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Eh, I think most people can understand gliding pretty easily. What would really mess with their heads is a helicopter losing its engine and autorotating down t

Eh, I think most people can understand gliding pretty easily. What would really mess with their heads is a helicopter losing its engine and autorotating down to safety.

PopeDotNinja 8y ago
Helicopters are often easier to land than planes. Landing a helicopter without power is part of learning how to fly a helicopter in the first place... https://youtu.be/pL1-QH7eQAY https://youtu.be/pL1-QH7eQAY Landing a 767 without power, not so much... https://youtu.be/GlkCofOyxUA https://youtu.be/GlkCofOyxUA
- Dangeranger 8y ago
  While true, it's worth noting that mandatory auto-rotation training is due to the fact that helicopters are inherently unstable aircraft whose turbine engines have the habit of stalling at the worst possible moment. > "The thing is, helicopters are different from planes. An airplane by it's nature wants to fly, and if not interfered with too strongly by unusual events or by a deliberately incompetent pilot, it will fly. A helicopter does not want to fly. It is maintained in the air by a variety of forces and controls working in opposition to each other, and if there is any disturbance in this delicate balance the helicopter stops flying immediately and disastrously. There is no such thing as a gliding helicopter. This is why being a helicopter pilot is so different from being an airplane pilot and why, in general, airplane pilots are open, clear eyed, buoyant extroverts, and helicopter pilots are brooders, introspective anticipators of trouble. They know that if something bad has not happened, it is about to." -Harry Reasoner
  - Theodores 8y ago
    Then there is the Harrier Jump Jet. Then there is the challenge of landing a Harrier Jump Jet on an aircraft carrier. Then there is the challenge of landing a Harrier Jump Jet on an aircraft carrier that happens to be postage stamp sized and in the South Atlantic high seas during an actual war, the Falklands War.
  - dingaling 8y ago
    > whose turbine engines have the habit of stalling at the worst possible moment Helicopter turbine engines operate on exactly the same principles at the 90,000lb thrust turbofan under the wing of a 777. They are incomprehensibly reliable. Things that lead to helicopter autororation are usually mechanical failure of the transmission.
- Shorel 8y ago
  Now I want a video where this happens instead of just someone talking over some pictures. This still seems amazing and unbelievable to me.
  - sokoloff 8y ago
    Google “helicopter autorotation” and have your pick. Here’s one with an outside view, which I think is easier to grasp for non-pilots: https://youtu.be/twGid07JR9s https://youtu.be/twGid07JR9s Basically, the helicopter “falls” down and slightly forward, driving the main rotor disc (potential energy turning into disc rotational energy), then the pilot flares the helo, slowing the forward speed and taking energy from the rotor disc to slow the vertical descent, finally resulting in the aircraft settling to the Earth at a slow speed. Just like gliding an airplane, it’s a one-shot kind of a thing (except in training where you generally keep the engine running and available). Note that the rotor disc is connected to the engine via a one-way clutch, so the engine can drive the rotor but not vice-versa. Otherwise, a seized engine would result in a rotor disc stoppage (and an uncontrolled descent).
  - komodo 8y ago
    Here's a Smarter Every Day video on the topic. Live demonstration starts at 6min mark. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTqu9iMiPIU&feature=youtu.be&t=142 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTqu9iMiPIU&feature=youtu.be...
- nopzor 8y ago
  practicing how to land an airplane without power is part of a basic private pilots license.
- inferiorhuman 8y ago
  Landing a 767 without power, not so much... https://youtu.be/GlkCofOyxUA https://youtu.be/GlkCofOyxUA That's a bit misleading. The Gimli Glider landed without thrust but almost certainly had electrical and hydraulic power. Same deal with the British Airways 777 that crashed at Heathrow. Meanwhile, LATAM landed a 777 with no electrical power[1] not that long ago. That's a whole different ballgame. 1: http://avherald.com/h?article=4c1cc3f6&opt=0 http://avherald.com/h?article=4c1cc3f6&opt=0
axaxs 8y ago
While definitely a cool factor, I'm not sure it would be so mindblowing. As a kid, we always called maple seeds 'helicopters', and their descent is a similar concept.
lainga 8y ago
Yes, including several people who worked on game engines and whom I have frequently cursed out...

