Thread: Rotary-wings vs fixed-wings

Having done some training(hours) in a turbine heli the machines really do defy the many laws of motion.
First thing we did was a auto rotation and recovery to shock me mainly and show me that even in an emergency they can glide to safety and land.

RW are very expensive to run, they are charged out at a minute rate depending on what machine is used etc. I did some time in a R22 and 44 also.
Very old but dependable technology. But never really felt safe.

A FW struggles to land in emergency where they want. To a certain degree any how. Once on approch and if dead stick(engine stalled) you have one chance and thats it.
A heli(RW) is basically straight down whilst maintaining forward motion and just before touch down its full collective to get the rotors at full opposite to slow the machine down. Very effective and to some degree safer if tail rotor still in tact.

Anyhow, training for a heli lic is very expensive when compared to a FW, most heli pilots are often FW pilots also inmy experience anyhow.

Rarely does a RW wing pilot wish they were FW pilots but often its the other way.

Biggest issue I have found is refuelling, every nut and bolts has a hour life and aviation engineers have to sign off on stuff and are ridiculasly expensive.

My mates Jet Ranger we go fishing in to KI.

Originally Posted by JDNSW

Further to this discussion, see Chopper crash in Blue Mountains
.
This would seem at first glance to reinforce my comment that the poor accident record of rotary wing has most to do with how they are used - reports suggest "low cloud and mist".

On the other hand, the survival of all on board presumably has to do with the fact that at impact forward motion was at a minimum.

John

interestingly I was in the blue mountains on that day and commended to my father about how insane it was to have a heli anywhere near due to weather. Thick fog, mist, rain and moving walls of cloud. And Woodford is a very odd place to be in IMC when tracking from Para to Bathurst.

I think the 'cargo' being carried may be been a bit too keen to get to the destination. Will be interesting to see what the ATSB have to say.. sad way to loose a Squirrel.