Kenny Keller explains wind limits for helicopter training: students can't solo above 12 knots, he stops teaching around 30 knots, and his advice for rough air is to slow to 60 knots and ride it out or head back.
Questions this video answers
About 12 knots ("we don't let students usually go much over 12 knots").
Over 30 knots ("if it's over 30, I'm not even going to take a person up").
45 knots ("The most winds I've been up in ... is 45 knots").
"Slow to 60."
Chapters
How much do you use? As a general rule, that's too much for training. And then another question. How much did you guys use for too much in ems? As far as training goes, you know, you want a fairly calm, fairly nice day. You don't want a whole lot of wind. As you progress through the training, you get better and more experienced. You can handle wind a lot more than what you did in the beginning. Advisable to go out as you're going through your training before you get, say, the private to go out on an extra windy day at least a couple of times with your instructor and let it beat you around. Get to know that feeling of what it's like when it's kind of uncomfortable in the wind speeding you around. As far as, like, say, solo, we don't let students usually go much over 12 knots. We usually sign 12 knots or less for a solo. And then as far as EMS flying goes, we didn't have an absolute limit. It was up to the pilot and up to the crew as far as what we really would go out in. And I can tell you that in general, when it gets much over, say, 30 knots, it starts getting pretty, pretty rough. And then again, it depends on, you know, 30 knots can be not bad if the wind is fairly steady and smooth. But let's say it's 15 or 20, gusting 30, that can be pretty darn uncomfortable. Really depends on the pilot, depends on the crew, what they're comfortable with. The most winds I've been up in as far as current winds is 45 knots, and that was in the Jet Ranger, and I really didn't care for that really at all. And then flying the BK117, I did an approach to a rooftop once, pretty tall rooftop, and with winds gusting somewhere around 45, and that was pretty darn uncomfortable. Not saying you can't fly in those higher winds really can be very, very uncomfortable. Kind of varies depending on what aircraft you're flying, what stage you are at in your career. As far as training in general, if it's over 30, I'm not even going to take a person up. It's just hard to make any progress when you're getting really, really beat around. Kind of set your own personal minimums after you get flying on your own. Be conservative. You learn through your training, working with your instructor, you're going to kind of get an idea of what, what's beneficial to your training and what's really not. The trick is if you get into turbulence or it's kind of windy and beating you around is. Don't fight it. Try to relax. Try to stay as this thing's beating me around, try to stay relaxed on the controls. Slow down a good 60. Slow to 60. Just kind of ride it out. If it's getting too much for you, get it on the ground, get back to your home base or find another place to land if it's getting to be too much. So I hope that helps. If you'd like to learn more about our helicopter online ground School Getting through the big pile of paperwork, the big pile of books and all the things that you have for your checkride can be very overwhelming. No matter what it is private commercial, cfi, it can be very overwhelming. And that's what we're here to do is help get you through that overwhelm comment below and we'll see you in the next video.
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