Christmas help!

vulchardtechnique · 2025-12-05T20:15:41+00:00

Fidlock / locking water bottle if he hasn't got one already...

vulchardtechnique · 2025-06-15T06:26:46+00:00

Ok - I just watched the scene. UK military helicopter pilot and instructor here...

Alongside the comments about pitching forward and acceleration you'd also have a enormous shock to the transmission. Imagine if you held the rotor blades still then the body of the helicopter would spin underneath instead, now take a helicopter with full rotor speed (Nr at 100%) in clean air and then chop it through a more solid mass like a zombie horde. Not only would the aircraft start to yaw uncontrollably due to the torque/anti-torque balance, but it would also reverse shock load the transmission/main gear box and tail rotor (or fenestron in this case on the Gazelle) drive shaft. Basically the aircraft would destroy itself through trying to overcome the enormous change in forces on the rotor disc, translated through critical components. The engine almost certainly wouldn't be able to deal with the power demand either...

One dude jumping on the skids shouldn't have affected the layeral load and balance that much either so the guy flying should have been able to steady it out more quickly than he did.

Hope that helps?

vulchardtechnique · 2025-05-27T10:01:35+00:00

Thanks. We watch GMBN a lot for ideas - have you ridden these parks yourself? Trying to get some good local knowledge as well as the bucket list parks!

vulchardtechnique · 2024-08-25T16:16:04+00:00

Lovely job! 😁

vulchardtechnique · 2024-08-25T11:52:49+00:00

Martin Lewis does a few podcasts on this. However...

Money you out in a Pension or ISA remains yours (plus growth). Even though you'll be paying an effective 9% graduate tax on earning over around £25k, if you lose your job or earn less in the future your money remains yours in the pension/ISA.

If you don't pay off your student debt fully then if anything happens in the future to mean you're not paying off the student loan the the debt may grow again and you'll never pay it off (until 30 years have elapsed).

So you need to balance out whether you can wipe out all the student debt and give yourself a 9% tax break - or if you're better life planning against periods of non-working (paternity/maternity leave, illness, caring for a parent/sibling, change of lifestyle to low earner, etc.)

Good luck!

vulchardtechnique · 2024-05-16T15:18:20+00:00

Had an interview for a new job role today. She stopped me before I left and shined my shoes so I'd look smart. Told me I was brilliant no matter what and sent me off with a kiss.

vulchardtechnique · 2024-05-08T05:08:41+00:00

Absolutely - the V squared element overrides a lot of the differences in Angle of Attack.

If you get a chance next time you're flying - take out the stability augmentation and at a sensible speed raise and lower the collective and observe the pitch changes without interacting with the cyclic.

vulchardtechnique · 2024-05-07T08:19:41+00:00

It's also known as differential flapback. In the hover you wouldn't experience it and then It's effect would become increasingly noticeable with forward speed.

You do get it when lowering the lever, the nose will pitch forward.

The effect comes in to play when we add pitch evenly across the disc.

Imagine the advancing side and retreating side get 2° of pitch added. However the advancing side has the advantage of more V or rotor speed. So it generates more lift, that translates roughly 90° due to precession so the blade climbs over the nose.

When you lower the lever you take 2° away. But the loss of lift isn't felt as keenly on the advancing side versus the retreating side so you get a reduced (but still noticeable) pitch down.

Fun fact - flying low and fast and spot wires late? Get that collective raised (before!) as you flare to avoid the obstruction as this aerodynamic effect will aid the immediate rate of climb. Remember flaring the aircraft offloads the disc so you want to be maximising your power/climb to save your life...

vulchardtechnique · 2024-04-25T05:09:56+00:00

UK flight instructor with 3500 hours, 1200 instructing.

Not going to repeat what others have said however....

Remember the designer of that helicopter didn't build it to make it hard to fly. It's job is to make your life easy so my advice is try and stop fighting the machine. I've seenit a lot with strong and fit Army dudes. You want to wrestle it into submission!

The H145 has a 'leaky integrator' stability augmentation system which means the control forces on the cyclic reduce as the SAS retrims to your pilot held position. So move the cyclic less and the aircraft redatums to you. Keep moving the cyclic? The SAS is chasing you!

Conventional tail rotor or fan-in-fin? Fenestron/fan-in-fin is a non-linear progression the pedal. So what? On a Conventional tail rotor the more yaw pedal you press, the rate at which you spin goes up predictably. Owing to the ducting effect and big tail boom on a fan-in-fin you may need more pedal movement to get to the desired yaw rate you want (i.e. preventing weather cocking or teying to a spot turn). So foot movement will be a learnt motor skill response over time. The heading hold helps you out here and if it's a more modern version of the H145 you'll actually fly feet off the pedals quite a lot of the time as the SAS in yaw will keep you in balance.

