| During the Private Pilot course a lot of students find | | | | struggling initially with transitions is the fact that the |
| the most difficult exercise to be the forward transition. | | | | student does not anticipate the "kick" (translational lift). |
| Just to clarify if we talk about transition in a helicopter it | | | | So most of the time the student tries to compensate |
| is the phase between the hover and starting a climb or | | | | for all the aerodynamic factors that take place after it |
| from a descend back to hover flight. | | | | has already taken place. Take your time. You must |
| Let's start off by looking at one aerodynamic aspect: | | | | dictate when you're going through transition. |
| Translational lift: This is the result of wind blowing over | | | | You are allowed to climb slightly (usually about 10 foot) |
| the disc or the helicopter moving forward (wind or | | | | as long as you don't climb into the avoid area of the |
| forward movement between 12 to 16 knots) causing a | | | | height/velocity diagram. To compensate for |
| reduction in the induced flow passing through the disc | | | | translational lift cyclic movement has to be gradually, |
| thereby causing an effective increase in the angle of | | | | constant, and continuously to compensate for FLAP |
| attack which will result in the helicopter wanting to climb | | | | BACK (BLOW BACK). Flap back does not happen |
| for a certain collective pitch setting. | | | | just once, it's a continuous process that occurs all the |
| In my opinion, to fly a proper transition is one of the | | | | time while we accelerate, and therefore the attitude |
| more difficult exercises, because so many | | | | has to be lowered all the time by pushing the cyclic |
| aerodynamic changes take place. Remember a | | | | forward. In other words you must SEE that your |
| decent transition is not what you see on a James | | | | attitude reference marker, whether it is the canopy or |
| Bond movie when the helicopter pitches the nose | | | | the rotor disc for example, continuously lowers (pitches |
| down accelerates to 300 knots in three seconds while | | | | towards the skids) without forcing the helicopter to |
| wiping out the building with its blades in the process. | | | | descend. |
| A "normal" safe transition is as per the Pilot Operating | | | | Fly what you see and feel the helicopter. Get a |
| Handbook. The essence is to stay out of the avoid | | | | reference point for the nose to pick up the yaw |
| area of the height velocity diagram. | | | | changes. |
| The most common factor that results in a student | | | | |