"Shaber CJ" wrote in message
...
Subject: Helicopters and Towplanes
From: (Burt Compton)
Date: 9/8/2003 7:44 AM Pacific Daylight Time
Message-id:

Need assistance in finding a FAA or other reference to "best practices"
for
helicopter autorotation practice at active airports.

Recently a helicopter practicing an emergency practice autorotation
descent
over the middle of an airport in Florida had a mid-air collision with a
towplane during aerotow takeoff at 100' agl. Towpilot seriously injured
but
will recover. Helicopter instructor and student walked away. Both
aircraft
totalled. Glider pilot released and landed safely.

Seeking guidelines from the helicopter community that may prevent this
from
occurring again.


burt I am a glider gider (well I have not flown gliders much in the last
few
years but I do have about 800 hours) and a helicopter pilot, very active.
Autorotation practice at the airport should be like any other landing
operation
other than the helicopter is decending at up to 2,500 fpm. Make the calls
in
the pattern and watch for traffic.

Craig


You make a valid point, Craig. However, even with radio calls at a busy
airport with a mix of glider, power and helicopter traffic autorotations to
the runway may still result in a conflict. Doing things the way that other
pilots expect to see them done is likely to make things work out better.
Flying as normal looking a pattern as possible helps the see-and-be-seen
idea work.

With smoking wreckage on the ground, who had the right-of-way doesn't seem
to matter as much.

I was asked about the technique of descending steeply on base leg with
spoilers wide open at a busy airport - the glider pilot asking thought that
being close and high was a good thing for safety. The concern that I
expressed was that this was not a normal technique as seen by power pilots
who generally fly their downwinds at a constant altitude. Descending
steeply in the pattern exposes the glider (and sling-wing) to traffic
approaching from behind and below where it cannot be seen.

Power pilots are not likely to be looking for gliders or helicopters doing
steep descents - their attention is more likely to be on the runway, (to the
extent that is outside the cockpit at all.)

Autorotations are a essential part of helicopter training. It would be nice
if they could be done away from a busy traffic pattern. At Centennial
Airport (KAPA) the helo guys do their autorotations to a section of isolated
ramp well away from the normal traffic patterns. That seems to work well
for everybody.

Bill Daniels