Quote:
Originally posted by DrZed:
I remember watching that programme on Dicovery whne the guy built his own helicopter and....
There is a safety device on helicopters which means if the engine cuts out the rotors still spin and centrifugal force and other physics related things will keep them spinning hopefully long enough to safely land it.
So unless you have an onboard explosion that rips the tail off then you've probably got a good chance of landing it.
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That's not a safety feature, it's called autorotation. The gearing disconnects from the rotors and allows the forward motion of the aircraft to drive the rotors (effectively gliding). To execute it requires you have sufficient forward motion, sufficient altitude - and finally the skill to pull it off.
You have to raise the collective and flare the aircraft, but doing so reduces the rotor speed and unless you've touched down you'll plummet. It's absolutely no different to a deadstick landing in a fixed wing aircraft ... well except the fact it's basically 3 times as hard to pull off, and that assumes you've met the above criteria in the first place. Whereas in a fixed wing aircraft, you've already got forward motion to work with.
Safety feature my arse.
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