Vuichard no bueno for escaping vortex ring state
Less that two years ago, I wrote about how Robinson Helicopter was promoting the Vuichard technique for escaping from vortex ring state (see R.I.P. Frank Robinson (and a few notes from the safety course that he loved)). While doing recurrent training in Irvine, California at Helistream, I learned that Robinson has reverted to the previously standard technique.
What’s less than ideal about Vuichard, which results in recovery with remarkably little altitude loss? “Every other helicopter emergency procedure involves lowering collective,” responded my instructor, “so the Vuichard technique becomes an exception that is going to be tough to execute in a real-world emergency where you’re startled. Also, what if you’re settling with power because you don’t have enough power and you misidentify a vortex ring state? Then adding collective via Vuichard will immediately lead to blade stall.”
He explained that there have been at least a couple of fatal accidents during training in which the necessary counterintuitive heroism wasn’t summoned for the Vuichard technique. Thus, the new school is back to the old school.
(I have never personally gotten into vortex ring state (sometimes called “settling with power”) other than during my work as a flight instructor or while a student myself. It can be avoided by being careful during steep approaches, especially with respect to not doing a downwind steep approach.)
In addition to practicing emergencies, we managed to get in some flying up and down the coast. Here are a few snapshots.
An Nvidia branch office receptionist’s new weekend boat:
An oil platform off Long Beach cleverly disguised, when viewed from the water, as an island encircled by palm trees:
Where your tax dollars went to die (a U.S. Navy littoral combat ship)
A Tesla charging facility:
The Balboa Pier:
What your (3rd or 4th) house might look like if you and all of your friends and neighbors xpressed a passionate commitment to reducing economic inequality:
(All of the above photos were taken with an iPhone 14 Pro Max after removing the left front door of the helicopter.)
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