Settling With Power Vortex Ring State Online Ground School

Aug 02, 2018

Hello, I'm Kenny Keller the creator of Helicopter Online Ground School and Author of the Amazon No. 1 Best Seller Helicopter Check Ride.

Settling With Power Vortex Ring State

Avoid settling with power. If you always keep the wind off your nose, as in this picture right here, and the turbulence behind you, you're never probably going to get in to settling with power. Settling with power is one of the most important things you need to be aware of as a helicopter pilot today.

First you need to know a simple definition for settling with power, and the simple definition is settling in your own downwash. It's exactly what it is. You're settling in your own disturbed air. There are three things that you absolutely have to commit to memory. These are the three things, if combined together, they can get you in to settling with power, which are ready descent, 300 feet per minute or greater, using 20 to 100% of your available power, and airspeed less than effective translational lift, or ETL, as we call it. Again, you must have all three of those things combined together to get into settling with power.

There are three situations conductive to settling with power, three situations that pilots commonly put themselves in.

Number one, attempting to hover above the hovering ceiling.

Number two, attempting to hover out of ground effect without precise attitude control,

and three, a steep power approach airspeed near zero.

If you find yourself in this situation, settling with power, you can increase forward airspeed to get out of it, you can lower collective to get out of it, you can do both, altitude permitting. You could perform an autorotation to get out of it, altitude permitting, you could fly sideways and even fly backwards to get out of it.

Settling With Power Vortex Ring State

Remember, ready descent, 300 feet per minute or greater, using 20 to 100% of power, airspeed less than ETL. Those three things combined together, you can get in to settling with power. Take any one of the three away, and you're not in settling with power.

Common situations people put themselves in, attempting to hover above the hovering ceiling of the aircraft, hovering out of ground effect without precise attitude control, and a high power approach airspeed near zero. How can you get out of it? You can fly in to clean air, sideways, backwards, whichever direction to get in to clean air, you can lower collective altitude permitting, and or you could gain airspeed and lower collective simultaneously.

So those are some of the basic elements of settling with power that you absolutely have to commit to memory. You have to know how you get in to it, how to recognize it, and the best thing to do is just to avoid it and not get yourself in that position in the first place.

I hope that helps, please give us a like and a share, leave your comments down below, and if you'd like some help with helicopter check-ride preparation and would like to check out our helicopter online ground school, click the link above, beside, below, or on the face of this video. Click one of those links now and we'll see you in the next video.

Settling With Power Vortex Ring State

Let us help you with all of your ratings! We have four FAA certified courses, Private PilotCommercial PilotInstrument Pilot, and Certified Flight Instructor. We have a bundle pack called, Professional Pilot Lifetime Membership, that includes all this for life.

Customer support Monday-Friday 8am-4pm Eastern time 574-767-1797