UH-1H Huey low level autorotation

[shinnark]

Haha geez, the old huey gives you a bit more glide than the robbie im flying at the moment lol

[nosehook]

@shinnark entry was 100 kts at 50 feet..

[slednecks17]

Just out of curiosity, were all the training auto's done on paved runways or did the IP's take advantage off all the natural clearings?

[nosehook]

@slednecks17 nope, because of training limitations touchdown auto's were aproved on the runways only.

[Langfordc]

Good 'ol Mother Rucker!

[VolDep45]

It looks like a low-level, high-airspeed autorotation to the ground. I used to love doing those while at Mother Rucker. This is an old video since they stopped using UH-1Hs as a Training Aircraft in the mid-to-late 90s.

[nosehook]

@VolDep45 it is an old video, 2003 I think, setup used to be 90KTS, 100ft, this was 100KTS, 60 feet, just for video purposes. The instructor on the right is an Italian IP, he died in a crash in Italy a few years ago. He was a wonderful man and very good instructor. on the right in the cockpit it's me.

[gtg938v]

@VolDep45 Not so! USAF students train in the UH-1 and the new TH-1 at Mother Rucker. They select either UH-1N, HH-60 Pavehawks, or CV-22 Osprey after 6 months.

[mjm9536]

@VolDep45 Hueys are still at rucker, their just air force trainers now

[maxstatic]

the video is exactly what is in the title...an H model Huey doing a low level auto to the ground. Filmed at Rucker(at one of the stage fields) by USAF a student.

USAF helo pilots train at Rucker, separate of their Army brethren, in the H model as well as the new TH-1.

[hueyav8r]

Beautiful thing, prove you have a set with a low level auto to the ground.

To make it a little more fun, make it an auto with turn to the ground. Amusement park rides are nothing after that.

[tedbohne]

for chuanist. you clearly are not a helicopter. with the collective bottomed the inner portion of the rotor disk DOES have negative pitch. forward speed is not always possible if the helicopter is nose into a high wind. blade pitch is not set to neutral, the collective pitch is lowered to the floor. the flare at the end is designed for TWO reasons. to slow forward speed, and to increase rotor RPM. In some cases rotor speed has to be decreased by a slight increase in pitch

[KALEIDOSCOPEN]

during the training i had landing back on the airport wasn't an option for autorotations

[raeet6]

I thought they used the TH-57 at Flight School. Am I wrong?

[raulrusboy]

@raeet6 Yep... It's been quite a while since those times lol... TH-67 is the "new" TH...

[jamesjamesjr]

I haven't made it to IERW yet but I'm not looking forward to autorotation. Just thinking about killing my engine mid flight makes me pucker up.

[foamerville]

@jamesjamesjr

Practice Practice Practice !!!

I skydived for almost 10 years. I always had a fear that "when" I had a malfunction, I didin't know how i'd react. Then........I did. It was a slow speed malfunction, a line over. Not successfully clearing my lines, and spinning FAST to the ground, I cut my main away and opened my reserved. I did all this, without thinking about it !!

I credit that to always practice in my head befor each flight, the what IF's. It really works. Blueskies.

[dvdcnl]

Ah...running landings. I changed many a skid plate on hueys at Rucker in the late 60's early 70's after I got back from Nam. They keep the tubes from being worn through. Night landings were the best...lots of sparks.

[shovanes1]

I remember that stage field near Fort Rucker. Was it Lucas?

[kiowa473]

Looks real familiar to me too.

[noemotion33]

Ok its seems that most people on here do not fully understand how an autorotation works.The huey does not have any negative pitch. Once the autorotational descent has started, the air is coming up through the rotor system but also still moving front to aft. A blade at the neutral position still has an angle of attack because this. The lift caused by the AOA continues to pull the advancing blade forward. This is why the rotor RPM stays within limits rather than slowing.

[shifty2757]

Could someone enlighten me on exactly what an autorotation is?

[roflcopter221]

first, get some altitude (and maybe some speed). then, you shut off the engine and put in some negative pitch that the rpms can rise cause of the airflow, just right before the landing, put in some positive pitch and flare.

[chuanist]

Man-carrying helicopters do not have negative pitch. Auto rotation requires establishing forward air speed by pushing the nose down (within 10 seconds from the time the motor loses power). Blade pitch is set to neutral until it is time to flare for the touch down.

