Advanced Autorotation Course - 360s, and No Airspeed Part 5
Kenny Keller teaches advanced autorotation techniques including no-airspeed hovers and straight-in pull-downs. The video covers staged throttle and collective roll-offs, maintaining rotor RPM during descent, and landing in tight spaces like runway intersections.
Questions this video answers
60 knots
2,000 ft
Approximately 1,500–1,700 feet per minute (VSI reading)
Chapters
Check it just a little bit. Just. Now just hold this bank.
Just hold this.
See what happens. Watch that air speed and just.
Yep.
Now just hold this. Try not to move anything. There we go.
We're looking good here. Maybe a little bit lower. It's looking good.
I like this.
Hold it.
Nice. You pegged 60. I like it. Keep that head on a swivel.
We're just looking around now.
If we're getting a little pushed away. So what's happening is we're getting pushed.
Yep, it's all right.
And the only thing I see is that windsock out there. So now just straighten her up.
Okay.
Here comes treetop level.
A little bit of a flare. More aggressive hold. I'll let it start to settle.
Throttle's coming in. See, I take that one to the ground right there. Okay, so we didn't make the spot, but did you feel how kind of more smooth the turn was? It was just nice. Just a week now. We got pushed a little bit from. Because I think the wind, they're coming out of northeast a little bit. So that makes sense. We got pushed a little bit. So we could have made a steeper turn as we turned inbound.
But Helicopter six, fixer hotel.
You can see if you just have a nice little bank and just try to hold it, you're not chasing anything.
Right?
Right.
All right.
Right.
No, because that stayed on 60 for a little bit.
Yeah, you picked 60. Pretty much three quarters of the way around. All right, so let's depart and then we'll go out northeast and we'll find a field and let's climb to 2,000. Okay. It's time to do a modified max performance more incautionalizer. All the needles are matched up. Temps pressure good. Gap fuel car feet's good. Warsaw traffic, helicopter 181Mike Bravo is leaving. The numbers 18 will be northeast bound. Warsaw. And we'll just kind of cut out there. We'll kind of head out there towards those fields. Yep. Then we come back in. We're gonna have to take. Well, we can use the taxiway for our. Our pull downs.
Okay.
Since we're not making turns, we won't. So we're going to climb to 2,000ft and come into an out of ground effect cover. And we're going to be facing east.
Into the wind traffic. Cherokee 3574, Kilo 13 to the west descending from 5500.
Sam.
Turn off at altitude. Taxi back to the Runway.
I didn't need.
Zero airspeeds.
Auto traffic.
Helicopter 6 Victor Hotel is based the final for Runway nine.
What's that now with like power line workers, guys that are hovering for the.
In space there quite a while. They, they would use the zero.
I don't. The power line guys, they're only 100ft off the ground. So I don't think there's not really.
A whole lot of.
I mean, yes, if they can do it quickly and realize it. But my example on this would be that we're. We. You got a photographer on board. We're doing an out of ground effect cover so they could take some pictures. And then as you're in it, all of a sudden you. You lose your engine.
And.
Let'S say that you're taking pictures over downtown Indianapolis or downtown wherever. And there's no, you know, there's nothing but buildings and parking lots. So the only thing you got to really shoot for is a parking lot that's kind of right below you. And you can't really do it. A whole lot of maneuvering because you have buildings and power lines and whatever else. So the only way really to do it is kind of come straight down and then do it at the very end. So what we're going to do. So you see, you got irrigation right there. And you got irrigation. So let's just split this field kind of and we'll. Where there's no irrigation. So somewhere right here in this middle. And then just start backing that speed off and we'll get it into the outer ground effect cover here. And what we're going to do is we're just going to ride this straight down. Don't give up any real estate. Don't give up air speed. So what happens is once we enter it, there's a tendency to push forward. Okay, give me a little bit of.
Right 4500 left base Runway six right here.
There we go.
And so try to make yourself actually go a little aft cyclic so there is no forward air speed.
Okay.
All right, so what's going to happen is, is once we roll throttle down. We're going to roll throttle down on this one. Stay on top here. Don't give up any hold. Bring that speed back. I'm going to roll off. You're going to lower the throttle or lower the collective. The, the nose is going to go left, so be on right pedal 43. Keep aft cyclic a little bit so you don't have any forward movement.
All right? Okay, we're gonna fall.
You're gonna feel a little weightlessness there. Okay. When you're coming down. But everything's going to stabilize. You'll see that.
We'll.
You'll see that the VSI is going to stabilize at 15, 16, 1700 somewhere in there, and it's not going to get any faster. You're going to notice it's actually pretty smooth.
All right.
Okay.
And then you see we're at 2200. So let's say on this one we've creeped forward a little bit. So. So try not to. Yeah, bring that. We're going to say right around, let's say 1300, so that's 500 AGL. We're going to push the nose forward and build a little airspeed.
