expect a call from the tower any second, so I lower torque to 50% and start doing S turns; just to give the Piper some room before I enter the next autorotation. This is fun, so let's go at it again. “Be careful to not lower collective until you roll down some power
to prevent any N2 overspeed” Doug cautions. I decide not to be the one that has to buy a new RR300, so I roll off power until the low RPM horn comes on and then lower collective.
R44 Raven II autorotation. At first, I notice we're only losing 700 FPM, as a bit of the N2 inertia helps us along. But as N2 spools down the descent rate starts to increase and a few seconds later we are approaching the more familiar 1200 FPM descent. As I start the flare and level off, I'm still a bit unsure how much col-
lective to pull. Afraid of ascending if I pull too much, I of course, don't pull enough as I feel the ship settle onto the skids. Doug tells me that one was pretty good, but I start to realize just how much energy were still in
It feels pretty much just like any other
the blades compared to what I was used to. After a few more, and a 180, we move over to the grass for some hover auto's. This is where it really gets fun. In an R22 you barely have time to think before you are cushioning
your fall with all you got. In the R44 it seems like a dream in a hover auto, but in the R66 you actually are dreaming. Doug rolls off the power, and I just sit there waiting for the descent to start, I realize I haven’t added in enough right pedal and I am now facing a good 20 degrees off center. Slips in some right pedal to straighten her out and then add in some col- lective and I'm on the ground. It wasn’t my best hover auto but again, I realize just how much more collective I could have pulled. I wish it was windy and then I could blame all the tail wags on some-
thing other than my lack of instinct figuring out just how little pedal I need to move the ship around. This is Robinson’s newly redesigned tail rotor, and the authority is amazing. May even be some truth to a rumor that they like the new design so well, it could eventually make it onto the R44. Maybe that video showing my tail wagging like a lonely dog won't
ever make it onto the Internet. Then again, probably not. My best bet is to just deny that was me flying or maybe that Doug was trying to show me some new advanced maneuvers. I ask some questions about going thru the certification process. On
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