For the rotary wing pilots

[ChunksJR]

Well, yeah it can take a lot of beating...but the few mishaps from the tail strut breaking through the top of the cowling and severely damaging the #6 tail drive shaft directly above it have scared all of us into HATING tail strikes...

And the gear is indeed like the 60A, L, K, etc. models...something about the army buying us the first 50 or something like that to keep the assembly line open...either way...It's great to land in a field...sucks on single spot ships (CG/DDG/FFG)...They have the wheel boxes we have to set the main mounts in...good things.

My first 2 landings out here involved 5 wheels...2 on the deck the first time...all 3 after that...not fun.

God bless crewmen.

Dan

 

[HH-60H]

Well, yeah it can take a lot of beating...but the few mishaps from the tail strut breaking through the top of the cowling and severely damaging the #6 tail drive shaft directly above it have scared all of us into HATING tail strikes...

See for us, if we exceed 13 deg below 15 feet we can hit the tail/stinger, and if you scrape the paint, it's down until someone can inspect it.

 

[BigIron]

See for us, if we exceed 13 deg below 15 feet we can hit the tail/stinger, and if you scrape the paint, it's down until someone can inspect it.

Bad Juju in the 53 too. I am not sure what the actual pitch up limit is (over 10 deg?) at 25' gives us a warning horn and b*tchin betty starts chanting "tail, tail, tail." The foldable pylons weren't made for overly hard landings.
Notice our beefy tail skid....

 

[Q-ball]

Bad Juju in the 53 too. I am not sure what the actual pitch up limit is (over 10 deg?) at 25' gives us a warning horn and b*tchin betty starts chanting "tail, tail, tail." The foldable pylons weren't made for overly hard landings.
Notice our beefy tail skid....

There are two types of 53 pilots. Those that have hit the tail skid, and those that will hit the tail skid. It's a good thing that bad boy is rated for a 672fpm rate of descent. Also tailskid plus reversing forklift, is a bad combination.

 

[Gatordev]

I'd the first to admit that I finish high most every time, but there are numberous cases of tail wheel strikes in the 60S from the extreme nose-up pitch...

I totally missed your last line the first time I read this. This is what I don't understand. I'm not saying it's being taught "wrong," I just don't understand why the recovery is so different, especially w/ the potential for a wheel/stinger strike. I wish someone could educate my un-engineered mind, as there's got to be a reason for it, especially if it's in your NATOPS.

 

[ChunksJR]

I wish someone could educate my un-engineered mind, as there's got to be a reason for it, especially if it's in your NATOPS.

I'm just a monkey doing what I'm told...

Some clips from our MDG (Manuever Description Guide at the FRS) and NATOPS:



~D

 

[Gatordev]

With the exception of the 25-40 degree blurb, that's pretty much identical. For us, it was "initiate recovery at 150-200 feet" instead of 125. According tot that, though, 55-60 is still outside the box.

I wonder if it's because you're lighter, so therefore falling faster and require more "yank" at the bottom to stop the inertia. Interesting stuff. Thanks for the references.

 

[Scotty-O]

Nature's autorotator

Hey Gang,
A good example of autorotation is the seed of a maple tree. They have no power to begin with and just spin to the ground slowly under their own weight/airflow. It helped me understand, anyway.

Yeah, I'm a geek, so sue me... :icon_tong

 

[HH-60H]

That is an excellent example. I don't think people have a hard time understanding the benefits of autorotation, but how it works.

 

[Gatordev]

But does the maple seed droop at the bottom?

 

[Scotty-O]

But does the maple seed droop at the bottom?

Only if the designers didn't give it a good CofG

I was trying to address the earlier questions of the dynamics and how helos stay afloat after power loss...

I don't know about tailstriking - I'll leave that to the professionals on here. Great topic!!

Cheers :icon_drin

 

[Gatordev]

No worries. Wasn't trying to give you a hard time.