Okay.
And then. And then on the next one, we'll get down a little bit lower. All right, so just hold this right here.
Looking good.
All right. Actually, yeah, here I got controls. Just. You have the controls? Yep, I got controls. What I want to do is just kind of. I want to back this up a little bit. I want to have a lot of running room. Just last thing we want to do is go into somebody.
43 is three to the north or three to the north, with inbound for a left, down one for Runway seven. Cold water traffic, Traffic. Cherokee, 74 kilo. We are six and a half the west.
All right, so we're gonna be over the same field. We just kind of backed up some.
Okay.
That way we have this whole field here to play with. All right, so I'm gonna be on with you. When you're ready, you can take on. Come on.
The controls.
Okay, set up. All right. Your aircraft. Okay, keep bringing half cyclic. Get that forward air speed down. We're just kind of using our peripheral to make sure we're not moving forward at all. Here we are. We're all staged, so I'm going to count us down. I'm going to roll the throttle down. We're going to lower collective. We're going to stay on your pedals. See how the strings are. All right, so I'm on together. You're going to feel that little weaknesses. Back half cyclic just a little bit. All right, here we go.
All right. Okay.
Three, two, one. There you go. Now just hold. Just hold. Now that air speed's coming alive. That part of that's the headwind that we got. You can see, look at our BSI. There's 16. It's just going to hold there. Look at our rotor RPM. It's just stabilized.
It's just holding.
Here comes 18. Here comes 17. Just holding.
Okay, here comes 15.
14.
There's 15 again, air speed saying fine. All right, 14.
Let's start pushing forward. Go low airspeed.
That rotor RPM is going to come down again.
Okay, now it's just. Now it becomes a straight in. Here comes street top level.
Little bit of a flare.
Okay, throttle's coming in.
A little bit more flare.
Now give me a pedal turn to the left here. Now we started. We started on that tree line right there.
Really? Wow.
That's where we were when we entered the auto. Part of that is we did move forward a little bit as we were coming down. But you can see that's what. I don't know. Yeah. Not a whole lot. So let's say that you were doing a photo flight. I mean, that look at that distance. That's definitely not so bright. Let's do it again.
Okay.
You all right?
Yeah. Yeah. It's a different feeling, I admit, Especially when you first do it. There you go. Just kind of stay on the left of the trees there. Yeah, it's a different feeling. But you can see rotor RPM stabilized. We got up to about 1900 on the descent rate, but everything stabilized. Like you. There's no vibration. There's no nothing. You're just kind of riding along until you're waiting to push the nose forward to build some air se.
Yeah.
Oh, yeah. I admit it's a different feeling. Especially never done one. But once you get over that initial free fall, I guess that initial couple seconds, everything just kind of stabilizes. Just kind of not.
Not even.
Yeah. Compared to some others.
Yep.
All right, we'll climb up to 2000. Gamble, do it again.
Okay.
You want to come around? We can just use this other field. We don't want people calling in on us, so we'll. We'll use a different field with this big long field here. So let's. Let's get in. I can't even talk out of ground effect. Hover over this field over here, and we'll shoot for that road. That'll give us something to kind of as our spot.
Okay.
All right.
So we'll come around, we'll build our. We'll get a little altitude, we'll come around, we'll get set up, and we'll use that little dirt road right there kind of as our. As our.
Runway nine with a turn to the west.
And then we will go back and we will set up for the pull down.
Awesome. Okay.
And we both got to be feeling it in order to do it, so we will verbally say that on our way down.
Okay.
All right.
As you make hotel Be extending our downwind for the departing traffic. Warsaw.
Yep.
Just keep bringing that aft cycling back to you. Start slowing us down.
And you kind.
Of see how there's a divider right here to the end of the railroad. Just kind of pick up that and kind of do our outer ground effect. Hover above that line, and we'll shoot for that into the kind of that dirt road right there.
That will be our spot.
So just slowly start bringing that airspeed back. Get us into an out of ground effect.
Over.
We'll move forward just a little bit. This one will give us a little bit of a competition here to a little bit of a thing to shoot for.
Looking good.
All right. Just kind of hold us here. All right, so remember, resist the urge to push forward. It's kind of actually little aft cyclic, so we don't give up any of that real estate. Because if we give up that forward real estate now, it's just going to make it harder to keep for us to. At the end to have that flare. Okay.
All right.
Okay.
Everything's looking good.
I think we're pretty much stopped.
We're looking good. We're holding. All right, you ready?
Yes.
All right, here we go. We're going in three, two, one.
Roll down.
Down collective.
There you go. Keep on that pedal.
Pedal aft cyclic to keep us back.
Yep, looking good.
Let me know when you see that spot.
I can see it.
