Insights from a Professional Helicopter Pilot
Dive into expert tips and aviation knowledge shared by a seasoned helicopter test pilot dedicated to elevating your flight knowledge and skills.
Read the latest blog posts…
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Autopilots, cross-checks and low G in helicopter unusual attitude recovery
Loss of control of helicopters when in Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC) has sadly taken the lives of far too many helicopter crews. Whilst many of these incidents have been when non-instrument pilots inadvertently entered cloud, there are several accidents where instrument rated pilots have lost control. Training of instrument rated pilots in Unusual Attitude (UA)…
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Expert site surveys – Improving the assessment of onshore landing areas
For helicopter onshore operations at known landing sites, an accurate survey can de-risk operations and can be distilled down for the crew to use into a Company Landings Site Directory (CLSD). Various levels of scrutiny can be applied, with more rigorous surveys giving fewer restrictions than just an estimation taken by a customer. The survey…
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Lights, helipad, action! The problem with new helicopter pad lights
The UK CAA have developed a lighting scheme for hospital helipads in CAP 1264 which is based on the standard for offshore helicopter landing site marking. This offshore scheme is published in CAP 437 and is based on hard won lessons in safely operating helicopters to offshore helidecks (see here) and the principles outlined in…