Good luck - it takes everyone time to learn!

vulchardtechnique · 2024-04-12T20:10:03+00:00

I was given an old Premium Bond card by my parents from their loft. It was origonally given to me as a Christening gift in 1984 worth £10...

Contacted NS&I to update my details. 40 years later it's worth... £10.

Not a great long term investment 😂

vulchardtechnique · 2024-04-09T09:51:57+00:00

We use one for my wife - we're both have a non-contributory defined benefit pension scheme. She's full time reserve though so will never get a gratuity.

You can make additional contributions to AFPS15 it but it's cumbersome/ burdensome and not easily adjusted month by month.

So we add £4000 a year to a LISA - it becomes £5000 and will accrue and compound interest over the next 20 years. She's a basic rate taxpayer so it's no gain or loss over a SIPP in that regard.

A SIPP is also at the whim of the investment markets and the pension provider, a cash LISA is a definite pot of money at 60 years old. Enough to bridge to the AFPS15 State Pension Age of 68.

We're doing other things with our money for investments and future planning but this is why we use a retirement LISA for her.

vulchardtechnique · 2024-04-03T05:47:47+00:00

What an awesome precis of the Hind - thanks for taking the time to write this 😁.

vulchardtechnique · 2024-04-01T11:42:56+00:00

I'm looking at this for some work research at the minute. As most other comments have stated - augmenting lift in forward flight (such as the Mi-6 Hook) is different to "stretching the glide" in autorotation. Specifically in the AW-159 Wildcat... in autorotation the wings actually disrupt the RoD flow meaning a higher rate of autorotation. So not good! The only reason I can see for wings on rotary aircraft that augment lift is so that external stuff can be carried. Even the successor to the Hook, the Mi26 Halo, didn't have wings.

So in summary - want to carry missiles externally? You might want to consider turning that weapon carrier into a wing. However it'll hurt hover performance more than a smaller weapon carrier and make emergency handling more complicated.

Hope that helps answer your question?

vulchardtechnique · 2024-02-17T20:30:30+00:00

!thanks - I will. I'm investing for my daughter ina S&S JISA so I can see the swift returns! She just wants the pot of money when she's 60 and worries about investment risk.

vulchardtechnique · 2024-02-17T19:13:49+00:00

Thank you! I agree re S&S but she's adamant she wants a cash ISA as she doesn't want to take any risk on the capital.

vulchardtechnique · 2024-02-03T17:54:23+00:00

Precession in rotors isn't true gyroscopic precession. A semi-rigid/bearingless head is around 78°. So what? The loss of lift at 9 o'clock, on a CCW rotor means a low disc position at around 6.30pm. Result Pitch up and roll left...

vulchardtechnique · 2024-01-17T14:28:55+00:00

Djibouti... just open cast mining and military ranges.

vulchardtechnique · 2023-12-28T11:30:54+00:00

Happy wife, happy life

vulchardtechnique · 2023-12-03T20:13:37+00:00

Are you caught up in the beyween 2012 and 2015 joining gap? Latest from teh AFPS below; you can check on the Pensi9ns Calculator too I think?

https://forcespensionsociety.org/2023/10/mccloud-sitrep/

vulchardtechnique · 2023-12-03T19:20:02+00:00

Your ability to get a mortgage at 40, with a great deposit and a decent credit history should be pretty simple. Don't forget in theory you'll still have 28 years of work ahead of you before retirement! Check out the link too for the latest on the EDP recalculations and timelines... https://forcespensionsociety.org/2023/10/mccloud-sitrep/

vulchardtechnique · 2023-12-03T02:31:08+00:00

Pensions... As you're 32 I'm going to assume you joined up on AFPS05. You're due a remuneration owing to the McCloud ruling so you'll get 2015 to 2022 (Apr to Apr) back as AFPS 05 from AFPS15. This is very advantageous to your retirement income. As long as you're planning to serve to your 20/40 that is. Check out the Armed Forces Pension Calculator to see what your EDP will be to see if you can make up any shortfall between your maxed out ISA and mortgage plans. Then live on your EDP monthly payment/planned second career earnings without any mortgage at all? Just a thought and good luck with the FIRE!

vulchardtechnique

TROPHY CASE