Kenny Keller walks through a normal approach in a Robinson R44: set up downwind at 500 feet and 70 knots, cross your visual reference at 300 feet, then gradually slow from 60 to 40 knots while managing descent with coordinated collective, pedal, and cyclic inputs.
Questions this video answers
About 60–65 knots.
500 ft (downwind) and 70 knots.
Crossing the tree line at about 300 ft AGL.
60 knots and about 1,100 ft in trim (zero rate of descent) when starting the approach.
A little down collective, a little right pedal, and a little aft cyclic.
Chapters
No matter what helicopter you're flying, the key is a good setup. And out of all these different aircraft, I don't do a whole lot different in one than when I do the other. In general, I start my approaches about 60, 65 and then right from the time I start my approach, I'm slowly decreasing the speed all the way in. Key is a good setup. Right now we're on downwind. I have a nice downwind base and final kind of setup where everything's at. I'm going to go ahead, full carb heat. I do 500ft for downwind, 70 knots. We got that. We've got our airspeed, altitude and trim. Everything's nice where we like it. So we're gonna go shoot for the numbers 2, 8. As soon as I'm at beam 2.8, I'm gonna start slowing the aircraft down and start a small, very small rate of descent. Now we always do the three things the same at the beginning of a descent. A little bit of down collective, a little bit of right pedal and a little bit of aft cyclic. And then I have a row of trees over to the left. If I come over those trees at 300 AGL, I know that I am going to be on a normal approach. Takes all the guesswork of trying to decide is this a normal, is this shallow, is this deep. Right now I am descending down to 1100. Textbook is 300 AGL for a textbook approach, the start of your approach. So I want to be at 60, 1100 in trim when I start to approach. Zero rate of descent. So it's a nice setup. I got my 60, I'm about 1200 coming around for my tree line. And if I do it right, I'm going to be at 1160 in TRIM, 0 rate ascent when I come over those trees, alright, I'm a little slow, so I'll pull up a little bit of power, get rid of that descent. There's 1100ft, get back up to my 60. Now I'm using the compass, down to the numbers 2, 8. So there's my numbers, I'm 300 AGL, there's my normal approach. So I'm going to go a little down collective, little right pedal, little bit of aft cyclic. So I started at 60, then I'm going to go to 55 and then I'm going to go to 40 or I mean 45 and then 40. It's a gradual process the whole time we're coming in. So I'm not really looking at any of the gauges or the instruments. I'm just focusing on my numbers. 2.8. I'm using the collective to control my angle. I'm using the cyclic to control my speed. About 50ft AGL. I'm going to put a little left pedal in to get in line with the Runway. Prior to 50ft we keep it trim with the wind. Number two eight still on my line of sight from the beginning of the approach. Keeping the aircraft level, raising a little collective, adjusting or adding the left pedal because we've added a little power and right down to the numbers 2 8.
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