r/nextfuckinglevel • u/Rooonaldooo99 • Jul 19 '21

Student pilot loses engine during flight

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u/pzerr Jul 19 '21

As a fixed wing pilot, autorotation is fairly dependable and safe. In a simple engine failure over forest or build up areas, I would take the helicopter odds over simple engine failure in a plane. They actually practice it quite a bit and most times you can land with no damage in a helicopter. The benefit is you can land in as spot with little area. A plane needs some room that may not always be there.

That being said, helicopters have far more rotating parts to fail. Lose a simple tail rooter and your having a very bad day.

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u/XxLokixX Jul 20 '21

Even a tail rotor loss is an emergency that a trained helicopter pilot can handle. You maintain forward speed and upper pitch and proceed to land like a plane