[nosehook]

Actually some do have negative pitch, like the CH-47 and Westland lynx...

[FJones9508]

@nosehook I don't believe the CH-47 or lynx have the ability to go negative pitch on the blades. But in all fairness you don't go nose down in an autorotation either.

[nosehook]

@FJones9508 believe it or not, or check the flightmanual ;) and nose down in an autorotation for speed.. why not??? Not a steep dive ofcourse ;)

[FJones9508]

@nosehook They may, but not for flight purposes, I don't know I've never flown either. If you are at a slow airspeed you would want to speed up, but generally speaking in most circumstances for an autorotation you would want to slow down, or go nose up. One of the reasons would be to get more relative wind across the rotor disc from the correct direction to drive the blades instead of being driven by the engine. It is at this point that I draw a helicopter on a white board for my students.

[kiowa473]

exactly! you need forward airspeed so the vertical stabilizer/tail can compensate for the loss of tail rotor effectiveness. that is why the running landings are done so that the bird can be kept from spinning out of control. blade pitch to zero to conserve rotational inertial energy. 50 feet above the ground pull in pitch with the collective and pull the cyclic control back to flair the nose. If done correctly the blades will auto-rotate all the way to through the landing. a real balancing act!

[aligerous]

Pushing the nose down? So if I am climbing out of an LZ, passing say 400' AGL and I lose my engine, I want to push my nose down? Any idea what that will do to my already decaying RPM? What if my only landing spot is behind me?

[ccsjnw]

Autorotation: Helicopter rotor blades change pitch using the collective control.

When a helicopter suffers a sudden power loss, the pilot needs to react quickly and must apply negative pitch, otherwise the rotors will stall.

With negative pitch applied, the helicopter will decend rapidly, but the windmill affect will increase the blade RPM, allowing a controlled decent.

Just before you come into contact with the ground, you apply positive pitch and flare the aircraft onto the deck.

[mhale71]

the the gliding equivelant for helicopters, the motor is powered down, and the helis blades continue to spin due to a freewheel mechanism (like how you keep rolling when you stop peddling in a bike), as the heli descends the rotor blades are like a parachute, and the air passing through them keeps them spinning, when the ground is near, the heli flares, or returns to power,for a safe touchdown, Its MUCH safer then engine failure in a plane.

[SheepJumpFish]

basically if the engines cut out in flight the airflow from your movement will keep the blades spinning quickly enough keep you going for a while, it's an emergency procedure to make a safe landing with no engine power

[stoic61]

this is by far my favorite emergency maneuver we do at flight school in the army. For all you who think this is a standard run-on or that it was bad because the RPM Low light was on are incorrect. Touchdown on these is around 70% rotor rpm...well below the 90% tha the light comes on.

[Theros91]

I'm guess Heuys can go that far because of their heavy rotors, giving them lots of inertia.

[HUEY572]

It doesnt look like an autorotation i think he just did a quick deceleration and made a running landing.

[nosehook]

pretty poor running landing if you manage to get the RPM-LOW light on don't you think?

[kiowa473]

no. that was a text book landing. by the time you are at the level he was at there is no sense in conserving inertia. low level auto's are all or nothing and fast too. did not abuse the helicopter, and yes I have abused one or two. if it was for real perform the repairs and lets go flying. if it was practice lets crank her up and go flying again.

[TheFr3sh1]

@nosehook you don't have to be "mean"

[danielpilot95]

@nosehook i have a question just curious wat happen when a heli engine turn off does the heli

fall down and crash or what

[nosehook]

@danielpilot95 When you turn off the engine and do nothing you wll crash, if you lower the collective, you can keep the rotor turning and land the helicopter as seen, look for video's with autorotation in it

[danielpilot95]

@nosehook k thx for the reply

[gtg938v]

@nosehook It's a low level auto. There's nothing wrong with a low RPM during an auto to a touch down. Use what you need to cushion the landing, land with 0 - 15 kts of smash

[raulrusboy]

@HUEY572 He didn't retard the throttle until just before the run way...

[ADRidge78155]

Nice, man. Nice.

[nvdwarrior]

No sound you say? This was most likely taken before the ban on camera's in the aircraft so probably an old style movie camera. How about doing these at Tac Runkle? Toth? High Bluffs? Cmon you old Rucker dogs...remember the good old days?

