48 Vol. 9 / No. 12/ December/January 2017/18 Global Aviator
Helicopter do's and dont's
under normal conditions it is easy to
get out of; you simply move the cyclic
forward, get some airspeed, and fly out
of the turbulent air. But if you are in a
small area surrounded by obstacles there
is absolutely nothing you can do! So
vortex ring is a very real danger when
it comes to confined area operations.
Therefore approaching and landing
in a confined area needs to be done with
great caution, and there is a specific
procedure for doing it. The first thing
the pilot needs to do is make sure that
his helicopter, loaded as it is on that
particular day, is powerful enough
for what he wants to do. Landing and
taking off vertically requires quite a
lot of power, and a hot day or a heavy
passenger could mean that trying
to get into a small space (and more
particularly, out again) is not going to
be possible. So there are various power
checks to do, the details depending on
your particular helicopter. Next, you
need to plan a circuit pattern around
the area, and then fly that circuit fairly
slowly – about 60 knots is usually
recommended - at around 500 feet.
This is called the high reconnaissance
or ‘high recce’. It is what it says - you
note the general layout of the site,
including any obstacles, particularly
wires. You take account of the wind
speed and direction. You may ideally
be able to land into wind, but perhaps
you can’t, due to the configuration of
the site. You check the size of the area,
and its shape, surroundings, surface,
and slope; these are generally known
as the ‘five Ss. If in the countryside, add
a sixth S, for ’stock’, since inquisitive
sheep and cows really won’t do your
helicopter any good. And if flying late
in the day in winter, add a seventh S,
for sun, as a low sun on departure can
make things really difficult for you.
If everything looks OK and seems
to be within your capabilities, you next
fly a ‘low recce’ or dummy approach.
This is basically a trial approach with
a go-around. It gives you a chance
to really assess the site, and perhaps
notice things that you simply couldn’t
see from 500 feet. There may be low
level turbulence or wind shear, the
ground may slope more than you
realised, or there may even be hidden
obstacles. I once landed in a friend’s
garden where there was a small stake
in the ground. It was hidden by the
long grass, but I really wouldn’t have
wanted to land on it. A low recce will
help you identify these sorts of things.If you are still happy, you can
now fly a circuit and approach, then
actually land. As you turn on to final,
you should decelerate to around 40
knots. You do this because it gives you
plenty of thinking time, and because...
helicopters can, so why not? In any
event, you have to decide what sort of
final approach is suitable for the site. If
at all possible you do a normal or ‘single
angle approach’, in which you aim
directly for your landing point using the
same angle throughout. If the site is too
small, or there are obstacles in the way,
you may need to use a ‘double angle
approach’, when you make a shallow
approach until your landing point
becomes visible, then follow a steeper
angle in order to reach it. You only
need to use a vertical approach in really
tight confined areas, and as explained,
this should be done very carefully. If
you need to use this technique, pick
a couple of trees or other obvious
features as ‘lateral markers’, since itis quite hard to come down absolutely
vertically without some point of reference.
Finally, you come to a hover. Phew!
So now you can land, can’t you? Well,
unless you know the site well, no, you
can’t. You need to familiarise yourself
with the area by making turns around
your helicopter’s tail, to check again for
obstacles. You then need to land very
carefully, making sure there are no hidden
rocks or holes. It would really spoil your
day if you were to manage to do the
approach safely, then have the helicopter
turn over because the ground you were
trying to land on wasn’t secure and gave
way. I have heard of it occurring...so
make sure it doesn’t happen to you.
When you come to leave, there are
still more potential hazards to take into
account. Firstly, check your helicopter
over carefully to make sure nothing has
been removed or added. Lone helicopters
seem to act as a magnet for children and
even adults, and some of them don’t
know much about flying or have a lot of
common sense. I have heard of a crisp
packet being found behind the uncovered
v-belts of a Schweizer 300 helicopter,
and I’m not sure I’d want to take off
without removing that sort of thing first.
Next, make sure all spectators are well
out of the way. After starting up, check
your power margins again carefully; it
is better to drop off a passenger at thisIf everything looks OK and
seems to be within your
capabilities, you next fly a ‘low
recce’ or dummy approach.
This is basically a trial
approach with a go-around.