R44 Helicopter Autorotation Practice

Join me and Trevor Hale, a certified flight instructor from Mesa, AZ, for a 30-minute flight where I practice straight-in and 180° autorotations. Before we finish up, Trevor demonstrates -- or tries to demonstrate -- the Vuichard Maneuver for recovering from settling with power/vortex ring state. This is a complete video of our flight and includes all conversation, both on-topic and off-topic. It's basically two pilots practicing together, chatting about the maneuvers and sharing flying stories. I considered editing out the downwind portions of each pattern we flew, but thought there was enough interesting chatter to keep it. We're real people and we're not trying to prove anything. We're also not trying to show off, so don't expect anything fancy.

Because so many folks seem to like the scenic flying I do in the area, I also include my flight to the airport and back to base from the airport. If all you care about are the autorotations, start the video at about 5:00 and end it when Trevor and I land. If you're here for the scenery, just watch the first and last 5 minutes.

There's a lot to say about this video. Unfortunately, YouTube only gives me 5000 characters for a description and my comments are closer to 10,000. So I urge you to read the full description on my blog at https://www.aneclecticmind.com/?p=12823. That's also where you'll find links to lots more information if you really want questions answered.

I hope you find the video interesting (at least) and educational (if you're a pilot who really wants to learn about this). I know it's not as exciting as the dramatic autorotations you can find in other YouTube videos. I don't fly like that so if that's what you come to my channel for, you'll be disappointed. I believe in flying within my limitations and the limitations of my aircraft. That's the only thing that can keep me and my passengers safe.

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The usual questions answered:

About Me and the Helicopter
- I have been flying for about 20 years. My nearly 4,000 hours of flight time is in R44, R22, Bell 206L (Long Ranger), and Bell 47 helicopters.
- The helicopter is a Robinson R44 Raven II -- the same one that appears in the photo at the beginning of the video. You can learn more about them here: https://robinsonheli.com/r44-specific... I own this helicopter. It is the third helicopter I've owned since 2000.
- My helicopter has ADS-B Out and is picked up by radar facilities. You can see my track for recent flights on Flightradar24: https://www.flightradar24.com/data/ai...
This is a great site for tracking any almost any flight, including the airlines.

About the Video
- The video was recorded with a pair of GoPro cameras, one of which is connected to the helicopter's intercom system. Both cameras record audio, but I dialed down the helicopter sound to about 40% of normal volume so it wouldn't be annoying.
- The video was edited on a Macintosh using Screenflow software. (Screenflow was the only affordable software I could find that allowed me to do picture-in-picture.) Learn more about it here: https://www.telestream.net/screenflow...
- The intro music is by Bob Levitus, famed "Dr. Mac." You can find him here: http://www.boblevitus.com/

I'm trying to drop flying videos like this one every Sunday morning and usually drop "extras" with more info about owning and operating a helicopter midweek. I'm also working on putting together occasional livestreams with Q&A chat. Subscribe so you don't miss anything new! And tell your friends. The more subscribers I have, the more motivated I am to keep producing videos like this one.

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