navigate, and communicate.” This means that the first
thing you should do is make sure the helicopter is under
control. Then begin flying to an acceptable landing
area. Only after the first two items are assured, should
you try to communicate with anyone.
Another important part of managing workload is rec-
ognizing a work overload situation. The first effect of
high workload is that you begin to work faster. As
workload increases, attention cannot be devoted to sev-
eral tasks at one time, and you may begin to focus on
one item. When you become task saturated, there is no
awareness of inputs from various sources, so decisions
may be made on incomplete information, and the pos-
sibility of error increases. [Figure 14-9]
When becoming overloaded, you should stop, think,
slow down, and prioritize. It is important that you
understand options that may be available to decrease
workload. For example, tasks, such as locating an item
on a chart or setting a radio frequency, may be dele-
gated to another pilot or passenger, an autopilot, if
available, may be used, or ATC may be enlisted to
provide assistance.
SITUATIONAL AWARENESS
Situational awareness is the accurate perception of the
operational and environmental factors that affect the
aircraft, pilot, and passengers during a specific period
of time. Maintaining situational awareness requires
an understanding of the relative significance of these
factors and their future impact on the flight. When sit-
uationally aware, you have an overview of the total
operation and are not fixated on one perceived signif-
icant factor. Some of the elements inside the aircraft
to be considered are the status of aircraft systems, you
as the pilot, and passengers. In addition, an awareness
of the environmental conditions of the flight, such as
spatial orientation of the helicopter, and its relation-
ship to terrain, traffic, weather, and airspace must be
maintained.
To maintain situational awareness, all of the skills
involved in aeronautical decision making are used. For
example, an accurate perception of your fitness can be
achieved through self-assessment and recognition of
hazardous attitudes. A clear assessment of the status of
navigation equipment can be obtained through work-
load management, and establishing a productive
relationship with ATC can be accomplished by effec-
tive resource use.
OBSTACLES TO MAINTAINING SITUATIONAL
AWARENESS
Fatigue, stress, and work overload can cause you to fix-
ate on a single perceived important item rather than
maintaining an overall awareness of the flight situa-
tion. A contributing factor in many accidents is a
distraction that diverts the pilot’s attention from moni-
toring the instruments or scanning outside the
aircraft. Many cockpit distractions begin as a minor
problem, such as a gauge that is not reading correctly,
but result in accidents as the pilot diverts attention to
the perceived problem and neglects to properly control
the aircraft.
Complacency presents another obstacle to maintaining
situational awareness. When activities become routine,
you may have a tendency to relax and not put as much
effort into performance. Like fatigue, complacency
reduces your effectiveness in the cockpit. However,
complacency is harder to recognize than fatigue, since
everything is perceived to be progressing smoothly. For
example, you have just dropped off another group of
fire fighters for the fifth time that day. Without think-
ing, you hastily lift the helicopter off the ground, not
realizing that one of the skids is stuck between two
rocks. The result is dynamic rollover and a destroyed
helicopter.
OPERATIONAL PITFALLS
There are a number of classic behavioral traps into
which pilots have been known to fall. Pilots, particu-
larly those with considerable experience, as a rule,
always try to complete a flight as planned, please pas-
sengers, and meet schedules. The basic drive to meet
or exceed goals can have an adverse effect on safety,
and can impose an unrealistic assessment of piloting
skills under stressful conditions. These tendencies ulti-
mately may bring about practices that are dangerous
and often illegal, and may lead to a mishap. You will
develop awareness and learn to avoid many of these
operational pitfalls through effective ADM training.
[Figure 14-10]
Margin □
of Safety
Pilot Capabilities
Task □
Requirements
Preflight Takeoff□
□
Cruise□ Approach &
Landing
Taxi□ Taxi□
Time
Figure 14-9. Accidents often occur when flying task require-
ments exceed pilot capabilities. The difference between
these two factors is called the margin of safety. Note that in
this idealized example, the margin of safety is minimal during
the approach and landing. At this point, an emergency or dis-
traction could overtax pilot capabilities, causing an accident.
