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The Art of the Helicopter John Watkinson - Karatunov.net

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154 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Art</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Helicopter</strong><br />

Fig. 4.33 <strong>The</strong> origins <strong>of</strong> dynamic rollover. (a) A skid sticks in mud and applies a roll moment as <strong>the</strong> helicopter<br />

attempts to take-<strong>of</strong>f. (b) A load strap snags around a skid and applies a roll moment as <strong>the</strong> tension is taken<br />

up. (c) An attempted slope landing in which <strong>the</strong> cyclic control has reached <strong>the</strong> end <strong>of</strong> its travel with <strong>the</strong> lower<br />

skid still not in ground contact. (d) A landing made with an upslope wind is easier, but if <strong>the</strong> wind changes to<br />

downslope, <strong>the</strong>re may not be enough cyclic travel to level <strong>the</strong> disc in <strong>the</strong> presence <strong>of</strong> flapback.<br />

is continued, <strong>the</strong> hull will roll and carry <strong>the</strong> rotor with it due to <strong>the</strong> tilting head effect.<br />

When <strong>the</strong> downhill skid contacts, <strong>the</strong>re may be enough roll momentum that <strong>the</strong> roll<br />

continues, with <strong>the</strong> uphill skid lifting. Once <strong>the</strong> CM <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> machine is outside <strong>the</strong> skid<br />

base <strong>the</strong>re is no recovery. This explanation is <strong>the</strong> origin <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> slope landing limit laid<br />

down for each type <strong>of</strong> machine. <strong>The</strong>se figures should be ignored at one’s peril.<br />

Slope landings can be made harder or easier by wind. Figure 4.33(d) shows <strong>the</strong> wind<br />

blowing upslope. This is an advantage because more cyclic travel is available. However,<br />

if <strong>the</strong> wind subsequently reverses, it may become impossible to take-<strong>of</strong>f because insufficient<br />

cyclic travel exists to tilt <strong>the</strong> disc into wind when <strong>the</strong> mast is tilted downwind. An<br />

experienced pilot might perform a ‘hop’ take-<strong>of</strong>f which consists <strong>of</strong> bringing <strong>the</strong> rotor to<br />

flight RPM with neutral cyclic and <strong>the</strong>n pulling collective rapidly to exit at a right angle<br />

to <strong>the</strong> slope. Once <strong>the</strong> gear is clear <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> ground full cyclic authority becomes available.<br />

<strong>The</strong> preferred technique in all external load handling or slope landing situations is<br />

to proceed very slowly, and if <strong>the</strong> cyclic travel approaches <strong>the</strong> limits <strong>the</strong> manoeuvre<br />

will have to be halted. This means in <strong>the</strong> event <strong>of</strong> attempting a take-<strong>of</strong>f, rotor thrust<br />

should be applied very gradually so that any roll does not proceed too far. If anything<br />

goes wrong, <strong>the</strong> collective should be lowered. With <strong>the</strong> rotor thrust gone, <strong>the</strong> couple

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