Zero Airspeed Autorotation | Robinson R66 (Bonus Video!!)

[@citibear57]

YIKES! I almost soiled my undies 😳 Kidding of course, but there was an element of fear, partially because Micah was looking nervous ...and he knows a helluva lot more about helicopters than I do. Thank you for showing this clip Micah. Always interesting videos 👍

[@MicahMuzio]

I can tell you why I was nervous. Bad things can happen in two-bladed helicopters during low-G maneuvers. Knowing that the vertical climb would eventually end, I got a little spooked about the eventual change in G. But that worry was totally unnecessary. Steve is a skilled and careful pilot.

[@7728abbott]

Amazing! Something most have never seen before!

[@dallasguy3306]

My Micah Flies t-shirt was delivered today! Very cool in black.

[@MicahMuzio]

Calvin!!! Thanks so much for supporting me and the channel.

[@FlyingEyesWorld]

Getting some deja vu. Such a fun flight!

[@ryanfrisby7389]

Yep!

[@MicahMuzio]

I had an awesome time flying with y'all!

[@lisacalderon3367]

Beautiful

[@ryanfrisby7389]

Agreed

[@marybabiec]

Nice Video Mary Babiec

[@ryanfrisby7389]

Agreed!

[@gwgrote5]

Incredible video! I hope you all are enjoying yourselves taking a break from LB. Stay Well.

[@ryanfrisby7389]

Agreed!

[@MicahMuzio]

Thanks, GW!

[@planetajasön]

So cool!!!

[@ryanfrisby7389]

Yes!

[@thestonetable]

That was so cool!!

[@garym444]

I got chills watching this cuz I was thinking of the alarms going off when Kobe Bryant's helicopter got into trouble. otherwise it's a very interesting way to get out of a jam in case you get into trouble

[@Acc0rd79]

On my first training flight they made me do the stalls, what a freak out at first. At least I just have to push the wings down and into the wind and as long as they are level you will glide forever it seems like:)

[@MicahMuzio]

I kinda want to try fixed-wing stall recoveries...just to see how the other half lives.

[@chriseaves9762]

Really cool. That's some nice climb performance too.

[@ryanfrisby7389]

Yep!

[@MicahMuzio]

After a full day flying in the R66 I was blown away by how well it performed. Power for days.

[@av2565]

Micah = good looking man.

[@ryanfrisby7389]

Yep!

[@MicahMuzio]

I'm blushing. 😊

[@av2565]

@@MicahMuzio it’s very true.

[@gizzykatkat9687]

That was kind of scary! I felt like I was up there with you!

[@robertschaefer3223]

Scary, but fun!

[@ryanfrisby7389]

Now this is just plane cool Micah! (Sorry for the cheesy joke!)😸✈️🛩💺

[@MicahMuzio]

😂

[@charliemarren8724]

Good demonstration showing RPM is what matters. Get that collective down. The only negative is you and the other passengers didn't know what was going on, a briefing would be nice so you know what he's doing.

[@joshpinchuk7061]

Micah, how often do you practice autorotation?

[@Skkyyyyyyyyyyy]

Sheeeeeeeeeeesh

[@ryanfrisby7389]

😂

[@jessiebullock]

Gosh that’s awesome. What was the feeling like in your stomach?!?

[@MicahMuzio]

Not sure. My stomach was in my throat. 😂

[@eddiemelz5706]

Boy just buy hearing that noice I wood of jump out lol 😂

[@KevinLBerry]

3 lessons in. I’m going to give Steve a call for some turbine time

[@helipapi]

Freaking awesome climb power. I want one! Lol, you did look worried. autothing?

[@ryanfrisby7389]

Yep!

[@MicahMuzio]

I was a little leery of the transition from climbing to descent. Two-bladed rotor systems kinda freak me out. But I shouldn't have worried. Steve is an awesome pilot.

[@JaredSVX]

So does that feel like those drop rides? Did your stomach go to your throat?

[@MicahMuzio]

It does! Took me a while to get used to that.

[@ZapFlashD]

I'd probably end up having a panic attack if that happened!

[@ryanfrisby7389]

Me too!

[@bdc2178]

I was scared for you - and I was sitting on my couch a foot and a half off the floor.

[@alandaters8547]

As a fixed wing pilot, auto rotation was always a bit mysterious. But a vertical one? Looks scary to me!

[@MicahMuzio]

It feels unnatural but, as long as the rotors keep spinning, all is well. :)

[@Thrilla4romManila]

@@MicahMuzio how do the rotors keep spinning after the engine shuts off?

[@JtheBurger]

@@Thrilla4romManila same way your bike wheels keep spinning even when you aren’t pedaling. It’s a freewheel! Now if the clutch that holds the engine and rotor together fails at a bad time that isn’t so great

[@Daishi0861]

@@Thrilla4romManila there's what's called an overriding clutch which allows the rotors to freewheel at a higher rpm than the engine in the event that it quits. so if your main rotor transmission spins slower than the overriding clutch, the rotors begin expending energy (rotor rpm) and the pilot has to initiate an autorotation by applying full down collective (essentially set the main rotors to a flat pitch). once this happens, you're no longer producing much lift with the rotors and the aircraft begins descending into the airstream. the descending rotor blades are then driven by the air they're falling through, rather than by the engine, and the pilot can directly control how high or how low the rpm gets by varying cyclic or collective inputs. aft cyclic tends to load the rotors more which increases rpm due to an aerodynamic effect called coning, while forward cyclic does the opposite. increasing collective causes additional drag and produces additional lift, resulting in a longer glide but lowering rpm as a tradeoff. reducing collective does the opposite, and can be used to recover rpm in the event that the pilot has allowed it to droop slightly below desired setting.

[@hermaneutics]

I'll take "things we would never do in a military helicopter" for $2,000 Alex

[@BlueSideUp]

This is b.t.w. something less "cool" than you might think, it's something every helicopter pilot does as part of the education to shorten an autorotation. Because it wasn't 0 Airspeed full down. If you pick up speed for a flare at 500ft AGL that's a normal procedure. You really need cohones for a full down without picking up air speed (and some headwind). And a helicopter with a little more energy in the rotor system like the Cabri G2 I was trained on. The R66 has very lightweight blades and a very narrow rotor RPM range to play with by comparison.

[@seashoreut]

Very nice. But it doesn't really show the "mild panic" that ensues when practising an autorotation. You have to be very aware of rotor rpm and do everything right to complete it successfully (as you know). And with a low inertia rotor, you don't have much time if it happens for real. Thanks for the video.

[@MicahMuzio]

Bingo! There's a lot to manage in a short time. Of course, a pro pilot like Steve makes it look easy.

[@samgomez4395]

Wonderful , Thrilling Descent. Exciting Too! I could hear A periodic "Buzzing" sound in the back ground during the autorotation. Wasn't that the "Low Rotor RPM Buzzer" ?? Nice Recovery ! ~Sammy G~ ~;^;~