Types of Hovering Turns in Helicopters

Welcome back! I'm Jacob and this video expands on hoverwork by covering the different types of hovering turns. If you're enjoying the channel so far, be sure to hit like and subscribe!
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One of the beautiful parts of flying helicopters is being able to hover in place. You can go up, down, as well as change which way you're facing to get set up for other maneuvers. This video introduces 3 types of pedal turns and where they make sense to use.
The first type of turn is by far the most common & what's taught in flight schools and that's Turns about the Mast. In this maneuver, the helicopter just turns in place using the mast, or center of the rotor system, as a pivot point. In calm winds, the pilot maintains neutral cyclic while applying Right pedal to turn right or Left pedal to turn left. The benefit of this type of turn is that it's simple and the easiest to control.
The next type of turn is a Turn about the Nose. In this, imagine the pivot point being the nose of the aircraft or a point right off the nose. In this type of turn the nose stays fixed while the entire helicopter pivots around it. To do this, you'll need opposing cyclic and pedal inputs. That is, Right cyclic with Left pedal to rotate counterclockwise or Left cyclic with Right pedal to turn clockwise. When could you use this? well one reason could be if there was a hazard in a landing area. Say there's a tree or metal stake in a field and you want to reposition around it without taking eyes off and possibly losing sight of it. By using this turn you keep the hazard off the nose, in site, and away from your tail rotor and landing gear to ensure clearance. I also prefer this technique for turning around 180 degrees at night in tight landing zones because I can put the rotor right to the edge of the treelike and give my tail plenty of room in the turn while focusing forward. If I were to turn about the mast here, I'm constantly scanning far left to far right and back through the turn which increases workload. Ultimately, this type of turn helps clear obstacles because it keeps everything front and center off the nose.
The last hovering turn I'll cover is a Turn about the Tail. Just like the name implies, this turn imagines the tail rotor as the pivot point. This maneuver keeps the tail rotor in a fixed position throughout the turn and uses non-opposing control inputs. Right cyclic and Right pedal to turn Right or Left cyclic and Left pedal to turn left. This turn can be used if you absolutely want to keep your tail rotor in the same spot while you turn around. Let's say there's a chain link fence, line of trees, or something that I don't want my tail rotor close to, like people (Tail rotors kill people every year from walking into them because they're unfamiliar with helicopters and can't see them when the rotors are spinning). By turning about the tail, I can pivot around the tail as an option to guarantee that clearance.
Lastly, I'll cover some tips on what to look for in all pedal turns.
1. Focus on where you want to go. If you're turning right, look right. Turning left, look left. Clear the path the fuselage is moving to. In turns about the nose, you'll scan to the side of the turn but generally keep focus off the nose.
2. If there are winds, put the cyclic into the winds to compensate. All of the above examples were in neutral wind conditions. If the wind is pushing you, you'll have to push cyclic against it to maintain the desired position or ground track.
3. Watch out for Loss of Tail Rotor Effectiveness (LTE) regions if operating Out of Ground Effect (OGE) or near Max Torque Available (MTA). If you don't know about LTE, check my video here ( • Loss of Tail Rotor Eff... ).
4. Practice these turns in open areas before confined areas. If you have excessive drift in these turns, clean it up before doing them with more obstacles present.
That wraps up this video. Thanks for watching and be sure to hit like and subscribe. As always, I'm Jacob and this is Helicopter Lessons in 10 Minutes or Less. Safe flying.

[@arunsharma-dx4yn]

When I was a student helicopter pilot we used a large dump truck tyre [about 15feet diameter] lying flat on the ground as the point about which the helicopter nose would transit. This was very early in the course and the aim was to show that hovering and turning through 360degrees brought all sorts of interesting wind effects into play.

[@christopherpeters5916]

Rake the grass. No teeth marks

[@dream868]

Thank you for all of your videos! You have helped so many people learn. You rock!

[@dkoz8321]

Great post. I like nose turns. Especcially when landing on painted helispot. Approach from safe azimuth, but as upwind as obstacles and field approach chart allows. Stabilize nose on outer spot circle. Then nose hover turn with slow fwd speed into wind. Then center on landing spot and T/D gently. In close combat, a moving nose turn with gun track, sometimes called a 'vulture turn' keeps helicopter moving in a circular flight track about target while keeping nose pointed at target. Two or more helos, working as a team, at staggered AGL, can prosecute same target at same time with cannon and rocket fire without coming into each other's line of fire.

[@kroganoperator]

Thanks Jacob. If you could release videos on other types flight maneuvers when you have the chance, that would be fantastic. I appreciate the effort you put into these videos. They've helped me tremendously

[@ZenithE8]

Thanks so much for your videos!
Very clear and understandable. Very helpful.

[@tac-cobserver3788]

Awesome, thanks for sharing 🤙
Well, stay healthy for all of us & Safety First! Peace across Globe ✌😉

[@davidwallace5738]

Great video sir. Thank you.

[@christopherpeters5916]

Keep looking up

[@sarahcarter3557]

Hi Jacob, your videos have been a great help in helping me pass my PPLH last year. Many thanks.
What about box turns, I'm sure they are worth a mention?

[@victorrosarioreyes573]

Thank you buddy. These videos has made my training so far. Hope you keep growing!

[@senseieueev960]

Thanks!

[@olehbaranovskyi2605]

You make really usefull videos. Keep going and wish you passion to continue what you do.
Can you please make a video Decision making for IFR and VFR flights in ordinary and not EMS flights.
Thanks in advance.

[@helicopterlessonsin10minut10]

Sure thing. I’ll add it to the list.

[@olehbaranovskyi2605]

@@helicopterlessonsin10minut10 I appriciate it:)

[@memofrf]

Thank you.

[@thangmantuang2342]

Can you make a playlist geared towards the aviation information we need to know to pass the sift?

[@helicopterlessonsin10minut10]

Yep. It’s done and posted.

[@christopherpeters5916]

Will helicopter want to vane into the wind?

[@renodugan9989]

Great Video Jacob!! Hey I’ve heard that Warrant officer flight school has about a 14% attrition rate due to flight deficiencies, do you know what is a common area where pilots struggle?

[@helicopterlessonsin10minut10]

It’s not that high. Honestly maybe 10% fail out. By the time they’ve made it that far most people are pretty motivated to fly.

[@mbuyi-gereonlopa2668]

Make a video Best way For Fuel Calculations that works best. For different Helicopters

[@helicopterlessonsin10minut10]

I’ve looked into that and every helicopter seems to have its own rules of thumb or tricks. Each aircraft is so different it’s hard to make a universal video for that.

[@mbuyi-gereonlopa2668]

@@helicopterlessonsin10minut10 Thanks appreciate it skipper . Btw I love your Videos they helped me with my ppl and com exams now they help me on day to day basis. Keep Going ✊🏾

[@helicopterlessonsin10minut10]

Thanks for the feedback!

[@dwightmcqueen5771]

Rather have a Russian chopper any day

[@christopherpeters5916]

😂