All right, A little bit of right pedal. Keep us in there a little bit. Yeah, a little bit.
We might even be going backwards a little bit. All right, let's. I'll tell you what. Let's go ahead and start pushing forward. Build some of that air speed.
All right, Keep an eye on. Everything's looking good. We're looking good. Everything's looking nice.
Just hold.
Here comes street.
Top level.
A little bit of flare. A little bit more aggressive.
Throttle's coming in. Let it set.
Settle before we start pulling. There you go.
If we would have. If we would have built a little bit more air speed as we. Once we started pushing forward. But, I mean, you can see. Look, we started. If you make a little pedal turn, you.
We pretty much were just.
Pat, can you see the. The sprinkler system out there? We were just to the east of that pivot point. You know, we only went, what, I don't know, 300ft, something like that. You go ahead and get out here that way, but. All right, let's head back and we'll set up for a straight in. How's it feel?
Yeah, good. Yeah. Yeah, it's something.
It's just another tool, though, for you to think about when you're up there flying around. I mean, this is something that you're not gonna do to get a guy ready for his private or commercial check ride.
Right.
I mean, it's just not.
But it's nice feeling that.
I'd hate to feel that in the place first.
First time and it actually happened.
Right.
And never experienced. Yeah.
All right. As you build altitude, we'll just make a right turn.
Okay.
And we'll set up for a left downwind into the taxiway.
Alpha for 09.
Yep.
Okay.
Fuel still?
Yeah, we're looking good. Got a core tank. And we're going back to the airport, so we might be able to get probably two in. And so we're going to verbally commit to each other. And once we do, I'm going to take control of the throttle and roll it all the way down so throttle won't come back alive on us. And you got the airport in sight, so just head directly there. We'll just kind of enter a 45 left downwind on nine.
Okay, so this is looking good.
Just hold this and you can push those forward, build some air speed.
Looking good.
We can take whatever option we got here. Warsaw traffic helicopter 181Mike Bravo is about 3 to the northeast inbound me setting up left downwind. Taxiway Alpha parallel Niner.
Traffic helicopter November 346Victor Hotel. Be in between 09 and taxi bravo. Check Alpha doing hover maneuver. Working in between nine and that code.
Remember, we probably will have a little bit of a slide on. Just keep the nose pointed down the the Runway. Stay on top of your pedals. Keep that cyclic. If anything, maybe push forward a little bit. We don't want any side to side. We don't want to hit sideways. We want to hit straight on.
Okay. Okay.
Just like a. A good running landing.
Yep, yep, yep.
We're gonna try to bleed off all that air speed and try to just set her down, but cold water traffic.
Sky Bronco 43 is in the left.
You're gonna have at least a little bit of. A little bit of a slide. We can take niner if you guys want. Whichever uses.
You guys can take. Now we're just doing hover work down with grass area.
Okay.
Portal Traffic Helicopter 181 Mike Bravo left downwind Niner Warsaw. All right, so we're gonna go to Runway nine. We're gonna shoot for that first intersection. All right, so everything on this is just going to be normal we're going to enter. When you think you can hit the spot. We're going to get our glide at 60 and we're just going to ride that all the way down at treetop level. Mini flare and then more aggressive. And then somewhere on the glide down, we're going to verbally commit.
All right?
And then once we do that, we're in for it. All right, Come on around when you're ready.
All right.
All right.
Warning caution lights are off. Needles are matched. Temps of pressure is good. We've got fuel for what we're doing. Carpet is. I'll add just a little bit here.
Looking good.
All right, final looks good. Warsaw traffic copter 181 Mike Bravo left base. Turning final. All right, so just give me a countdown when you think we can make that spot. Remember, this is all the same that we did. Just a normal straight in, but we're just going to take it to the ground this time.
Cold water traffic. Sky Bronco 43 is in the base to final for Runway seven. Cold water traffic.
If it's not feeling good or it's ugly on the way down, we're not.
Going to do it.
Okay. Okay. All right.
So, hey, how's it.
Where you at?
Short final nine clear. We're going to depart.
Trail attacks way. 09. We can go back to the northeast hangers.
Got you inside.
All right.
Get that cyclic into you.
There you go.
Slowly. Keep bringing it back.
Check a little bit. There you go.
Now just kind of hold this.
Yep, Looking good, looking good.
Over collective.
Just air. Air speed a little bit. Push forward. Come left a little bit. There you go. Looking good.
How you feeling?
Missing the spot.
Put. All right. All right, we're gonna go to.
We're going to the ground.
All right.
Okay, I got throttle.
Okay.
All right. Just hold. Keep that air speed up. All right, here comes tree top level.
A little bit of a flare, a little bit more aggressive. Push forward, Start leveling out. Holy all there is to it, my friend.
