How to land a helicopter

[@QBziZ]

I fly all these types in MSFS with VR, bit of motion, haptics and what I needed to get used to the most, is that you have to do these techniques way slower than you would feel they need to be done. Always think : slow down, you’re still too fast ;)

[@ABHelicopters]

Really good advice! Slow is smooth, smooth is fast !

[@ABHelicopters]

Could you possibly share the details of what sort of set up you use ?

[@QBziZ]

@@ABHelicopters Currently I have a beefy PC, Reverb G2, small amp with two budget shakers and a 2 DOF NLR V3 motion platform, which I modified ( hacked ) to make the pedals move with the seat. I am in the - slow - process of building a Departed Reality DIY motion platform to replace the V3. Which is already awesome by itself but I just want to experience 6 DOF. Motion is not the most important part of the sim, but it is the most unnerving, anxiety inducing, part. Doing a manoeuvre and feeling the ( some ) consequences, really makes you want to handle the aircraft gently. The only fundamental DOF missing on a pitch - roll platform is heave, all the rest can be simulated. Especially yaw is way more realistic than you would imagine, made possible by the fact that the pilot is not in the CG of the aircraft.

[@ABHelicopters]

Wow - that’s one hell of a setup! I’m very impressed. It is something that you have been building over time , or did you take the plunge and build most of it at once? What’s your take on VR, is it the future of gaming and simulation ? Do you ever suffer from vertigo induced by the goggles or does the coordinated motion help offset any disconnect between the senses ? How about support for other simulations - is it easy enough to adapt to DCS , or X plane , for example ?

[@QBziZ]

@@ABHelicopters Thanks for the friendly words. It was built over a short timespan. About 1.5 years. VR : the greatest thing since sliced bread. If you have set it up correctly, there is no going back, especially for VFR, and thus pretty much 90% of heli ops. Started out with a face tracker ( SmoothTrack ) on a big monitor, but never used it again since the G2. The only downside you could say is, it stops me from trying a virtual ATC because there is typing and writing involved, not too handy in VR. My Hotas, pedals and a couple of keys on the keyboard, is all I can manage to manipulate when wearing the goggles. Vertigo or motion sickness : very little in the beginning, and it very quickly went away. Motion is super convincing in VR. If you yaw the heli to the right, you don't have the feeling that the seat is tilting forward and left, you actually feel that you are thrown out of the heli, but still in the horizontal plane. I did start out with DCS and so my first VR experience was on that platform in an F-5 jet. The only thing I could think when I first saw the VR was : "I am finally there" :)

[@maddylovett3735]

Fantastic video , thanks for sharing

[@ABHelicopters]

Thank you

[@gareththwaite5128]

Great video!

[@ABHelicopters]

Thank you

[@marcusmaximus451]

Absolutely superb flying as always 😃👍🇬🇧

[@ABHelicopters]

Thank you

[@nizza594]

Thanks for another great video Andrew! I'm still a little confused about the h/v diagram not being applicable for landings... it is my understanding that the diagram relates to specific combinations of height and airspeed where you do not want to be in the case of an engine failure, which makes perfect sense but surely we still have to consider a possible engine failure whilst landing, or are we just all agreeing that it's a risk we need to take in specific circumstances? For example a power check might show that I have enough power available to perform a full vertical landing, however the h/v diagram would advise strongly against this, so do I perform the vertical landing or not? That is where my confusion ultimately lies! Thanks so much for the info and as it happens, I have my PPL skills test tomorrow in Doncaster after 5 cancellations over the past two months due to poor weather! I am very nervous! Haha!

[@ABHelicopters]

However, wishing you a the best of luck for your test

[@ABHelicopters]

Short answer- during the approach you are already in a forward airspeed descent with low blade pitch angle, whilst the top of the h v diagram assumes a hover with high power setting , plus a 1 second delayed reaction time before lowering the collective lever- so the h v diagram doesn’t apply . For the bottom of a vertical decent to a confined area - say with 35 ft trees around you - yes you are then very much in the h/v diagram shaded area, and it’s about minimising the time spent there - but you have to balance the risk, better to take your time and carefully descend slowly into a tight spot - with the very small chance of engine malfunction vs rushing it and potentially hitting a tree branch

[@ABHelicopters]

The h v diagram doesn’t apply to a standard approach . To understand why, you need to consider how the h v diagram is constructed . The following explanation comes from Richard Mornington Sanford, and relates to the Robinson R44 The low hover point - 10ft/Okts, no flare no time delay, normal pilot reaction time. Collective cannot be lowered and hard surface/soft surface. The knee of the curve - 150 ft / 50 kts. From the low hover' point to the knee of the curve' is conducted at 'take-off’ power with no delay. The high hover point - 400 ft/ O kts, Stabilised OGE hover, vertical speed near zero, 1 sec delay prior to lowering collective and a reasonable dive angle, 10° 20° max nose down Attitude . The high speed portion - Normal pilot reaction time. Power as required for level flight, no delay. Why the diagram doesn’t apply - On approach: There is less power being demanded. There is less pitch angle, angle of attack. There will be a rate of descent, so an induced flow up through the disc, against departure where the induced flow is predominantly down through the disc. Weight, wind speed, weight etc, etc might not be as required during the development of the HV diagram. In short, the diagram is developed under strict conditions involving hover height, take off power, cruise flight conditions and not during approach power or conditions.

[@nizza594]

@Tom Gulbranson Thanks so much for the kind words Tom! I did get to read them at the time but did not have time to reply until now and I am thrilled to tell you that I did indeed pass my test on the R22 yesterday!! I had a few hairy moments with a couple of maneuvers that I thought was going to fail me, but the examiner gave me a second go as I'd briefed him correctly on what I was going to do but for some reason (I put it down to the stress of doing so many different things in one flight and trying to remember everything) I did not execute it as I'd said I was going to. But overall I felt like I'd flown well and I was super pleased to hear "Congratulations, you've passed" at the end! :)

[@ABHelicopters]

Fantastic news- well done!

[@helicopterovirtual-msfs6254]

Sensacional

[@ABHelicopters]

Glad you liked it !

[@ZoZooZoooZoxxxx]

So how can o apply it Arma now XD

[@ABHelicopters]

Well , there is always auto hover!!

[@ZoZooZoooZoxxxx]

@ yeah no that probably gets u killed, at least in the game. What kind of choppers can do barrel rolls & this other crazy stuff like this rolling 180 turn ?

[@ABHelicopters]

The bo 105, bk117 / ec145 and ec135 are pretty manoeuvrable - as is the lynx helicopter

[@ZoZooZoooZoxxxx]

@ I checked all of them, the bo105 seems to be one out of a million what a Maschine

[@ABHelicopters]

It’s cracking - the red bull team really chuck it around too!