Flew with a Robinson factory pilot today..

Hi Kevin,

You didn't say, but I'm assuming that you were
flying a R22, and not the R44. I've only done
about 3 autos in the R22, but what you are saying
makes sense to me, and was also the way I was
taught. As long as you don't let the rotor RPM
get into the red, you are fine, and the additional
rotational momentum will be a good thing when you
go to set it down.

OTOH, I personally would tend to keep the rotor on
the high end and avoid getting even close to the
90% because of the possibility of a blade stall,
and the unrecoverable fatal consequences.

The OTHER Kevin in San Diego wrote:

I've always argued that once you're stabilized in the auto at 60-65
knots and get the rpm in the green, you don't have to do JACK with the
collective for most maneuvers on the way down as long as you don't
exceed 110% (max power off RPM in the R22) or go below 90% RPM. I've
argued that in the flare, your RPM goes well above 102% so why not let
it get into the upper yellow arc on the way down? Once you're back to
your 60-65 knots, the RPM will drop right back into the green..