Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

2 Answers

HOGE

Asked by: 2713 views , ,
Aerodynamics, Helicopter

Hello everyone!

I´m wondering how long can a helicopter hover out of ground effect with no wind from any direction.

I´ve heard that the vortices on the tip will continue increasing till we have to move forward to get some airspeed, otherwise we can lose altitude and could enter in vortex ring state.

Is this correct? or we can hover as long as we want if we the helicopter performance allow us to do it.

Thank you so much for your help.

Ace Any FAA Written Test!
Actual FAA Questions / Free Lifetime Updates
The best explanations in the business
Fast, efficient study.
Pass Your Checkride With Confidence!
FAA Practical Test prep that reflects actual checkrides.
Any checkride: Airplane, Helicopter, Glider, etc.
Written and maintained by actual pilot examiners and master CFIs.
The World's Most Trusted eLogbook
Be Organized, Current, Professional, and Safe.
Highly customizable - for student pilots through pros.
Free Transition Service for users of other eLogs.
Our sincere thanks to pilots such as yourself who support AskACFI while helping themselves by using the awesome PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad, and Android aviation apps of our sponsors.

2 Answers



  1. KDS on Aug 13, 2017

    Until it runs out of fuel or has a mechanical failure.

    What someone was probably trying to describe to you is what is commonly called Settling With Power or Vortex Ring State. If a pilot were to try to hover out of ground effect (OGE) above at an altitude above the hovering ceiling, they are trying to do something the aircraft just cannot do. It will start to settle. How long that takes depends on a lot of factors.

    I’ve known pilots who have experienced it an did know one pilot who crashed because of it along with the fact he did not recognize what was happening. He had been trying to hover so a photographer could record and event on the ground.

    For more information, you can look at this publication:

    https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aircraft/media/faa-h-8083-21.pdf

    Start reading about Vortex Ring State on Page 11-5.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  2. Tulkas on Aug 13, 2017

    Thank you so much for your rapid response!

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes


The following terms have been auto-detected the question above and any answers or discussion provided. Click on a term to see its definition from the Dauntless Aviation JargonBuster Glossary.

Answer Question

Our sincere thanks to all who contribute constructively to this forum in answering flight training questions. If you are a flight instructor or represent a flight school / FBO offering flight instruction, you are welcome to include links to your site and related contact information as it pertains to offering local flight instruction in a specific geographic area. Additionally, direct links to FAA and related official government sources of information are welcome. However we thank you for your understanding that links to other sites or text that may be construed as explicit or implicit advertising of other business, sites, or goods/services are not permitted even if such links nominally are relevant to the question asked.