INSTRUMENTS PARAMETERS FOR TAKE OFF, CLIMB, CRUISE, DESCENT AND LANDING

Dear All,

I am very happy to learn flying with your beautiful EC 135 but it is really hard for a beginner. For all of you "top guns" pilots would you please give me some indications to set the right collective and cycling parameters for each phase of flight : take off, hovering, climb, cruise, descent, final approach, hovering and landing.

For example : do I need to refer to the N1 needle ? what number ? (6 or 9 ? 2 for the descent, then 6 or 8 for hovering before touch down ? and for the cyclic pitch forward and backward : minus 3° or 5° to accelerate and begin to climb ? and when I descent avoiding to increase speed what pitch up : plus 5°, or more ?

And in the meantime, please advise me how to use the AFCS "on" and "off", "A.TRIM", "FTR" button, properly for the best smooth flight.

all your testimonials will be higly appreciated,
best regards,
Armand

Hi Armand,

Flying a helicopter isn't about adjusting any parameters. Where you hold which controls and which display parameters correspond to them in certain situations depends on many factors that change permanently: wind strength, wind direction, temperature, altitude above sea level, and the weight of the helicopter.

The following rough rules of thumb for normal situations can be used as a guide:

• At approximately FLI 6, the helicopter begins to become light.
• When hovering in ground effect, you can expect approximately FLI 8.

The only parameter that's important for training is torque. This is usually displayed with the needles in the FLI. You can recognize it by the white boxes next to the letters TRQ. The needles should only go up to just before the yellow zone. You can only temporarily enter the yellow zone during takeoff. The red zone is off-limits.

Leave the autopilot off. You shouldn't bother with that until you're completely confident in flying the helicopter.

Hello,
Thank you for your reply and explanations. I made a mix with your comments, video tutorial for take off and landing, and Shergood aviation Helicopter Flying Handbook.
Today I performed 4 flights with 2 landings without crash...I am very proud...A lot of work ahead... hovering is another story... 

I hope to give you good news next time!
Mit freundlichen grüssen,
Armand