ORIGINAL: ilikethatsite
Thanks for the link Rafael!!!
I know autos are something I need to do, but killing the motor in mid-flight just scares the bejebers out of me.
Some day very soon I will have the guts to hit the button. Until then let's pray for perfect flights!!!!
You do not kill the engine. You set the engine to a low idle, so that the geartrain is dis-engaged. If you need to bail out of the auto, you throw the TH hold switch and the engine comes back to life. Be careful tho, some helis tend to whip the tail around when you switch out of TH.
That link is one of the best ones out there. I've seen Ron Lund land 3-4 consecutive autos where the seam at the nose of his heli is less than an inch horizontally from a nail driven on the ground. Actually, adding all 3 measurements did not go over an inch. If you read carefully, you will notice that the article was written a LONG time ago. The basic principle is still the same.
Rafael