is working the coupling, if that's what you're doing, or backing up the flyer on the drift and VSI.
 

KBayDog

Well-Known Member
Good stuff.

Sounds like your landings could be a lot more intensive than ours, but if your technology keeps the AMB unemployed, I'm a fan.
 

phrogdriver

More humble than you would understand
pilot
Super Moderator
The phrog landings were a lot less intensive, but they were also pretty much along the lines of, "set the ROD, make sure you're straight, then try to make the crash as soft as possible."
 

KBayDog

Well-Known Member
The phrog landings were a lot less intensive, but they were also pretty much along the lines of, "set the ROD, make sure you're straight, then try to make the crash as soft as possible."

Further evidence of the enormous gray area that exists between a helicopter landing and a helicopter crash.
 

bert

Enjoying the real world
pilot
Contributor
Further evidence of the enormous gray area that exists between a helicopter landing and a helicopter crash.

Nonsense. Every helo takeoff has a corresponding landing. Some are just better than others.
 

KBayDog

Well-Known Member
Oh, I agree. My takeoffs will always equal my landings. My goal is to be like John Glenn and always bring the bird back in one piece.

So far, so good...and, as Megadeth would say, "So what?"
 

helolumpy

Apprentice School Principal
pilot
Contributor
Any landing you can walk away from is a good one. Any land where you can use the aircraft again is a great one!
 

KBayDog

Well-Known Member
How about landings from FCFs in which you've tested birds that 0-4s have had landings they've 'walked away from'? :)

(*Edit: Smilies, of course. Of course. Of course. 'Tis all in good fun, and stuff.)
 

phrogdriver

More humble than you would understand
pilot
Super Moderator
I've had a lot of landings, and the most interesting have entirely been done by 1stLts and junior captains!
 

pourts

former Marine F/A-18 pilot & FAC, current MBA stud
pilot
The helo I fly only has tacan, nothing else for navigation. Sure, it has mil gps, but it's not rated for normal nav. How much would it cost to throw in an ILS into the aircraft? The stop-gap measure? They buy us Garmin 3000's for extra SA in the cockpit but guess what, those aren't rated for IFR either, just "advisory".

I could go on, but there are a lot of little things (more ergonomic seats, better ASE gear, nav capabilities, etc, etc) that I know would be a mere drop in the hat compared to the development of the current fixed wing aircraft.

The one question I have about landing in brownout/whiteout, what would be the endstate with new technology? Flying needles to touchdown, or letting the aircraft fly it down ala auto approaches to hover? I personally think I'd be rather uncomfortable letting a helo land itself, I'd rather take it in and deal with the brownout myself.

Also, if it were me, I would equip as many helos as possible with FLIR. It's one of the best things I think you can put on them, and the randomness of tasking for helicopters would mean that it would get used much more than expected.

Don't feel so bad. Hornets don't have civilian ILS, or IFR certified GPS either.
 

Scoob

If you gotta problem, yo, I'll be part of it.
pilot
Contributor
and our military will gradually become a giant bureaucracy with no actual capabilities.
What military are you in?!?! The bureaucracy is older than most all of us here. Ike was playing "just the tip" with that whole "military-industrial complex" thing he had going on.
 

Flying Toaster

Well-Known Member
None
What military are you in?!?! The bureaucracy is older than most all of us here. Ike was playing "just the tip" with that whole "military-industrial complex" thing he had going on.

Once again, poorly phrased on my part. What I was trying to convey in the context of my post was not that more bureaucracy would form, or that it doesn't exist, but rather it's all that will be left after they cut the big ticket items like aircraft, ships, tanks, etc.
 
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