Have you ever dreamed of flying a helicopter? Flying a helicopter requires different skills than flying an airplane, although there are some similarities between the two. To fly, airplanes rely on forward motion that moves air over the wings. Helicopters fly using rotating propellers. You need both your hands and feet to fly a helicopter. This guide can help in your adventure as a helicopter pilot.
Step
Part 1 of 2: Controlling the Helicopter
Step 1. Introduce yourself to the components and buttons on the helicopter
Read this individual flying object operating manual. The following are the basic buttons you need to know to operate the helicopter:
- The Collective is a lever located on the cabin floor to the left of the pilot's seat.
- The throttle is a rotatable handle at the end of the collective.
- Cyclic is a "stick" located directly in front of the pilot's seat.
- The tail rotor is controlled by two pedals on the floor which are also called anti-torque pedals.
Step 2. Understand the helicopter's capabilities and limitations
Most helicopter crashes are caused by overloading the rotor system. Most of these accidents occur when the pilot tries to perform a maneuver that requires more lift than the helicopter's rotor systems or power sources can produce.
Step 3. Control the collective control with your left hand
- Lift the collective to raise the helicopter and lower it to lower the helicopter. Collective changes the vane angle collectively. The main propeller is located on top of the helicopter.
- Adjust the throttle. When you raise the collective, you need to speed up the engine speed. Lower the speed as you lower the collective. The throttle is directly connected to the position of the collective lever so that the revolutions per minute are always in accordance with the collective setting. You only need to make adjustments if needed.
Step 4. Control the cyclic with your right hand
Cyclic is similar to joystick, only more sensitive. So, move slowly.
Move forward cyclically if you want to go forward, rewind if you want to go back, point left if you want to turn left, and point right if you want to turn right. Cyclic does not change the direction the helicopter's front is pointing, but can make the helicopter tilt forward, backward, or right and left
Step 5. Control the propeller pedal on the back of the helicopter with your feet
These two pedals (or anti-torque pedals) control the direction in which the helicopter is pointed, and have more or less the same effect as the yaw pedal on an airplane.
- Press the left pedal slowly to steer the helicopter to the left, press the right pedal to steer the helicopter to the right.
- The yaw pedal increases or decreases the pressure generated by the propellers on the rear of the helicopter, thereby controlling the yaw. Without the rear propeller, the helicopter would rotate in the opposite direction from the main propeller.
Part 2 of 2: Basic Helicopter Maneuvers
Step 1. Take off
Follow these steps to perform the basic takeoff steps:
- First, slowly open the throttle until you reach the correct operating revolutions per minute.
- Pull the collective up. When the collective speed increases, depress the left pedal (right pedal to rotate the main propeller in a clockwise direction). Continue pushing the collective and reduce pressure on the left pedal. Adjust the pedals if the helicopter turns left or right.
- The helicopter will fly and you will be able to use cyclic. As you continue to pull the collective and reduce the pedal, adjust the cyclic to straighten the helicopter as you take off. Push it slightly to start advancing the helicopter.
- When the helicopter starts to transition from moving vertically to moving forward, the helicopter will vibrate. Push the cyclic forward a little more to keep you moving forward. The phenomenon that makes the helicopter vibrate is called the effective translational lift (ETL).
- When you experience ETL, reduce the collective lever and reduce the pressure on the pedal. Push the cyclic forward to avoid the helicopter's sudden rise and reduced forward speed.
- When you're already taking off, slowly release the cyclic forward pressure. The helicopter will start to rise and increase its speed. From this point on, the pedal's main use is to control the helicopter. Most maneuvers require only a combination of cyclic and collective control.
Step 2. Fly finding the balance point between the collective, cyclic, and rear propeller controls
Learn this from an instructor who can operate the other buttons as you learn them one by one, then start putting together combinations with them. You'll have to learn to anticipate the time lag between when you adjust the helicopter's controls and response
Step 3. Ascend and lower the helicopter using the speed listed in your pilot's operating book
This will vary depending on the terrain. Maintain a speed of 15-20 knots when you climb steeply. Raise the collective slowly and make sure it doesn't cross the yellow mark on the torque gauge.
Step 4. When landing, always look at your landing destination, which is usually slightly to the right (from the pilot's side)
This may mean that you adjust your settings to slightly turn to one side when landing.
- Try to be at an altitude of about 60 meters – 150 meters above ground level or any obstacles when you reach a distance of 0.5 km from your landing spot.
- Watch your speed. At about 2 kilometers from where you land, slow down your helicopter to 40 knots and start descending. Watch your drop rate. Don't let your vertical speed exceed 90 meters per minute. The vertical speed can be adjusted using a collective as needed.
- As you begin to approach the landing, slow down to 30 knots, then 20 knots. Do this slowly. You may need to raise the nose of the helicopter slightly to reduce its flight speed. Doing this will momentarily blur your view of the landing site.
- Continue forward once you reach the landing area, as it will be more difficult to control the helicopter and land on the target if you hover in place first. When your landing spot is visible under the nose of your helicopter, you can reduce the collective.
- Set the parking brake. Reduce the cyclic again to reduce momentum and increase to equalize the height. Keep the rate of descent as small as possible – adjust the collective properly.
- When you land, check that your parking brake is applied and turn off all helicopter engines.
Tips
- Focus your eyesight at least 800 meters ahead if possible in the practice area.
- Try to operate the controls as smoothly as possible and remember the saying: “You fly with pressure, not movement.”
- Helicopter pilots fly at a different altitude pattern than airplane pilots and this is done to avoid aircraft traffic.
- The helicopter pilot sits on the right side of the helicopter because the rotation of the propeller makes the helicopter fly to the right. Placing the pilot on the right is a way to counteract this. Sitting on the right also allows the pilot to operate the collective control with his left hand, leaving his right hand free to control the cyclic control, which is more sensitive.
- For the first few hours, making a helicopter fly by hover may seem impossible, but when it seems hopeless, you'll quickly realize that this will happen naturally.
