"Steve R" wrote


Don't assume that the gyro is automatically going to be a hard landing and
the airplane is automatically going to be a smooth one. It's just not
that simple.

I take from the tone that you are an autogyro guy. :-)

I know and understand how an autogyro handles an engine failure. It is a
smooth landing, and slow, _if_ the pilot does everything right, and if
sufficient altitude and forward speed exist at the time of the failure.

If the pilot misjudges the flare, bump. If the engine craps at a low
altitude, and there is not enough time to trade altitude for airspeed and
rotor speed, bump. Helmets help bumps.

If a fixed wing has good altitude and speed, he has a chance to get a smooth
landing, if there is suitable room for a landing. No need for helmet,
perhaps. Not enough room, probably, a helmet won't help.

If there is not sufficient altitude and airspeed, and there could be a
stall-spin, also, there will probably be little left that a helmet could
help.

If anything, I'm coming down on the side of a gyro accident being (possibly)
more survivable, and a helmet would definitely help, when it comes right
down to the last seconds.

Lastly, I know these are all probably's. No solid rule holds for everything
in life.

It just my gut feeling that a helmet is likely to do you more good in an
autogyro than a fixed wing. Not in an enclosed cockpit fixed wing?
Probably going to want a helmet, for one of those, too. That also reminds
me of another reason so many autogyro drivers wear helmets. The majority of
autogyros probably are open cockpit, too.
--
Jim in NC