Don't crash your helicopter! Autorotation in a Robinson R22

[PawnBACM]

hella cool.  freakin amazing.

[skipsassy1]

Why did you destroy such a good lesson with your campaign to make us move to your "attempt at fancy intro that takes way to long to get to the video" Just be the CFI and not the producer. You are a great CFI, stick to that. I like the old one except for what the Garywj6 says! Really clean this up.

[enotar56]

Sembra di vedere atterrare un piper!

[GaryXJ6]

Jesus Christ!, I fucking hate it! when uploaders bugger about with older videos just to tell us that there is a newer version available. If there is a newer version available, take this video down from YouTube and upload the new one. Don't let us sit through 2.33 minutes of a 2.42 minute video, only to have the last few seconds masked by a fucking text box. If the newer video cannot be added to YouTube, just give us the link in a small callout box without the mask You time wasting muppet!

[Sacha34200]

It was 55 knots and not 65 knots this day...

[Correcto34]

What's the autorotation means? It's when the engine fails and you would have to do a maneuver to land the heli. safely?

[atikker]

@Correcto34 Yes. In the event of an engine failure, the helicopter's weight falling with the air pushing up turns the rotors so that it can glide safely to the ground. It's amazing.

[rockhopper123452]

i wounder how much 1 of these cost

[atikker]

@rockhopper123452 Robinson R-22's (usually used for training) - $250,000 per their website. But you get to choose the color! ;)

[camp69]

Only had to 1 real auto in 25 years. Nearly peed myself when the horn went off. Not what you want to have to do as a pilot.

[Steevee5k]

I´ve tried time and again to do an autorotation using an R 22 (FS 2004) but I keep crashing into the ground, due to the fact, that my rotor speed drops too quickly, and so does the heli, whatever I do. I thought the airstream would keep the rotor going, but somehow it doesn´t.

It makes me wonder, what I could be missing. For example what about the rotor-clutch? Or is there anything else I should consider?

[weversonman]

@Steevee5k yeah I don't know what it is in FS2004, I can do an autorotation in the Bell quite well, but in the Robinson you just drop like a stone and lose almost all control, no matter your forward speed.

[mojame100]

@weversonman

So its a danzerious chopper to fly is what you saying?

[jonathane1976]

@Steevee5k the real r22 has a low inertia rotor system, you have to fully lower the collective in less than 1.1 seconds if the engine fails or the rotor rpm drops below 80% many real r22's have been lost in this way. If the rotor rpm drops much below 80% you cannot recover rotor rpm and will drop like a stone, the main rotor suffers a blow back which chops the tail boom off.

[cheifmole999]

Well, I agree with the comment about the tail rotor, but also the speed of descent, and the severity of the flare etc is such that I would say you don't have a huge margin (if any) for error. Certainly not without sustaining some serious damage to the airframe. I much prefer the MT-03 type power off landing, which we do all the time, it is much gentler, and there is a huge margin for error. Give me a commercially built autogyro (gyroplane, gyrocopter) any day!

[PaulGarrack]

Nice one. But lets face it any landing in a R22 and nothing falls off has got to be good. Still bravo nice video.

[razorx71]

Not a great auto rotation, his tail rotor was like a foot from the ground!

[NZ500D]

Does anyone know were the R22 name came from? I was told once but I forget now.

[dangerbilly666]

The original plan for the R22 was that it would be a very low cost personal helicopter, costing only $22,000, hence the Robinson 22. Once it was built though, they realised they could charge more for it, but they still retained the name

[DarkStorm007]

Perfect and pretty =O

5/5

[TamakoAkai]

R-22 has 1-4 cyclinder recep air-cooled engine

The 44 has a 6 cylinder fuel injected also air cooled , and the 66 will have a turbine engine

[italiano0095]

that was some skill there i admire your skill

[stylerecipe]

no i'm pretty certain the 22 has 2 engines, and the 44 has four engines.

the new 66 which has a jet engine is going to have 6 of them.