Peer Pressure—Poor decision making may be based upon an emotional response to peers, rather than evaluating a situation
objectively.□
□
Mind Set—A pilot displays mind set through an inability to recognize and cope with changes in a given situation. □
□
Get-There-Itis—This disposition impairs pilot judgment through a fixation on the original goal or destination, combined with a
disregard for any alternative course of action.□
□
Scud Running —This occurs when a pilot tries to maintain visual contact with the terrain at low altitudes while instrument
conditions exist.□
□
Continuing Visual Flight Rules (VFR) into Instrument Conditions —Spatial disorientation or collision with ground/obstacles
may occur when a pilot continues VFR into instrument conditions. This can be even more dangerous if the pilot is not
instrument-rated or current.□
□
Getting Behind the Aircraft—This pitfall can be caused by allowing events or the situation to control pilot actions. A constant
state of surprise at what happens next may be exhibited when the pilot is getting behind the aircraft.□
□
Loss of Positional or Situational Awareness—In extreme cases, when a pilot gets behind the aircraft, a loss of positional or
situational awareness may result. The pilot may not know the aircraft's geographical location, or may be unable to recognize
deteriorating circumstances.□
□
Operating Without Adequate Fuel Reserves —Ignoring minimum fuel reserve requirements is generally the result of
overconfidence, lack of flight planning, or disregarding applicable regulations.□
□
Flying Outside the Envelope—The assumed high performance capability of a particular aircraft may cause a mistaken belief
that it can meet the demands imposed by a pilot's overestimated flying skills. □
□
Neglect of Flight Planning, Preflight Inspections, and Checklists —A pilot may rely on short- and long-term memory,
regular flying skills, and familiar routes instead of established procedures and published checklists. This can be particularly true
of experienced pilots.□
□
OPERATIONAL PITFALLS
Figure 14-10. All experienced pilots have fallen prey to, or have been tempted by, one or more of these tendencies in their flying
careers.
autorotation. The first successful example of this type
of aircraft was the British Fairy Rotodyne, certificated
to the Transport Category in 1958. During the 1960s
and 1970s, the popularity of gyroplanes increased with
the certification of the McCulloch J-2 and Umbaugh.
The latter becoming the Air & Space 18A.
There are several aircraft under development using the
free spinning rotor to achieve rotary wing takeoff per-
formance and fixed wing cruise speeds. The gyroplane
offers inherent safety, simplicity of operation, and out-
standing short field point-to-point capability.
TYPES OF GYROPLANES
Because the free spinning rotor does not require an
antitorque device, a single rotor is the predominate
configuration. Counter-rotating blades do not offer
any particular advantage. The rotor system used in a
gyroplane may have any number of blades, but the
most popular are the two and three blade systems.
Propulsion for gyroplanes may be either tractor or
pusher, meaning the engine may be mounted on the
front and pull the aircraft, or in the rear, pushing it
through the air. The powerplant itself may be either
reciprocating or turbine. Early gyroplanes were
often a derivative of tractor configured airplanes
with the rotor either replacing the wing or acting in
conjunction with it. However, the pusher configura-
tion is generally more maneuverable due to the
placement of the rudder in the propeller slipstream,
and also has the advantage of better visibility for the
pilot. [Figure 15-1]
January 9th, 1923, marked the first officially observed
flight of an autogyro. The aircraft, designed by Juan de
la Cierva, introduced rotor technology that made for-
ward flight in a rotorcraft possible. Until that time,
rotary-wing aircraft designers were stymied by the
problem of a rolling moment that was encountered
when the aircraft began to move forward. This rolling
moment was the product of airflow over the rotor disc,
causing an increase in lift of the advancing blade and
decrease in lift of the retreating blade. Cierva’s success-
ful design, the C.4, introduced the articulated rotor, on
which the blades were hinged and allowed to flap. This
solution allowed the advancing blade to move upward,
decreasing angle of attack and lift, while the retreating
blade would swing downward, increasing angle of
attack and lift. The result was balanced lift across the
rotor disc regardless of airflow. This breakthrough was
instrumental in the success of the modern helicopter,
which was developed over 15 years later. (For more
information on dissymmetry of lift, refer to Chapter 3—
Aerodynamics of Flight.) On April 2, 1931, the Pitcairn
PCA-2 autogyro was granted Type Certificate No. 410
and became the first rotary wing aircraft to be certified
in the United States. The term “autogyro” was used to
describe this type of aircraft until the FAA later desig-
nated them “gyroplanes.”
By definition, the gyroplane is an aircraft that achieves
lift by a free spinning rotor. Several aircraft have used
the free spinning rotor to attain performance not avail-
able in the pure helicopter. The “gyrodyne” is a hybrid
rotorcraft that is capable of hovering and yet cruises in
Figure 15-1. The gyroplane may have wings, be either tractor or pusher configured, and could be turbine or propeller powered.
