Acronym check on aisle four: RVL?
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?)
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.
I've had a lot of landings, and the most interesting have entirely been done by 1stLts and junior captains!
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.
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.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.