07-10-2026, 01:03 PM
(Edited 07-10-2026, 01:14 PM by Orv Neisingh.)
Over the 40 years that I have been teaching owners how to fly their Rotorway helicopters one item needed continual attention and that is the scan of the rotor RPM gauge. I scan that RPM indication about every 3-5 seconds to insure that it is where it needs to be. After a while you can also tune into the engine hum to indicate the engine/rotor RPM backed up by your instrument scan. The problem arises when the pilot becomes distracted by something that takes his/her attention away from monitoring the gauges.
There are several examples that I know of where the pilot got distracted by something that took his attention away from the critical primary responsibility of keep the rotor RPM in the green and that lack of attention cost each of these pilots their lives.
Jim was a great guy and loved his Rotorway. He had been flying it for several years, maintaining it himself and keeping it flying by performing his own inspections and maintenance. One day while flying around his home area at fairly low altitude the speculation is that he heard and felt a sudden anomaly which distracted his full attention from flying to try to figure out what had happened. At this point the life saving rule is "If in doubt, auto out". Had Jim immediately entered an autorotation he most likely would be here telling his own story, but he is not.
Jim got distracted, most likely trying to figure out what had caused the event, to the point that his focus was no longer on flying the helicopter and he let his rotor RPM decay to the point that the main rotor blades stalled and the helicopter fell vertically to the ground. His son in law told me that when they found Jim he was sitting upright in the cockpit still strapped into his seat and the main rotor blades showed no indication that they were turning when the helicopter slammed into the ground.
Depending on a lot of factors, at some point around 80% more or less (please chime in here Homer) the drag on the rotor blades exceeds the ability of the engine to keep them turning and they will actually stop mid air and your helicopter becomes a lawn dart. There were no governors available for Jim to install but had he been using one to maintain his rotor RPM when he was distracted he most likely would still be with us.
The cause of the bang that Jim heard/felt was the front bracket on the vertical stabilizer had developed a crack that propagated across the bracket from the bolt hole causing bracket to break. By the rust in the crack the NTSB determined that the crack was present for some time as it grew across the bracket. The broken bracket no longer supported the vertical stabilizer and it was now able to flutter in the air stream. the stinger at the bottom of the stabilizer contacted the tail rotor blades causing the destruction of the blades and the noise/jolt that Jim must have felt and heard. At that point Jim should have immediately entered an autorotation to the ground to figure out what went wrong. His failure to do so ended in his being distracted enough to allow the main rotor RPM to decay to the point of main rotor stall.
Just last year I assisted six owners in installing their ACET governors. I have instructed in many Rotorways now with these governors and have been so impressed by them that I have installed one in my own 162f.
Case #2 is that of Scott down in Texas. I had given Scott both is hover and flight training in his Rotorway 162f and in the years after he obtained his commercial rating and both R22 and R44 SFAR 73 training. He had been flying helicopters with governors for several years at this time. One day as he finished the 100 hour service on his 162f, he took it up to altitude for a test flight. Several friends/neighbors watched him climb out, enter the downwind and then saw a large amount of smoke pouring from the rear of the helicopter. Shortly after noticing the smoke they witnessed the main rotor blades slow and stop and the helicopter fell nearly vertically to the ground killing Scott instantly.
Upon inspection by the NTSB it was discovered that the valve cover gasket had torn allowing a large amount of oil to pour onto the hot exhaust. Had Scott immediately entered an autorotation he would have survived to fly again. The inflight distraction of smelling a lot of smoke in the cockpit most likely diverted Scott's attention away from monitoring his RPM allowing it to decay to the point of rotor stall.
If Scott had been flying with a governor that would have maintained the rotor RPM during the distraction, the main rotors would not have stalled and Scott would have survived.
Food for thought.
[quote="Orv Neisingh" pid='511' dateline='1783688615']
![[Image: 1000008788.jpg]](https://i.ibb.co/gFBh9w59/1000008788.jpg)
![[Image: 1000008789.jpg]](https://i.ibb.co/Cgnfk3Z/1000008789.jpg)
There are several examples that I know of where the pilot got distracted by something that took his attention away from the critical primary responsibility of keep the rotor RPM in the green and that lack of attention cost each of these pilots their lives.
Jim was a great guy and loved his Rotorway. He had been flying it for several years, maintaining it himself and keeping it flying by performing his own inspections and maintenance. One day while flying around his home area at fairly low altitude the speculation is that he heard and felt a sudden anomaly which distracted his full attention from flying to try to figure out what had happened. At this point the life saving rule is "If in doubt, auto out". Had Jim immediately entered an autorotation he most likely would be here telling his own story, but he is not.
Jim got distracted, most likely trying to figure out what had caused the event, to the point that his focus was no longer on flying the helicopter and he let his rotor RPM decay to the point that the main rotor blades stalled and the helicopter fell vertically to the ground. His son in law told me that when they found Jim he was sitting upright in the cockpit still strapped into his seat and the main rotor blades showed no indication that they were turning when the helicopter slammed into the ground.
Depending on a lot of factors, at some point around 80% more or less (please chime in here Homer) the drag on the rotor blades exceeds the ability of the engine to keep them turning and they will actually stop mid air and your helicopter becomes a lawn dart. There were no governors available for Jim to install but had he been using one to maintain his rotor RPM when he was distracted he most likely would still be with us.
The cause of the bang that Jim heard/felt was the front bracket on the vertical stabilizer had developed a crack that propagated across the bracket from the bolt hole causing bracket to break. By the rust in the crack the NTSB determined that the crack was present for some time as it grew across the bracket. The broken bracket no longer supported the vertical stabilizer and it was now able to flutter in the air stream. the stinger at the bottom of the stabilizer contacted the tail rotor blades causing the destruction of the blades and the noise/jolt that Jim must have felt and heard. At that point Jim should have immediately entered an autorotation to the ground to figure out what went wrong. His failure to do so ended in his being distracted enough to allow the main rotor RPM to decay to the point of main rotor stall.
Just last year I assisted six owners in installing their ACET governors. I have instructed in many Rotorways now with these governors and have been so impressed by them that I have installed one in my own 162f.
Case #2 is that of Scott down in Texas. I had given Scott both is hover and flight training in his Rotorway 162f and in the years after he obtained his commercial rating and both R22 and R44 SFAR 73 training. He had been flying helicopters with governors for several years at this time. One day as he finished the 100 hour service on his 162f, he took it up to altitude for a test flight. Several friends/neighbors watched him climb out, enter the downwind and then saw a large amount of smoke pouring from the rear of the helicopter. Shortly after noticing the smoke they witnessed the main rotor blades slow and stop and the helicopter fell nearly vertically to the ground killing Scott instantly.
Upon inspection by the NTSB it was discovered that the valve cover gasket had torn allowing a large amount of oil to pour onto the hot exhaust. Had Scott immediately entered an autorotation he would have survived to fly again. The inflight distraction of smelling a lot of smoke in the cockpit most likely diverted Scott's attention away from monitoring his RPM allowing it to decay to the point of rotor stall.
If Scott had been flying with a governor that would have maintained the rotor RPM during the distraction, the main rotors would not have stalled and Scott would have survived.
Food for thought.
[quote="Orv Neisingh" pid='511' dateline='1783688615']