* Helicopter tail rotors are naturally drawn toward trees, stumps, rocks, etc.
While it may be possible to ward off this event some of the time, it cannot, despite the best efforts of the crew, always be prevented.
It’s just what they do.
* The engine RPM and the rotor RPM must BOTH be kept in the GREEN.
Failure to heed this commandment can adversely affect the morale of the crew.
* The terms Protective Armor and Helicopter are mutually exclusive.
* “Chicken Plates” are not something you order in a restaurant.
* Loud, sudden noises in a helicopter WILL get your undivided attention.
* The further you fly into the mountains, the louder the strange engine noises become.
* It is a bad thing to run out of airspeed, altitude and ideas all at the same time.
* “Pucker Factor” is the formal name of the equation that states the more hairy the situation is, the more of the seat cushion will be sucked up your butt.
It can be expressed in its mathematical formula of:
S (suction) + H (height above ground) + I (interest in staying alive) + T (# of tracers coming your way).
* Running out of pedal, fore or aft cyclic, or collective are all bad ideas.
Any combination of these can be deadly.
* Helicopters have been described as nothing more than 50,000 parts flying in close formation. It is the mechanics responsibility to keep that formation as tight as possible.
* LZ’s are always hot.
* There are ‘old’ pilots and ‘bold’ pilots, but there are no ‘old, bold’ pilots.
The ‘Pucker factor’ formula does not make sense.