Comments on: Tail rotor strikes

By: Justin

Justin — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 22:47:05 +0000

So are there any rules of thumb or exercises anyone uses?

One thing I did a couple times during my walk around is step off my available clearance from my seat to the back of the tailrotor, with that I step off that distance left, right and forward for cockpit visual references to give me an idea of what I have to work with prior to taking off (I know it’s hard to pick up visual references on the ramp, but I just do my best).
I didn’t get that from a book or instructor, so that may be bogus info, but it’s what I use.

Any others out there?

By: Jim Borger

Jim Borger — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 23:15:35 +0000

It’s easy to forget how much helicopter is behind you, especially in the larger ships. The pilot sits well forward of the mast in a single rotor helicopter and all the pilot can see is the tip path, leading to an illusion that the part he can’t see is the same length as the part he can see.

I witnessed a pilot dip his tal rotor in water, shearing the drive shaft. The first 90 degrees of turn seemed fairly slow but by the time he had spun 180 degrees he was really picking up speed. The pilot didn’t chop the throttle, he just slammed the collective full down. Luckily for him the water was only about a foot deep and the ground underneath was level so the aircraft stayed upright.

By: Alan D. Resnicke

Alan D. Resnicke — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 19:51:10 +0000

During a USAF career flying several models of helicopters in all kinds of environments, the only honest-to-goodness emergency I had was a main drive shaft failure on a UH-1N (Bell 212) that took out the tail rotor as well… on a moonless night… without NVGs… over the desert. I managed (by God’s miracles) to walk away with relatively minor injuries. Two others didn’t and a fourth barely survived. TAIL ROTORS ARE NOT TO BE FORGOTTEN OR IGNORED! Any helo pilot does so at his own peril…

By: SpinDoctor

SpinDoctor — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 14:48:05 +0000

On a recent trip to Kauai, HI my sister and I sat up front in Hughes 500 for an aerial tour. The helo did not have doors and our pilot explained a week prior a passenger stuck their head too far out the door and ripped her headset off. The headset smacked the tail boom and left huge dent. The pilot felt had it hit the tail rotors h would not be alive. Scary stuff no doubt.

By: ed

ed — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 18:17:20 +0000

Beirut 1969 60′s Bell 47g3b1 Alt about 2000 feet had just crossed ridge heading back down to the Beirut airport, airspeed about 80 mph a cardboard box was thrown from the rt seat, I felt it hit the T/R with a slight bump with no other effect. scared me beyond belief. Landed safely. The tab on the tail rotor was bent 180 degrees.
End of story

By: Alan Barnes

Alan Barnes — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 17:46:39 +0000

Like a lot of the other accidents, those are ALL preventable, PILOT errors. It’s our responsibility to make sure that there is nothing loose that could fly out of the cockpit/cabin or off the helicopter itself. Doesn’t matter if it’s a kneeboard, sweatshirt, camera, loose fuel cap, cell phone, purse, etc.