Governor-off Procedures

Purpose

To practice the procedure for an in-flight governor failure.

Description

• Discuss indications of a governor failure.
• Demonstrate the change in rotor noise that accompanies changes in RPMs.
• Practice cruising flight with the governor disengaged.
• Practice landing with the governor disengaged.
• Practice hovering/hover taxiing with the governor disengaged.

Instructional aids and pre-requisites

• Ground Lesson pre-requisite: Emergency Procedures and Flight Controls and Systems
• Lessons BM-1 through BM-8 are pre-requisites
• This lesson can be combined with Lesson PS-5 (Low rotor RPM recovery)

Content

• Prior to take-off and with collective full-down, have the student close his eyes while the instructor increases and decreases throttle until the student perceives a change in noise
• Allow the governor to restore RPMs to the normal range and conduct a normal take-off
• In cruising flight, disable the governor
  • Above 18 ˝ MAP the correlator will maintain engine RPMs as long as collective inputs are small and smooth, and the density altitude is low enough
  • Before a large increase in collective setting, reduce the throttle to the lower part of the green range; as the collective is raised, the correlator will increase engine RPMs
  • Before a large decrease in collective setting, increase the throttle to the upper part of the green range; as the collective is lowered, the correlator will reduce the engine RPMs
• On approach, anticipate the effect lowering the collective will have on engine RPMs and increase throttle to the upper part part of the green range
  • When terminating the approach, anticipate the effect raising the collective will have on engine RPMs and reduce throttle
  • While taxiing, making small, smooth collective inputs will reduce the need to make throttle corrections
  • To set down, increase throttle to the top of the green range; slowly lower the collective
• To pick up, increase throttle to the bottom of the green range; slowly increase collective and reevaluate the throttle setting once established in a stabilized 5 ΄ hover

Common errors

• Fixation on the tachometer
  • Encourage the student to maintain a VFR scan that includes the tachometer, but to use engine/rotor noise to detect changes in RPMs
  • Demonstrate that understanding how the correlator will adjust RPMs allows the pilot to anticipate RPM changes and make adjustments

Completion standards

• The student will be able to conduct a normal pattern, approach, landing, and taxi with the governor disabled
• RPMs maintained within the green range (101-104%)

Teaching considerations

• None specified

Additional practice

• Not applicable

Additional resources

• None specified