Helicopter Critical Angle for Dynamic Rollover is 5 To 8 Degrees

Aug 15, 2018

Helicopter Critical Angle for Dynamic Rollover is 5 To 8 Degrees

Dynamic Rollover is when you have a pivot point, a rolling moment, and you reach the critical rollover angle. The helicopter can roll onto its side and the blades begin hitting the ground. This results is a destroyed helicopter and can potentially be fatal to occupants and bystanders.

This can happen with a sloppy pickup. All movement must be neutralized before you pick the helicopter up. The two step process of pickups will help prevent a rollover. Get the helicopter light, and neutralize all movement before picking it off the ground.

A rollover can also happen by catching a skid on a taxi way light or other fixed object during a hover. 

Another example is picking the helicopter up with a skid that is stuck or tied down.

The only corrective action by the pilot is DOWN COLLECTIVE. This can stop a rollover, if accomplished in time.

The Helicopter Flying Handbook tells us that the Critical Rollover Angle is 5 to 8 degrees depending on helicopter, winds, and loading.

I've been teaching for years that the critical rollover angle is 15 degrees. That's what's published in my notebook and that's what I've been teaching all these years. What I have to say is, it tells us in the Helicopter Flying Handbook that the rollover is 5 to 8 degrees depending on helicopter, the winds, and loading. You do have other factors that play into what is that rollover angle going to be.


I even went back and checked in the Rotorcraft Flying Handbook which is one of the books I really originally trained in. Before that, The Basic Helicopter Handbook. I'm not sure where 15 came into play, but that was in my notebook. I've been teaching all these years. A member just pointed out, he said, "Hey, you know The Helicopter Flying Handbook says 5 to 8." Somebody else had mentioned that to me previously.

I just want to make a statement that this is what we're going by now, the newest, latest and greatest as of 2016, is The Helicopter Flying Handbook.

Helicopter Critical Angle for Dynamic Rollover is 5 To 8 Degrees

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I'm going back on all the previous training, when I said 15 degrees at the time, that is what I believed was correct. To update with the now, again, this is from The Helicopter Flying Handbook. This verbage is exactly what came right out of the book: 5 to 8 degrees depending on helicopter,  the type of helicopter, the winds for the day and the loading. If you'd like to make a comment on this subject, put it down below and we'll see you in the next video.

Helicopter Critical Angle for Dynamic Rollover is 5 To 8 Degrees 

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