Maybe a simple case of the missing "I have control!"
I remember reading C16 writing about a good helicopter pilot having to have the reflexes of an a old Western gunfighter, and no more so, I guess, than when flying with a student nincompoop (like me) who can unaccountably do something stupid that can kill everybody in literally a second. I take my hats off to heli instructors, they are Gods amongst men (and women Reg).
I wonder how stiff the controls become on the AS350 B3e Ecureuil when the hydraulics are switched off? On the R44 you have to have a forearm like Popeye to manage flying without the system working.
Sad end to a training sortie.
Caco
Re: Crash at Booker onMay 5, 2017.
Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:26 pm
by Fox3WheresMyBanana
The same can happen in light twin aeroplanes. I deliberately did not get my Multi-Engine instructor rating so that I could not be asked to teach it at the large flight school I worked at, and nor did about 3/4 of the other instructors. The Chief Pilot had to have it, but he refused to use it and always knobbled the Chief Flying Instructor to do it.
Teaching formation in the RAF was something else regarded as highly risky. Throughout training, my formation lead on the first solo formation on each aircraft type was always the instructor who had cleared me to fly solo. No other instructor would ever accept leading someone else's student on the first solo.
Re: Crash at Booker onMay 5, 2017.
Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2018 9:33 pm
by Seenenough
Caco-On Squirrels the controls become very heavy with the hydros off and you have to lock your wrist up against your leg and let your leg muscles take bit of the work load.A sweaty brow and hands are very likely to develop.
You dont want to waste much time to land because you get tired quite quickly.It is initially a pretty nerve racking exercise and it is important to make small movements and keep the disk as level as possible through the whole procedure as it is very difficult to make large corrections without hydro power. As the speed slows down just before run on the controls get noticeably more heavy.
Most problems will occur either because the pilot lost strength or a the machine was allowed to get too far out of level and it could not be corrected quickly enough.If the tail swings around on you it is probably going to have a bad outcome.
Re: Crash at Booker onMay 5, 2017.
Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2018 9:52 pm
by CharlieOneSix
Caco - I’ve no time on the AS350 so can’t comment on this accident. My “ hands like a gunfighter “ comment was a reference to when my examiner on a JetRanger turned off the fuel switch instead of the hydraulics and was related to his speed of reaction when he instantly realised what he had done and he reversed his actions before the engine stopped.
Apart from a rapid reaction to dump the collective in the event of an engine failure on a single engine type, other technical emergencies rarely if ever require the gunfighter reaction.
Caco - I’ve no time on the AS350 so can’t comment on this accident. My “ hands like a gunfighter “ comment was a reference to when my examiner on a JetRanger turned off the fuel valve switch on me instead of the hydraulics and was related to his speed of reaction when he instantly realised what he had done and he reversed his actions before the engine stopped.
Apart from a rapid reaction to dump the collective in the event of an engine failure on a single engine type, other technical emergencies rarely if ever require the gunfighter reaction.
Re: Crash at Booker onMay 5, 2017.
Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2018 11:18 pm
by CharlieOneSix
Oops, double post and too late to edit.
Re: Crash at Booker onMay 5, 2017.
Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2018 12:45 am
by Seenenough
Again learning to fly an Enstrom with no hydros at all helped me to be a better pilot
