Getting Behind the Aircraft—This pitfall can be caused by allowing events or the situation to control pilot actions. A constant
state of surprise at what happens next may be exhibited when the pilot is getting behind the aircraft.
Loss of Positional or Situational Awareness—In extreme cases, when a pilot gets behind the aircraft, a loss of positional or
situational awareness may result. The pilot may not know the aircraft's geographical location, or may be unable to recognize
deteriorating circumstances.
Operating Without Adequate Fuel Reserves—Ignoring minimum fuel reserve requirements is generally the result of
overconfidence, lack of flight planning, or disregarding applicable regulations.
Flying Outside the Envelope—The assumed high performance capability of a particular aircraft may cause a mistaken belief
that it can meet the demands imposed by a pilot's overestimated flying skills.
Neglect of Flight Planning, Preflight Inspections, and Checklists—A pilot may rely on short- and long-term memory,
regular flying skills, and familiar routes instead of established procedures and published checklists. This can be particularly true
of experienced pilots.
OPERATIONAL PITFALLS
Figure 14-10. All experienced pilots have fallen prey to, or have been tempted by, one or more of these tendencies in their flying
careers.
14-10
autorotation. The first successful example of this type
of aircraft was the British Fairy Rotodyne, certificated
to the Transport Category in 1958. During the 1960s
and 1970s, the popularity of gyroplanes increased with
the certification of the McCulloch J-2 and Umbaugh.
The latter becoming the Air & Space 18A.
There are several aircraft under development using the
free spinning rotor to achieve rotary wing takeoff performance
and fixed wing cruise speeds. The gyroplane
offers inherent safety, simplicity of operation, and outstanding
short field point-to-point capability.
TYPES OF GYROPLANES
Because the free spinning rotor does not require an
antitorque device, a single rotor is the predominate
configuration. Counter-rotating blades do not offer
any particular advantage. The rotor system used in a
gyroplane may have any number of blades, but the
most popular are the two and three blade systems.
Propulsion for gyroplanes may be either tractor or
pusher, meaning the engine may be mounted on the
front and pull the aircraft, or in the rear, pushing it
through the air. The powerplant itself may be either
reciprocating or turbine. Early gyroplanes were
often a derivative of tractor configured airplanes
with the rotor either replacing the wing or acting in
conjunction with it. However, the pusher configuration
is generally more maneuverable due to the
placement of the rudder in the propeller slipstream,
and also has the advantage of better visibility for the
pilot. [Figure 15-1]
15-1
January 9th, 1923, marked the first officially observed
flight of an autogyro. The aircraft, designed by Juan de
la Cierva, introduced rotor technology that made forward
flight in a rotorcraft possible. Until that time,
rotary-wing aircraft designers were stymied by the
problem of a rolling moment that was encountered
when the aircraft began to move forward. This rolling
moment was the product of airflow over the rotor disc,
causing an increase in lift of the advancing blade and
decrease in lift of the retreating blade. Cierva’s successful
design, the C.4, introduced the articulated rotor, on
which the blades were hinged and allowed to flap. This
solution allowed the advancing blade to move upward,
decreasing angle of attack and lift, while the retreating
blade would swing downward, increasing angle of
attack and lift. The result was balanced lift across the
rotor disc regardless of airflow. This breakthrough was
instrumental in the success of the modern helicopter,
which was developed over 15 years later. (For more
information on dissymmetry of lift, refer to Chapter 3—
Aerodynamics of Flight.) On April 2, 1931, the Pitcairn
PCA-2 autogyro was granted Type Certificate No. 410
and became the first rotary wing aircraft to be certified
in the United States. The term “autogyro” was used to
describe this type of aircraft until the FAA later designated
them “gyroplanes.”
By definition, the gyroplane is an aircraft that achieves
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