[uschdog]

You're right. These knuckleheads don't know shit. I would much rather fly a P-51 which has 51 engines.

[o2fst4uo]

ahahaaaa. fucking best call ever.

dude, all of them have one, just one engine

[nano404]

747 anyone? :D

[zulquarnainanwar]

nah! an airbus 380 with 380 rotors!!

[stylerecipe]

why would you ever need to do an auto in a 22? the 2 means it is twin engined.

[mxkickyo455]

NO U DUMBASS!

Robinson makes a R22 and R44-

the R22 has two seats

teh R44 has 4

[HeliRy]

practice autos over parked airplanes? guess they forgot about the "lookout" lmao.

[mjok2004]

pretty ugly auto there

[Kilomph]

Post more video please! This is a great video for enthusiasts to watch, I'll be going to commercial flight school soon and hope to get my CFII in 1 year ;-)

[Transam941]

I would so fuck that up.

[ILOVEBEECHCRAFT]

rofl why man?

[Transam941]

The part where you flair up; lets just say the tailboom would be fucked. Ill stick with the 182.

[storchnuts]

what a crock of shit try that while doing deer recovery here in new zealand one thing ive noticed my R22 NEVER HAS A LANDING STRIP BELOW IT

[Buffalomeatlover]

To the poster: What books would be good to learn more about piloting helicopters? I know there is nothing like gaining hands-on experience, but I currently dont have the money for flight school. THANKS!

[MrXenophobe]

There's lots of theory to learn so here are a couple of ISBN numbers. These are books 2 and 3. Sorry, can't find the others. The Air Pilots Manual (Aviation Law and Meteorology)(2) ISBN 1-85310-015-3 and Air Pilots Manual (Navigation)(3) ISBN 1-85310-016-1. I got my PPL(H) using these. Beg borrow or steal lol to get the money to do it. Sex comes close to what it's like to fly. May all your landings be light ones.

[Buffalomeatlover]

Thank you MrXenophobe. I sincerely appreciate the references and I will def. find a way to get the money to fly 8-)

[spidey692003]

Best book you'll ever by is Helicopter Principles of Flight.

By Wagtendonk.....

Ebay it.

[Buffalomeatlover]

Thank you spidey692003. Ill look that one up for sure.

[xnvyflyer]

That's swell if you happen to have a nice field below you. If you only have a parking spot at the local 7-11 store...that's what separates the men from the boys.

[pjvenner]

I thought he did extremely well but I'm not a pilot. PLEASE give me a shout when you post a video of you [or anyone] autorotating into a parking spot at the 711!

[xnvyflyer]

"...but I'm not a pilot."

Well there you go. Sure, he did just fine.

If you would like video of "to the spot" autoroations, park yourself outside the chain link fence at Western Helicopters at Rialto airport in Rialto, CA and video tape to your heart's content. One auto right after the other to a spot on the ground. The point, which you missed, was an open field is a luxury and in more cases than not it won't be available. Putting it on the spot is what separates the men from the boys.

[PICLex]

Yeah well it is a training video, no need to get ya schlong out and start waving it around.

[Bagels108]

my god thats terrifying. thats why i fly airplanes i guess.

[PICLex]

haha

[sdrfgvrfgvsfravgdsvS]

weeeee

[JetDriver1111]

nice job...very professional....couldn't do it better myself....

[leviterande]

problem with helis is not the autorotation or the engine faliure, fact is it is the best at this are,

the bad thing is if the heli nodge anything the slightes your fuck out for ever

[lkjahwergknhasi8qark]

Your Late flare almost got you a tail strike. and resulted in a running touchdown. this landing gets a solid 5.

[SenorSpode]

That...was...GREAT. 5 stars!

[htl2247]

the flare was so close to the ground, looks a bit scary to me..

[Stephen1547]

Why is the gov off? If he had to roll the throttle back on, he is going to have a hard time getting the right engine RPM quickly without it.

[jobahed]

Governor off before entry into the auto...that's the way we always did it in my training.

