A question for any helicopter pilots here

[Ricky]

Here's perhaps a strange question;

Do helicopters have lower IFR minimums than fixed-wing aircraft?

It seems like IFR would be a cinch in a chopper because if you got
confused or the flying got difficult one could just slow down, stop,
hover, think about it and then continue once the pilot was
"comfortable" again.

Ricky

[Darkwing]

"Ricky" > wrote in message
...
>
> Here's perhaps a strange question;
>
> Do helicopters have lower IFR minimums than fixed-wing aircraft?
>
> It seems like IFR would be a cinch in a chopper because if you got
> confused or the flying got difficult one could just slow down, stop,
> hover, think about it and then continue once the pilot was
> "comfortable" again.
>
> Ricky


You can also back up the ILS approach and start over, so can blimps with a
decent head wind!

[Gig 601XL Builder[_2_]]

Ricky wrote:
> Here's perhaps a strange question;
>
> Do helicopters have lower IFR minimums than fixed-wing aircraft?
>
> It seems like IFR would be a cinch in a chopper because if you got
> confused or the flying got difficult one could just slow down, stop,
> hover, think about it and then continue once the pilot was
> "comfortable" again.
>
> Ricky


Not Helicopter IFR rated but helos do have lower VFR minimums. As far as
being able to stop and hover in the soup I can't imagine being able to
do it if there was any turbulence at all. It's hard enough with a good
ground reference.

[Ol Shy & Bashful]

On Mar 4, 1:49*pm, Ricky > wrote:
> Here's perhaps a strange question;
>
> Do helicopters have lower IFR minimums than fixed-wing aircraft?
>
> It seems like IFR would be a cinch in a chopper because if you got
> confused or the flying got difficult one could just slow down, stop,
> hover, think about it and then continue once the pilot was
> "comfortable" again.
>
> Ricky

Ricky
Not a strange question at all. Helicopters have HALF the phyxed wing
minimums for IFR.
Ol S&B CFII/RAM

[Denny]

> Ricky
> Not a strange question at all. Helicopters have HALF the phyxed wing
> minimums for IFR.
> Ol S&B CFII/RAM

This is not as cut and dried as it may seem... There was an incident a
couple years back where a chopper came zooming down the highway on one
of those days where the tops of the taller trees ~100' were up in
the clag, so he was only 70'-80' off the ground... I could count the
rivets as he went by... I was annoyed over the fact that he was
likely to pile it up and give GA another black eye in the media... So
I called the local FSDO and had a chat with their chief... Bottom line
at this FSDO was that as long as he controlled his speed so that he
could see and avoid obstructions they did not have a problem with him
having to go around the trees and cell towers...


denny

[Dylan Smith]

On 2008-03-05, Denny > wrote:
> rivets as he went by... I was annoyed over the fact that he was
> likely to pile it up and give GA another black eye in the media... So
> I called the local FSDO and had a chat with their chief... Bottom line
> at this FSDO was that as long as he controlled his speed so that he
> could see and avoid obstructions they did not have a problem with him
> having to go around the trees and cell towers...

Having now got to fly a helicopter, I was amazed, from my fixed wing
perspective, how incredibly manoeverable they are at low speed. From a
fixed wing point of view, flying low and slow around obstructions is
suicidal. But a helicopter going low and slow is more manoeverable than
a sports car.

I did a 'confined area landing' with the instructor, and as a fixed wing
pilot, it made my wossnames spin the way we were flying at low altitude.
However, the helicopter had an amazing ability to do a fairly rapid
stop, rapid turns and rapid climbs.

That's not to say that flying at less than 100 feet above a highway
(that's not 500 ft from any vehicle, vessel or structure!) is imprudent.

--
From the sunny Isle of Man.
Yes, the Reply-To email address is valid.

[Ol Shy & Bashful]

On Mar 5, 6:28*am, Denny > wrote:
> > Ricky
> > Not a strange question at all. Helicopters have HALF the phyxed wing
> > minimums for IFR.
> > Ol S&B CFII/RAM
>
> This is not as cut and dried as it may seem... There was an incident a
> couple years back where a chopper came zooming down the highway on one
> of those days where the tops of the taller trees * ~100' * were up in
> the clag, so he was only 70'-80' off the ground... I could count the
> rivets as he went by... *I was annoyed over the fact that he was
> likely to pile it up and give GA another black eye in the media... So
> I called the local FSDO and had a chat with their chief... Bottom line
> at this FSDO was that as long as he controlled his speed so that he
> could see and avoid obstructions they did not have a problem with him
> having to go around the trees and cell towers...
>
> denny

Denny
Many phyxed wing pilots do not understand rotor flying or its
idiosyncracies and IFR in particular. Even the FSDO people often are
at odds when it comes to rotor and IFR, or ANY kind of rotor for that
matter.
I've been IFR rated with FW for nearly 50 years, IFR rotor for over
25, and a CFII Rotor for 15+. Now I wonder if it had been me you saw
whizzing by, completely legal, and highly qualified and current, had
you known me, if your reaction would have been the same?? BTW, I've
got more than 1200 actual IFR logged and a bunch more in sims and
hood.
Sometimes what we see and our reactions are not always accurate ones.
When I was still active in ag operations we often flew in lousy
visibility, completely legal. Were we eager to die? Nope. Did we think
about what we were doing? Yep. Did we exercise caution and prudence?
You bettcha. Were we pros? Some of the best in the world....
Best Regards
Ol S&B