[bbwbb2]

I watched my father do these at Davidson Army Air Field in Va. in late 70's. Nice video.

[MELBOY28]

Sure that was an autoroation? Looks more like a high speed "Skids" landing to me...the fact that he stayed in level flight over the ladst lot of trees and did not nose over or flare very hard makes one think it's not.

[nosehook]

I'm sure, I flew it... setup is 100ft AGL, 90 KTS (about), fail the engine over the trees, slight nose up (flare) and autorotate and do a slide/run-on.

[beeyayitch]

We had 5 "Flying Dutchmen" in our class. They were the best pilots we had. Especially Ben, the young (18/19 year-old) Dutchman. That SOB could fly the s&%$ outta TH67s! It was hilarious that his superiors were always busting his chops about being professional. He was like the Dutch "Maverick" -young, aroggant and GOOD! LOL

[motokid032]

Hence the work "Skids"..Very nice..

[aviatorlegend2]

ha, landed like plane. pretty cool

[helirealtor]

Is that an auto? if so that baby floats like a feather.

[beeyayitch]

I know right?? I was thinking the whole time, "When did he roll the throttle off? That SOB has been gliding for a looong time."

[yourmommypigface99]

i just rode in a huey with my uncle. he is a blackhawk pilot. he is in this group who has their own hanger in i think ozark,AL

[nolifemerc]

cool, pedal control why lousy

[nvdwarrior]

Over 4000 hours in Hueys....lousy pedal control on this low level auto...who can remember doing them at night with full face night vision goggles! Ya you blackhawk pukes....not guts...no glory!

[Bradford1966]

Dang Blackhawk boys don't even have to watch the torque gauge..Ahh the good old days. LOL! NOE Night slingloads doors open in 20 degree weather.I've got around 1000 hours in the back

[T31212A]

I envy you guys.

[MrRay47]

Flew lots on nights in Nam (Dustoff) and got to be fairly comfortable with it.  Came back and flew National Guard AH-1s with NVGs and it almost always scared the shit outta me. Don't remember night autorotations but if they were required of AH-1s we did them. Good to be out and alive. aloha :)

[uh1cguns]

watched a cobra at Rucker do a running landing. He lost some of his hydraulics at Matteson gun range and did a landing at an airstrip somewhere (can't remember which one) with most of his load of ammo on board. I remember lots of sparks coming off the skids but he kept it fairly straight. The AC laughed a lot, but the student pilot didn't say much. The AC had a couple of yrs with Cobras in 'Nam. Their favorite saying was any landing I walk away from is a good landing.

[ryanbrown321]

hats off to you mrray47 my dads offshore pilot fley huey's in Nam i must say yall are untouchable as helo pilots. Many times that pilot scared the shit out of me. Unfortunately his helo went down in the gulf and he past away from hypothermia before they could get to him.

[luisbarillas]

great job! freak those skis after landing =P

[stetson6]

That looks like Brown S/F.

BTW, bravehawk, you know not of what you speak. That is an autorotation.

[nosehook]

If I remember correctly it is brown stagefield...

[062b]

i started my military career as a 67N is the us army these were cool aircraft i have lots of memories and thanks for sharing this video.

[srstacy]

In flight school we were doing low level autos at night, my stick buddy was on the controls and entered way late. We skidded off the end of the runway and stopped just short of hitting a berm. My IP said "quick, turn off the lights before anyone sees us"

[MrRay47]

Ha, ha, ha. Once at night at one of the stage fields the tower spotted my 20-min fuel light come on as I was hovering to our parking spot. That was my one and only pink slip. aloha :)

[qualicumbeach123]

Im sure sliding around on the runway is really good for the helicopter

[bravehawk461]

That was not a an autorotation! That was a 'Quick-D' (quick-deceleration) maneuver! Nice video though...

[nosehook]

Actually I've flow this one myself, it is a simulated angine failure at 100 feet with 90 knots over the fence.

You see a flare, couchen and touchdown

[bravehawk461]

I stand corrected, thanks for the info. Aside from hover and taxi auto I I only know basic and precision auto at minimum 800 ft.

[akaviator]

**sigh** The final step of an autorotation (or the only step at 100AGL) is basicaly a quick-stop, or a Quick-D for you rap/hip-hop types.

[assevio]

no has the sound? that penalty

[notar1]

nice video ..Sound would of been ,but great video