[24051026]

This guy is one of the best instructors I know. He is at Rise Helicopters Gloucester and it would be wise, if you want to learn to fly, go there.

[pmc1665477]

You all are crazy flare too high and you'll float forever.

[freezingpilot]

i would prefer to flare a lot higher, run the rpm (in the flare) all the way up to 110% (allowed by the poh) and then stop the helicopter with a slight up collective before levelling the helicopter and cushining. that will allow for down to 0 ground speed landing.

[andyofvermont]

yeah, that seemed a little sketchy to me, a close call even. Too late on the flare I think. But any landing you can walk away from is a good one!

[B206III]

Nice auto, and it obviously worked, but personally I do prefer to start the flare a little higher. It's almost a seat of the pants thing, sure, but I find starting a gentle flare higher you can then tighten it at the bottom, it's almost a two stage thing; essentially all you're doing is starting to reduce your ROD sooner. It does make it a lot less rushed at the bottom and I find it's easier to judge it perfectly so you're touching down just as you're running out of collective.

Nice work anyway!

[bigdufflebagboy]

awesome! that would be good practice, a definite nerve builder..1600fpm descent is quick but I guess neccesary. The landing was safe and controlled. looked like the flare was steep, but it worked. Goodjob!

[Eraser74]

That was pretty fast. I've practiced autorotations with an instructor in the same model aircraft. We never came down that fast nor did the tail rotor get dangerously close to striking the ground. Good video though. :-)

[seq165432]

I had no idea that auto rotation should be done at a 1600fpm sink and 60mph forward speed - that seems awfully fast! That takes some nerve!

[axeussevn]

Actually that's 60 knots. Which is about 70mph. :S

[seq165432]

At any rate - its around 50 percent FASTER than an old round parachute (coming down) and started as fast as I usually drive (70mph).

[Mungalicious3]

1600fpm is actually pretty good for an auto, other types of helicopter come down in excess of 2000 fpm in a straight line, even more in a turn. It's not really a matter of 'should be' it's just how fast it does come down with the engine out of the equation.

[h4inf]

that was awesome :)

[xeckmate69]

I think a very bad work ... This is not fighter aircraft, which aim to run a horizontal landing?

Just to unnecessary risks?

Looks with attention to the tail of the helicopter upon landing ... Less than 1m away from the ground.

If the tail touch the ground due to the winds or avariações the ground ... You were dead now.

No matter if you know the correct speed of the aircraft. Helicopter has been done to up and down VERTICAL.

[howajo]

You are clearly a tool. The video is a demonstration of an emergency procedure. If YOU look closely at the tail you'll see there is a skid to prevent the tail rotor from contacting the ground. This procedure is so that in the event of a power failure, the helicopter can be landed as safely as possible.

[highonsnow]

Yes.. tool is an appropriate description - who is this guy, what's the reference to "fighter aircraft" about.. this is a Robby 22

[smokin3000gt]

He has the brains of a turtle

[pineappleboy1]

LOL @ xeckmate69. idiot.

[marineman4012]

If you dont know what you are talking about then dont criticize an instructional video

[helirealtor]

LOL

[reecesmith96]

that is a dhemon

[lameeeeeeeofacey]

geeze yeah that flare was way late. I like the different camera shots though.

[smokestream888]

holy hell that was a horrible auto, the flare was late and hardly washed off any speed before touch down. and i swear the ground handling bar hit the ground.

[lothar2048]

May be you do not pilot yourself... a robinson does not have enough weight to autorotate itslef, so you must have a little speed of 60 knots to maintain the autorotation... This wa really a great job for such a heli like this one !

[Howrualldoing]

Fantastic job!! Thanks for the lesson. :)

[truck501]

that was MINT take care -------------WILDLAND FIREFIGHTER IAIN YOUNGER NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY ..

[helianimal]

Whoever was flying could have slowed that ground run down a lot more in that flare!