Got a little sideways with the. But we were not. We didn't have any forward movement. Actually, that's probably one of the. The guy that I taught last time when I teach him, he came here for his cfi. He did one and some of the best pull downs I've ever seen. But yeah, there's nothing to it.
We.
I mean, that's all it is. Burn up all that rotor RPM for the set down.
Wow. All right. Feeling good.
Yeah.
Do it again.
Let's get one more in.
Get one more in. Yep.
Actually, we didn't have any slide or anything other than kind of a little off.
I mean, cricket here. But.
But there was no slide. So who. And if we did have a slide, we would be going, you know, straight for the nose. We wouldn't try to. Right, Correct. All right, let's get another one in.
Real quick, then we'll go the hangar.
No, that. Actually, I was like, oh, we're here.
It's a lot easier to do a pull down than it is a power recovery. I'm telling you. That's. I wish we would. I wish that's the way we do it. But insurance companies say no, no on that because they don't want to tear up aircraft. Needles, temps, trash, fuel. We got time for another one.
You good to sit it down with a hover auto?
Yeah. You want to do one?
Yeah. Okay.
Take us to the grass over there. So somewhere in here.
Okay.
But somewhere where it's flat for sure.
Yep.
A little bit more forward. All right, this works.
This looks good.
Right about here.
All right.
Remember to reposition the hands or reposition your left hand so you can only roll towards you. And you give me a countdown and.
You do it just nice and smooth.
Nice and smooth, man. Nice and smooth.
All right, this height, we're good.
Yeah, this works.
All right.
And.
Yep.
Try to get her steady looking outside.
All right.
And.
Three, two. There you go. Good. So there's two collected, huh? Now let's.
Let's pick it up. Let's do a little one. A little bit higher. Let's do one like five feet and see if we time it out to let it start to settle and then you start bringing up collective.
Okay.
Gotta find that spot somewhere.
Right there. Pick it up.
Yeah, I don't know what that was.
Yeah, I didn't like that.
Yeah.
Well, let's make sure that this over auto is a lot better than that.
All right.
Bringing us up just a little bit more. All right, so now there's going to be like a one or two second delay before you start pulling that collective.
Okay.
All right. As she starts to settle, try to time the collective the same momentum as she's. As she's settling.
All right.
Okay.
All right. About here. Yeah, that's a word. All right.
When you're ready, Count me down.
Three, two, one. Nice and smooth.
There you go.
Nice.
I'll take that. I'll do that. I want to try one.
Let me try.
Okay, you control.
Let's see how much I can.
Yeah.
And the instrument. I got really good at them.
I. I like really like doing them.
Up just a little bit higher. See if I can time it out. All right, Here we go.
3, 2, 1.
I'll take it.
Nice. Yeah. All right.
Want to take it and take us back over there?
Yeah, I'll take.
All right.
Your aircraft just put us on kind of behind. Well, he's. I think he's on the taxiway, so just. You see the red cones? You got the orange cones? Just park to the south of those facing.
Okay. Okay.
Well, I don't care how you face. Yeah, we'll just face it the same.
Way as a 20.
All right.
All right, your aircraft, when you're ready, nice and easy.
Yeah, I'm gonna get a good.
Get a good pick up here. I feel like maybe just you hair rush it right at the end. Like, you, like you kind of. Once it gets really light, you kind of get. I mean, I don't. Yeah, it's not like you're scared, but once it gets kind of light, you don't like it and you just kind of pull up. You know what I mean?
Keep that.
Just keep that slow. Pull. Yeah, like when I'm pull up, when I'm pulling my helicopter up with 429, like, I get it real light on skids, and I actually get to the point where I kind of like get the front end. Kind of likes to come up first, and I just let it. And then I'm just kind of really working it just to kind of bring it straight up. Kind of neat. I kind of like it. It's almost like I'm trying to practice. Like if I'm doing like a. A toe in or some like that, you know? I mean, like, you're just trying to be nice and smooth. Nice. Nice and slow.
All right, man.
Not too bad. How'd you like it? Yeah, I like.
Yeah, that's good stuff. Not something you do every day, but.
It'S something that you can see that you can use, you know, that you'd. You know, if all you do is straight ends and 180s, that's. That's. And that's all, you know, that you may not know. I mean, I've actually had someone say, well, well, you can't go below 60s.
Sure you can, but no.
Yes, you can. Well, it wasn't that he was arguing, but he just had never seen it. His instructor, which, good for the instructor, just never will allow him to go.
60 or below 60.
Right in here.
Yeah, Put us. Take us right up there and line us up. Give me a facing northbound. There you're going to have a right crosswind coming through this. These hangers right here.
There you go.
Set her on down somewhere in here. Straighten her up just a little bit.
There you go. Find it. There it is.
Nice and easy.
Looking for the ground. Boom.
That'll work right there. We'll count that as four. All right? All right. Shut down procedures.
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