northies Posted April 26, 2006 Report Share Posted April 26, 2006 i am really struggling with tight circuits and any advice would be great. i fly a R44 II and the biggest problem is when to commence the turn. at the moment i am downwind at about 200ft at 60-80kts, the instructor says that i must enter the circuit when i am ready. the problem is knowing when to commence the turn to end up where i need to, and i typically enter late and then overfly the chosen lz or stop at about 80ft above the lz. i dump collective, push right pedal and do a 30 or 40 degree turn but i feel like i am plumeting to the ground and then i start to pull power too soon. any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flingwing206 Posted April 26, 2006 Report Share Posted April 26, 2006 OK- you got me. What is a "tight circuit"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super64 Posted April 26, 2006 Report Share Posted April 26, 2006 tight circuit.....First thought is the traffic pattern but he mentions that he is on downwind??? Not sure where northies is from so maybe thats what they call it in his neck of the woods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joker Posted April 26, 2006 Report Share Posted April 26, 2006 Hmmm... I must admit, Northies has me stumped too! I can't imagine why you'd want to be 200' downwind in preparation for a landing. Its a pretty tight situation if you have an engine failure. Can you give us an example?! Joker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pokey Posted April 28, 2006 Report Share Posted April 28, 2006 i am really struggling with tight circuits and any advice would be great. i fly a R44 II and the biggest problem is when to commence the turn. at the moment i am downwind at about 200ft at 60-80kts, the instructor says that i must enter the circuit when i am ready. the problem is knowing when to commence the turn to end up where i need to, and i typically enter late and then overfly the chosen lz or stop at about 80ft above the lz. i dump collective, push right pedal and do a 30 or 40 degree turn but i feel like i am plumeting to the ground and then i start to pull power too soon. any ideas? my advice is: 1) pay attention to the wind in a tight circuit ( pattern) 2) keep your landing spot in site & "fly" to it 2a) make necessary corrections "immediately" ! and last but not least "ALWAYS" !! --leave youself an out ( another option) _ if at all possible Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wesp Posted April 28, 2006 Report Share Posted April 28, 2006 Downwind 200 ft. is just too low. If you have this experience level. Your instructor should be able to tell you what to do in the first place, but since he let's you fly this dangerously, it's obvious you turn to us. If you have an engine failure at 200 ft. downwind, you will have to make a very steep turn to turn into wind. With that load factor the RPM of an R-44 will go through the roof. Find another instructor. Wesp CFI(H) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northies Posted April 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2006 Thanks for the help, it feels so uncomfortable doing this circuit, like it is all wrong. i have flown with a few other instructors and none of them require this type of circuit. time to move away from the old instructor for good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
67november Posted April 29, 2006 Report Share Posted April 29, 2006 good on you northies fly safe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.