[DavidMlynski]

Perhaps with more wind that would have been possible. (copied)"...yes perhaps not a "classic" student auto to the ground, but 4/5knts of wind meant keeping the disc pointing backwards i.e. washing off the speed for as long as possible, coupled with rearwards skid biased touchdown it adds up to a rarely seen light wind advanced auto - quite safe, kept straight then rollover is unlikely..."

[helianimal]

I agree. I'm a believer in grass over pavement. But I have seen 2 roll-overs because of grass.. but then again like you said that was pilot error because of a crooked set down. The only way it could have been a little slower ground run is in the last 1-2 seconds one last very aggressive pull to an immediate level off. You have to really man handle the R22 like a beast and it will obey you! lol You can't be gentle in all situations

[thunderthumbs4242]

You've obviously never flown an R22 then. They've light rotor blades which means unless they are in autorotation they lose speed very quickly. When you land with engine failure there's not enough time to slow to a standstill cos the rotors will have stopped providing lift. You always have to perform a run on landing.

As I said before, you've never flown one have you?

[helianimal]

LOL.. How old are you honestly? I always wonder how many 13 year olds respond on youtube....

Anyways.. I understand what kind of rotor system it has, it's called "Rigid in Plane" if you want to learn something yourself. I have almost 4000 hours of flight time from R22's to S76.. 2000 hours of jet time.. Gulfstream III & IV ect. I have over 500 hours rotor instruction. I know what it takes to do an auto in an R22.. and you CAN zero it out ALMOST every time IF you're good! =)

[helianimal]

This was respond to thunderthumbs4242

[1291918]

Kudos to all pilots involved, excellent commentary, landings were not half bad, the r 22 fun to fly but that damn teetering hindge rotor system what a bitch to maintain rpm.

[R22Flyer]

was this denham airport uk.

[DavidMlynski]

Yes, if you know the airport it is unmistakably Denham. Other scenes from the DVD show the DENHAM "nameplate" on the ground...have you flown there?

[R22Flyer]

Yes learn to fly the R44 there with HeliAir

[madcows10]

beautiful

[DavidMlynski]

Thanks for that, yes perhaps not a "classic" student auto to the ground, but 4/5knts of wind meant keeping the disc pointing backwards i.e. washing off the speed for as long as possible, coupled with rearwards skid biased touchdown it adds up to a rarely seen light wind advanced auto - quite safe, kept straight then rollover is unlikely. Do you know they don't teach autos to the ground in the US?

[bumblechicken69]

Welllll... the FAA doesn't require it, only a "power recovery"... which is complete nonsense, because if the engine quits, it ain't coming back. But any instructor worth anything will teach it and any self-respecting student with a love of life will happily learn it.

They don't require you know anything at all about a manual transmission to get your driver's license in the US either.

[DavidMlynski]

I'm glad to hear that! I suppose if you get the "power recovery" about right the skids will save you!! I guess even the most experienced pilot would be sweating a "bit" in the event of a real power failure!! I think you can do an Automatic only car license here in the UK too, but naturally you are not then qualified to drive a manual/stick shift. Luckily, in a car be it automatic or manual, and with a bit of luck your wheels will always be on the ground allowing a smooth run on to a stop.... ;-)

[gallows24]

whattan awsome!, fuckin' auto this was.

[DavidMlynski]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!!

[felopg]

Well, if you autorrotate that way, is the easy way to do a rollover. First at all, he touched down with the rear part of the skies... it must be parallel to the ground. And also the airspeed was too high and too close the flare... if an instructor teach his student to do it that way... bad thing.. the instructor's performance and practice could let him do it that way, but an student... not at all. For me is the best way to do a visit to The Lord...

[loadermen]

ala no mames y que pasa si el terreno no es parejo y el helicoptero se atora y rueda? jajaja

[DavidMlynski]

Okaaaay.....I tried to translate that but I can't quite get it!! Can you write it in English please?

[luisbarillas]

Translation for "loadermen": "hey no shittin´ and what happens if it´s not a flat terrain and the helicopter gets stuck and rolls over? lol.

