AERIALSTAGE PHOTO
endorse the technique and published a four-page airmanship bulletin on it. Some manufacturers already had it in their POH [pilot’s operating handbook], which helped convince the FAA. They all agreed [that the technique] was a better way for vortex recovery, low G, even upwind approaches in the mountains when the upwind collapses. The FAA was the first civil aviation authority to accept and publish the technique. From there, we took it back to EASA, which also accepted it.
Tell us about the Vuichard Recovery Aviation Safety Foundation. I kept hearing from people in letters and at conferences that using the technique saved their lives. I didn’t want to make money off saving lives, but I needed funding to train people in the technique and get the word out about it. I decided a foundation would allow us to share this educational informa- tion. That’s the purpose of the VRASF—to cover the costs of teaching these techniques, including through videos and publications on our website, and increase awareness about them. It’s my way of paying it forward. The foundation is about more than
just vortex ring state education, how- ever. We have other techniques, for UIMC/IIMC [unintended or inadver- tent entry into instrument meteoro- logical conditions], slope landings, and quick-stops. You know, 40% of training accidents occur in auto- rotation training. We need to change that. Either we do all our autorotation training in the simulator, or we change the procedures. I developed a technique that
makes autorotations way, way easier. It’s like doing an auto in slow motion. The moment you start the flare, you use roughly a half inch of collective and less flare than what we were ini- tially taught. Then, at the end of the flare, you level the helicopter firmly,
which induces a high rate of descent and therefore consumes braking energy. This technique enables you to do autos
day or night, to ditch on glassy water with- out ground speed, into confined areas, to land upslope, and with no bad references due to flat light conditions. This technique reduces the risk of crashes tremendously in training and in real autorotations. We’ve put videos for all these techniques on the foundation website.
Have your safety tips and techniques made a difference in the industry? I hear from organizations like the US Coast Guard, the Los Angeles Police Department, and Air Methods that they use the Vuichard Recovery. Other techniques, such as our autorotation technique, aren’t as well known, but we’re getting the word out. Before COVID, I traveled all around the
world doing Vuichard Recovery training ses- sions. Now, I’m looking to spread the
auto rotation technique. The difficulty is that aircraft are certificated according to old pro- cedures. To recertificate aircraft is too expensive, but the manufacturers could add a noncertificated/manufacturer procedure. That could increase the safety of opera- tions, and we’re trying to encourage it. I’ve also developed a technique for pre-
venting wire-strike accidents. You need a clear, systematic WWW to avoid wires. That is, you check the wind, the wires, and establish the way for departure from off- airport sites. I never accelerate a helicopter from a hover without performing the WWW. You also do it systematically on final approach to off-airport landing sites. When you do it systematically, you don’t fly into a wire due to your mental energy being dis- tracted by other thoughts. For all these procedures, it’s only a mat-
ter of changing the procedure and challeng- ing yourself. Doing so protects you and helps you fly safely.
WATCH a demo of the Vuichard Recovery Technique DECEMBER 2022 ROTOR 17
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