Kenny Keller explains the air cushion effect that forms 6 to 8 inches above the ground during helicopter landings. Pilots need to push through it with a small additional input on the collective to settle the aircraft, a lesson he learned from examiner Jerry Ventrell.
Questions this video answers
August 7, 2023.
Approximately 6 to 8 inches above the surface.
25% off ProPilot until the end of August (promo code referenced).
574-767-1797.
Robinson R44.
You're talking about air cushion when you were coming down.
Yep.
Is that also something that gets applied if you're not coming straight down? If you're coming in it with the technique?
Yeah, it still gives you it kind of. When you get 6 to 8 inches above whatever you're trying to land on, you have to give a little forward or a little down push on this to make it go, because it's getting an air cushion. And that's where everybody gets down to that cushion, and they can't understand why it doesn't go down. So that's the whole point is we're going, once you get down that cushion, then you got to go just a touch more down collective. And it's something that people don't teach, and I don't know why. Luckily, an old timer taught it to me and I'm like, not all instructors teach people that. And they don't understand why they have so much trouble setting it down.
Live to fly another day. Helicopterground.com Coffee, coffee, coffee, coffee, Coffee, Coffee.
Yes. Coffee with Kenny. 303. What I just mentioned about the air cushion, I wasn't taught this by an instructor. I wasn't taught this until I was taking, I think, my commercial checkride with legendary examiner Jerry Ventrell that I love talking about. Still doing checkrides after 50 some years. He's the one that showed me, hey, when you're doing these set downs, that you get that air cushion 6 to 8 inches before you actually touch down is you get an air cushion. And that's why people struggle and go through all this. So just be prepared for that. When you're coming down nice and slow, be ready just to give that little tiny push on the collective a little bit down to make it go on down to the ground. I know it sounds easy enough and it can be, but when you see people coming down and struggling right before they touch, I see it every day, private commercial cfi. No matter what rating it is, people get a little bit nervous. Especially when they come and fly with somebody new, different, different location. They're a little nervous. They go to sit down, they go, oh, six to eight inches above the ground. They start doing this as you're coming down nice and slow. You're almost there. You're almost there. Don't look at the ground. Just go, okay, there's the air cushion a little bit down. It's a great little tip. So down below, maneuver guide. We showed it yesterday. There's a free maneuver guide down below, and we're gonna throw out a code again for August. 25% off ProPilot until the end of August. KK 25 off. That's my personal code. And if you have a question, text Heather. 574-767-1797. All right, we got to go open the doors up. It's hot in here. Come back tomorrow for 304. Yeah, 304. And again, I don't know what I'm going to do yet. That's part of the fun because we've. We've restored coffee with Kenny. And that was always the idea. Majority of the time they were at home. But this time around, we're still. The idea is still while I'm drinking coffee and I'm thinking and getting my day going or I'm doing it from a video question. Somebody said, hey, what about this? You know, had some question. That's what I do these on. So this go around is really just. We're also highlighting the fact that we have an R44 here, and we're super proud of it. And we got lived to fly another day because we're hogs and that's what we're teaching and we're training inside hogs. Make good decisions. Say no. Stay on the ground. Love to fly another day. Okay, I'm done. Peace out.
