OK. Lesson continues.

Very simplified statements:

To turn an airplane you push the pedals to move the rudder. This will result in a "skidding" turn, so to make it smooth, the pilot banks the plane in the direction of the turn. A helicopter turns differently. If you bank the helicopter in the direction you want to turn, it will turn as it banks; no pedals, no rudder, just a pure turn. Some complex redistribution of forces generated by the rotors. The sharper the bank, the shorter will be the turn radius, up to 90 degrees, which is where the minimum turn radius occurs. But the axis of the turn is always outside the aircraft. Your "high overhead approach" is a really sharp turn; and was the preferred maneuver. The forces are well within the "envelope".

By contrast, a spin has an axis of rotation that is "inside" the aircraft; say, at the transmission. Ron's "pure" manuever is basically a "flat" spin, and appears to come off a modified hammerhead, one with no climb. Sounds like a hell of a lot fun, huh guys? A real kick in the ass!!

What we knew in '70 as a "Corbin Spin" was a transition from the very sharp turn of a "High Overhead Approach" to a "flat spin", obtained by "pulling" the nose around (sucking the cyclic in to the belly while in a very hard turn) to reduce the turn radius, and move the turn axis inside the aircraft. And it will change the g-forces considerably. No more jammed into you seat back there: hang on guys, you are in free fall; hang on to that stomach! Of course, the pilots, being so far up front and out side the rotation axis, are firmly stuck into their seats!! Reducing the blade pitch lets it "turn" really fast (spinning), and that's where the super hard drop comes from. Ever been in a tilt-a-whirl? Remember how you got stuck on the wall at high rpms? That's what pitch does. It "sticks" you on the wall. Reduce it, and you get "unstuck". And down down down you go.

You don't fall out, because you are falling at the same speed as the aircraft. But you might want to hold on to something anyway, just in case.

I never had the brass to roll a Huey. But I always wanted to. The closest I ever got was to roll over 90 degrees, drop the pitch, and then roll another 20 degrees. Hehehehe.

Pickett