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Contents Introduction Some helicopters fly beautifully without any flight control automation or stabilisation systems. The Gazelle was one such aircraft and a reasonably competent pilot could achieve amazing accuracy in IMC with just basic instruments. However, in this modern age, automation has become the norm and in many operations, being coupled up to an autopilot…
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This is one for the helicopter pilots and engineers in my network. I thought I knew why the tail rotor blades pitched when they flapped and what delta 3 hinges were all about on helicopters. Right up to the point I stopped to look carefully at the tail rotor on the Bell 429 I currently…
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For all of my flying career I have been given a standard explanation about how an ILS works. In the military it was described in accordance with RAF Publication AP3456 and in civilian life it was described in the ATPL exams and associated training material. With some minor differences, it is described as a pair…
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When we are flying around, unless you are flying old school IFR at very low level (I Follow Roads), there are no posted speed limit signs. There are some speed limits with respect to weather limits in the Rules of the Air but when you fly in cloud they do not apply and we can…
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Designing hospital helipads so they are safe and efficient is a fine art. A growing body of guidance is provided by the aviation authorities to help with delivering effective capability from day. However, some of the guidance is currently flawed; there is an assumption that bigger helicopters are the most restrictive when actually it’s what…
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Introduction The EC135 SAS DCPL or SAS/AP CUT button is a red semi-guarded button on the head of the cyclic used to disengage all elements of the autopilot and stabilisation system simultaneously. Pressing the button usually gives fairly benign results when flying visually but if it is pressed in fully coupled instrument flight, it can…