Eh, I think most people can understand gliding pretty easily. What would really mess with their heads is a helicopter losing its engine and autorotating down to safety.

PopeDotNinja 8y ago

Helicopters are often easier to land than planes. Landing a helicopter without power is part of learning how to fly a helicopter in the first place... https://youtu.be/pL1-QH7eQAY https://youtu.be/pL1-QH7eQAY Landing a 767 without power, not so much... https://youtu.be/GlkCofOyxUA https://youtu.be/GlkCofOyxUA

Dangeranger 8y ago
While true, it's worth noting that mandatory auto-rotation training is due to the fact that helicopters are inherently unstable aircraft whose turbine engines have the habit of stalling at the worst possible moment. > "The thing is, helicopters are different from planes. An airplane by it's nature wants to fly, and if not interfered with too strongly by unusual events or by a deliberately incompetent pilot, it will fly. A helicopter does not want to fly. It is maintained in the air by a variety of forces and controls working in opposition to each other, and if there is any disturbance in this delicate balance the helicopter stops flying immediately and disastrously. There is no such thing as a gliding helicopter. This is why being a helicopter pilot is so different from being an airplane pilot and why, in general, airplane pilots are open, clear eyed, buoyant extroverts, and helicopter pilots are brooders, introspective anticipators of trouble. They know that if something bad has not happened, it is about to." -Harry Reasoner
- Theodores 8y ago
  Then there is the Harrier Jump Jet. Then there is the challenge of landing a Harrier Jump Jet on an aircraft carrier. Then there is the challenge of landing a Harrier Jump Jet on an aircraft carrier that happens to be postage stamp sized and in the South Atlantic high seas during an actual war, the Falklands War.
- dingaling 8y ago
  > whose turbine engines have the habit of stalling at the worst possible moment Helicopter turbine engines operate on exactly the same principles at the 90,000lb thrust turbofan under the wing of a 777. They are incomprehensibly reliable. Things that lead to helicopter autororation are usually mechanical failure of the transmission.
Shorel 8y ago
Now I want a video where this happens instead of just someone talking over some pictures. This still seems amazing and unbelievable to me.
- sokoloff 8y ago
  Google “helicopter autorotation” and have your pick. Here’s one with an outside view, which I think is easier to grasp for non-pilots: https://youtu.be/twGid07JR9s https://youtu.be/twGid07JR9s Basically, the helicopter “falls” down and slightly forward, driving the main rotor disc (potential energy turning into disc rotational energy), then the pilot flares the helo, slowing the forward speed and taking energy from the rotor disc to slow the vertical descent, finally resulting in the aircraft settling to the Earth at a slow speed. Just like gliding an airplane, it’s a one-shot kind of a thing (except in training where you generally keep the engine running and available). Note that the rotor disc is connected to the engine via a one-way clutch, so the engine can drive the rotor but not vice-versa. Otherwise, a seized engine would result in a rotor disc stoppage (and an uncontrolled descent).
- komodo 8y ago
  Here's a Smarter Every Day video on the topic. Live demonstration starts at 6min mark. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTqu9iMiPIU&feature=youtu.be&t=142 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTqu9iMiPIU&feature=youtu.be...
nopzor 8y ago
practicing how to land an airplane without power is part of a basic private pilots license.
inferiorhuman 8y ago
Landing a 767 without power, not so much... https://youtu.be/GlkCofOyxUA https://youtu.be/GlkCofOyxUA That's a bit misleading. The Gimli Glider landed without thrust but almost certainly had electrical and hydraulic power. Same deal with the British Airways 777 that crashed at Heathrow. Meanwhile, LATAM landed a 777 with no electrical power[1] not that long ago. That's a whole different ballgame. 1: http://avherald.com/h?article=4c1cc3f6&opt=0 http://avherald.com/h?article=4c1cc3f6&opt=0

axaxs 8y ago

While definitely a cool factor, I'm not sure it would be so mindblowing. As a kid, we always called maple seeds 'helicopters', and their descent is a similar concept.

lainga 8y ago

Yes, including several people who worked on game engines and whom I have frequently cursed out...