CLOSE THE GAP
Although the MH60T is a highly capable helicopter, it has two significant flaws, both of which become more pronounced during high power demands (slow flight and hovering) at altitude. Airbus, which has expended significant...
After learning about my cruise chart technique for determining hover performance, many pilots inquire as to why I prefer this method over using tab data for power considerations. Although tab data provides some useful information,...
Over the past six years, I have been working in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest where units execute “inland” missions more frequently than other Coast Guard rotary-wing units. My primary responsibility in most of...
Running the ECS will burn between 16 and 24 lbs. of fuel per hour. Our flight manual max range charts account for “the worst case ECS condition.” Flying with the ECS off will save...
If an airport’s ceiling is below an IFR approach’s minimum descent altitude (MDA) or decision height/altitude (DH/DA), or the approach’s published visibility minimums, a pilot can’t complete the approach. A missed approach procedure is...
I mentioned, briefly, in one of my posts breaking down instrument approaches to the water that there is a rule of thumb that rate of descent to maintain a three-degree glide slope equates roughly...
As long as there is a departure alternate, Coast Guard policy permits pilots to depart from both a field with an out of service instrument approach and a field without an instrument approach. There...
In a non-runway environment where outside visual references cannot be maintained in a hover or are expected to be lost during the transition to forward flight, the instrument takeoff (ITO), with or without flight...
Early in the “weather flying” series of posts, I discussed IIMC, or transitioning to the instruments when visual cues are lost, however, I did not address slow flight to avoid going IIMC. Although the...
The MH60-T community often harnesses terrain banding in low visibility conditions, as it provides some excellent situational awareness and is a critical safety tool. However, because terrain banding is not a precision navigation tool,...