Thread by @AnchitGupta9

IAF CHOPPERS & WEATHER BY A VET "HIP" PILOT

1.Plains. The IAF permits IFR flying by heptrs equipped for it. Climb through non-convective weather to IFR levels, fly through it, descend & land at an airfield. Navaids available! . @sajaniaf @realkaypius @arunp2810 @VishnuNDTV

2.Do IAF helicopter pilots train for Instrument Flying? Absolutely. They need to practice, get tested before being awarded an Instrument Rating – same as fixed wing – White, Green, Master Green.

3. Hills. Max four octa, only contact flying under VFR permitted. Why? 5 reasons for it - Read on

3a. - Max heptr flying is carried out in J&K (incl The Glacier) & the NE. General elevations upwards of 3 km. Rules have to be framed catering to all sectors. However, each helipad has its own SOP, in terms of route, fuel, load, diversion, nearby obstructions, et al.

3b. - Flying at IFR levels/Route Safety Altitude required could entail flying close to its ceiling having very low VNEs & thus extremely low margins to handle a single-engine failure. Furthermore, drift down in case of a single engine failure would be through clouds, over hills

3c - Helipads do not have landing aids. So, min vis for helipad ops is specified. Many helipads (not all), have one-way approaches, with no go-around. GPS cannot be used as a landing aid since it can be tampered with & has shadow areas.Missed approach criteria difficult in hills

3d - Arguably, there are fewer redundancies in a helicopter. Many emergencies mandate putting her down at the earliest. Flying IFR over hills could thus mean descending through clouds. Can’t do so due God-made obstructions in hills.

3e. Crazy amount of oxygen would need to be carried. Aircrew >3 km, Passengers > 4 km.

4. Why can’t they climb through weather when they encounter it in hills? Two Reasons - read on

4a. - Don’t know what lies ahead. Also, general rates of climb in high-altitude areas may not permit crest clearance.

4b. - Fuel figure is optimized for max load carriage. So even if one does climb & break clouds, might run short of fuel…not to mention oxygen.

5. Why don’t all Heptrs have GPWS/Terrain avoidance eqpt? Would affect load carriage. Do rem they need to land at places like DBO. Bears mention that the Radalt Tx & Rx are fitted in the tail boom, not the nose. Aside – weather radars’ utility in hills not same as in plains.

6. So, what should they do in hills? Due aforementioned reasons, clouds, hills & helicopters are a deadly mix. DO CONTACT FLYING.

6a - Set OBS/Course pointer to gen valley direction before entering so that you enter the right one & can turn back if weather is encountered. possibility of getting into the wrong valley cannot be overstated. Can lead to the inadvertent crossing of LC or entering a cul-de-sac.

6b. - If crest crossing is required, do not cross unless the next ridgeline is visible. Avoid flying through “holes” (breaks) in clouds if the next ridge is not visible.

6c. - Fly from forced landing field to forced landing field. What this means is that one should CONTINUOUSLY be aware where one would put the ac down in the event of an emergency/weather. No ejection seats!