[DavidMlynski]

Thanks for that, yes perhaps not a "classic" student auto to the ground, but 4/5knts of wind meant keeping the disc pointing backwards i.e. washing off the speed for as long as possible, coupled with rearwards skid biased touchdown it adds up to a rarely seen light wind advanced auto - quite safe, kept straight then rollover is unlikely esp. with rearward skid bias.

[whatifitstrue2]

I had a friend who died in his R22 about 15 yrs. ago. Too bad he didn't have the chance to study your video. He was a classic "rich, distracted doctor." Many of his type have paid the ultimate price from what I understand.

[DavidMlynski]

Yes, unfortunately a common scenario, I'm sorry to hear that. Even now I have passed PPL(H), I constantly ask my instructor (the narrator) questions, like passing your car driving test, you really learn when you're on your own. However even a multi thousand hour pilot would be sweating in the event of a real engine failure!! It's about probability and risk management, certain factors, not always the ones you expect, can add up to an accident.

[pf126p]

I'm in the US but my last instructor was also a Brit. Just thought I'd share that with the class. ;)

[DreamboyCAT]

Basically it says something like: "WTF and what happens if terrain is not flat and it get's stucked and roll over?"

[Azhigher]

Good vid, good landing. Balls out flare like it should be!

[cdcomcard]

This is one of the best I've seen so far - do you have any plans for more..? Precision transitions and steep turns are my particular favourites.

[DavidMlynski]

It's defo the best I've seen, certainly helped to get autos into the "system". The vid has all the lessons to take you to first solo, controls, transitions, hover, circuits, etc. I may get round to uploading them, I just thought the auto lesson was the most useful for the budding pilots out there! Ask your instructor to end each lesson with an auto, so they become less of a big deal and you'll end up loving them (I HATED them at first!!!) Helicopters are great!!!

[lyronpa]

Yes, all the autos I've seen, the tail rotor sure is close to the (horizontal surface) - I'm still hours away from trying these things myself, and I'm already worried that if I misjudge the flare by 3 feet of altitude that I'll bang the tailboom into the runway. I know the stinger is there for a reason, but I'm sure such a move is not recommended (and probably throws the craft nose down pretty hard, which is just what a student needs). Hey, it's like they say, everyone has to learn it -

[DavidMlynski]

Yes indeed, apparently there was virtually no wind that day (making it harder to run on) and only one attempt clearance from ATC to go for it, so ALL the speed had to be washed off - I guess this was the reason it's so close - AMAZING though isn't it!?!?! My friends think I'm crazy "what happens if your engine stops - surely you're better of in a plane" how wrong they are!

[Eldelacuchuca]

should the tail rotor get that close to the ground?

[DavidMlynski]

Good question, it does appear PARTICULARLY close, but it is to illustrate how close you should get to make a safe engine off landing right down to the ground. In practice you flare a lot later than feels naturally comfortable, I wait till when you can see the blades of grass to start - it feels like 10ft but it will be around 50ft. For the PPL you do LOADS of autos to get the "ground rushing towards you" feeling of shock out of your system and you end up loving them - it's now my favourite move!

[bumblechicken69]

Couldn't have described it better. It's addictive, isn't it? ;)

[DavidMlynski]

Thanks for that. Yes, addictive indeed - a very "sell your gran to do it" kind of sport!!! ;-)

[lyronpa]

The pilot doesn't only perform a nice landing, but he's very polite -

[DavidMlynski]

Yes a perfect gentleman throughout, highly polished shoes too!

[boffosupremo]

He taught me to fly R22s at Denham - excellent chap - now at Gloucester, I believe.

[DavidMlynski]

Yes, he certainly is - on both counts!!

[DavidMlynski]

Your comments are very welcome. Useful? Questions? Anything else?!

[WOLSELEY6]

I'm very impressed but can you do an auto while cooking on a yakibox , away the lads

[DavidMlynski]

Naturally, yes I can, indeed I can....!!!