Pictured are the Pitcairn PCA-2 Autogyro (left) and the Air & Space 18A gyroplane.
When direct control of the rotor head was perfected,
the jump takeoff gyroplane was developed. Under the
proper conditions, these gyroplanes have the ability to
lift off vertically and transition to forward flight. Later
developments have included retaining the direct con-
trol rotor head and utilizing a wing to unload the rotor,
which results in increased forward speed.
COMPONENTS
Although gyroplanes are designed in a variety of config-
urations, for the most part the basic components are the
same. The minimum components required for a func-
tional gyroplane are an airframe, a powerplant, a rotor
system, tail surfaces, and landing gear. [Figure 15-2] An
optional component is the wing, which is incorporated
into some designs for specific performance objectives.
AIRFRAME
The airframe provides the structure to which all other
components are attached. Airframes may be welded
tube, sheet metal, composite, or simply tubes bolted
together. A combination of construction methods may
also be employed. The airframes with the greatest
strength-to-weight ratios are a carbon fiber material or
Powerplant
Rotor
Airframe
Landing Gear
Tail□
Surfaces
Direct Control—The capacity for
the pilot to maneuver the aircraft
by tilting the rotor disc and, on
some gyroplanes, affect changes in
pitch to the rotor blades. These
equate to cyclic and collective con-
trol, which were not available in
earlier autogyros.
Unload—To reduce the compo-
nent of weight supported by the
rotor system.
Prerotate—Spinning a gyroplane
rotor to sufficient r.p.m. prior to
flight.
the welded tube structure, which has been in use for a
number of years.
POWERPLANT
The powerplant provides the thrust necessary for forward
flight, and is independent of the rotor system while in
flight. While on the ground, the engine may be used as
a source of power to prerotate the rotor system. Over
the many years of gyroplane development, a wide
variety of engine types have been adapted to the gyro-
plane. Automotive, marine, ATV , and certificated
aircraft engines have all been used in various
gyroplane designs. Certificated gyroplanes are
required to use FAA certificated engines. The cost of a
new certificated aircraft engine is greater than the cost
of nearly any other new engine. This added cost is the
primary reason other types of engines are selected for
use in amateur built gyroplanes.
ROTOR SYSTEM
The rotor system provides lift and control for the gyro-
plane. The fully articulated and semi-rigid teetering
rotor systems are the most common. These are
explained in-depth in Chapter 5—Main Rotor System.
The teeter blade with hub tilt control is most common
in homebuilt gyroplanes. This system may also employ
a collective control to change the pitch of the rotor
blades. With sufficient blade inertia and collective
pitch change, jump takeoffs can be accomplished.
TAIL SURFACES
The tail surfaces provide stability and control in the pitch
and yaw axes. These tail surfaces are similar to an air-
plane empennage and may be comprised of a fin and
rudder, stabilizer and elevator. An aft mounted duct
enclosing the propeller and rudder has also been used.
Many gyroplanes do not incorporate a horizontal tail
surface.
On some gyroplanes, especially those with an enclosed
cockpit, the yaw stability is marginal due to the large
fuselage side area located ahead of the center of grav-
ity. The additional vertical tail surface necessary to
compensate for this instability is difficult to achieve as
the confines of the rotor tilt and high landing pitch atti-
tude limits the available area. Some gyroplane designs
incorporate multiple vertical stabilizers and rudders to
add additional yaw stability.
Figure 15-2. Gyroplanes typically consist of five major com-
ponents. A sixth, the wing, is utilized on some designs.
LANDING GEAR
The landing gear provides the mobility while on the
ground and may be either conventional or tricycle.
Conventional gear consists of two main wheels, and one
under the tail. The tricycle configuration also uses two
mains, with the third wheel under the nose. Early auto-
gyros, and several models of gyroplanes, use conven-
tional gear, while most of the later gyroplanes
incorporate tricycle landing gear. As with fixed wing
aircraft, the gyroplane landing gear provides the ground
mobility not found in most helicopters.
WINGS
Wings may or may not comprise a component of the
gyroplane. When used, they provide increased per-
formance, increased storage capacity, and increased
stability. Gyroplanes are under development with
wings that are capable of almost completely unload-
ing the rotor system and carrying the entire weight
of the aircraft. This will allow rotary wing takeoff
performance with fixed wing cruise speeds. [Figure
15-3]
Figure 15-3. The CarterCopter uses wings to enhance
performance.