Mastering Auto-Rotations, Simulated Engine Failures, and Off-Airport Operations + Helicopter News
See Helicopter News headlines and link to listener survey below.
In this episode, Max talks with helicopter instructor Jay Bunning to explore the maneuvers that most frequently injure or kill helicopter instructors—auto-rotations, simulated engine failures, and off-airport operations. Based on real accident cases, the newest Airman Certification Standards, and decades of training experience, this episode provides a deep masterclass in keeping both CFIs and students alive during the most unforgiving phases of helicopter training.
Max opens by noting that a CFI’s primary goal is always survival—because if the instructor walks away, the student probably will too. Jay agrees wholeheartedly and begins with auto-rotations, which remain the number-one source of training accidents in Robinson helicopters, according to Robinson’s own Safety Notice 38. He breaks auto-rotations into three components: the entry, the glide, and the flare. A poor entry, he notes, is the root cause of many accidents, especially when the student mishandles attitude, misses the nose-drop timing, or chases airspeed and rotor RPM in a cycle of over-correction. Jay emphasizes that the instructor must “ghost” the controls, particularly the throttle, because one wrong twist by a nervous student can result in a 130 percent engine overspeed—and the destruction of the helicopter.
In the glide phase, Jay explains how new students tend to over-use the collective, chasing RPM changes that take several seconds to settle. Meanwhile, the cyclic creates nearly instantaneous changes in rotor energy, making it critical for CFIs to stay physically close to the control. He also explains how instructors sense impending RPM changes: first by feel, then by sound, and only finally by looking at the tachometer. With decision gates at 100, 200, or 300 feet depending on school policy, Jay stresses that CFIs must call “continue” or “my controls” loudly and decisively—because these final seconds determine whether the flare will have the energy required to prevent a hard landing.
High-density altitude makes the entire maneuver more unforgiving. True airspeed is higher than indicated, meaning the aircraft carries much more energy into the flare than pilots expect. Jay’s school now reduces target indicated airspeed by five knots above 6,000 feet density altitude to prevent overspeeds, and he describes why even small pre-flare collective movements can trigger a “three-second time bomb” of rotor acceleration that ruins the timing of the flare.
Next, Max and Jay turn to simulated engine failures, which Jay classifies as an even higher-risk procedure than standard auto-rotation entries. During a simulated power failure, the instructor deliberately decays the rotor RPM by rolling the throttle toward idle while calling “engine failure” repeatedly until either the student reacts or the horn sounds. At that moment, the instructor must instantly lower collective to preserve rotor inertia. Jay recounts an incident where a student failed to react and the instructor nearly could not recover RPM. He explains why CFIs must avoid initiating these maneuvers at high manifold pressures or within the yellow arc—because the high blade pitch makes rotor decay almost instantaneous. He also describes a dramatic real-world example in which an R22’s air filter box fell off during a practice auto-rotation, causing the engine to quit on its own. The DPE successfully restarted the engine in the flare, highlighting how these skills can become lifesaving instantly.
The final segment focuses on off-airport operations—pinnacles, ridges, and confined areas—where helicopter pilots frequently encounter wires, unseen obstacles, brownout, or downdrafts. Jay stresses that performance planning must include a realistic margin between hover-out-of-ground-effect capability and actual required power. Many pilots, he notes, assume they can pull the additional 1.5 inches of manifold pressure available when using carb heat, only to discover the engine reaches full throttle earlier than expected. His school maintains a margin by predicting full-throttle limits ahead of time and abandoning approaches anytime the helicopter approaches that value before the landing zone.
Jay explains why low-and-slow approaches are dangerous when the helicopter is below effective translational lift. If RPM begins to decay at 10–20 knots, the pilot cannot use aft cyclic to restore rotor energy without ballooning or unloading the disk. Powering up early and committing to a go-around before the aircraft sinks into a performance trap is essential. Jay recounts a 2023 Utah accident where an R22 attempted to land at 9,000 feet MSL with insufficient power margin; the pilot used left pedal to correct a wind gust, pulling the aircraft into rotor decay and a rollover.
Max closes the episode by emphasizing that both CFIs and working pilots must avoid external pressures and refuse to “eat into the margins”—because whether it’s a training flight or a real mission, the helicopter doesn’t care. Jay encourages instructors and students to send in their own stories and techniques, reminding listeners that shared knowledge is one of the strongest tools for improving helicopter safety.
Mentioned on the Show:
Please take our Listener survey now!
Sign up for our book giveaway of Keep Your RPM in the Green
Helicopter News:
- Customs and Border Protection will Train Pilots with Virtual Reality
- Joby Announces First Flight of Turbine Electric Demonstrator Aircraft
- Six companies gunning for the Army’s Flight School Next program
- Los Angeles Fire modernizes fleet with two new FIREHAWKs
- LifeFlight H130 crashes near Nashville, TN
- NTSB Releases Preliminary Report on California Helicopter Crash
- Hill Helicopters HX50 first flight slips on GT50 engine development
- BASE jumper, found hanging on cliff face rescued
