North Country Heli FlightHELICOPTER GROUND SCHOOL · ACS-ALIGNED
Flight Instructor (CFI-H) · Lesson 19

ACS Alignment

FAA-S-ACS-29 — Flight Instructor, Rotorcraft–Helicopter · Area of Operation XI. Emergency Operations · Task: A–M — Power Failures, Instruments, VRS, Low RPM, Dynamic Rollover, Low-G (SFAR 73), Antitorque
HI.XI.A.S1 — teaching power failures (hover/altitude) HI.XI.F.K1 — teaching VRS recognition & recovery HI.XI.G.S1 — teaching low-rotor-RPM recovery HI.XI.K.K1 — teaching low-G recognition & recovery (SFAR No. 73)
⚑ FLAG (Walter): combines the many Emergency-Operations Tasks A–M (several are oral/knowledge) — confirm HI. codes; OEI Task C is multiengine-only (N/A to R44).

Teaching Emergency Operations (incl. SFAR 73 Low-G)

Coach conditioned responses to power loss and the aerodynamic hazards — with low-G taught to SFAR 73.

By the end of this lesson you can:

1 · Power failures & aerodynamic hazards

Teach the hovering autorotation (cushion to a level touchdown) and the at-altitude autorotation (Lesson 18), always knowing the next spot and minimizing time in the HV avoid region. Teach VRS (powered + sink >~300 fpm + below ETL; recover with forward cyclic/Vuichard) and low rotor RPM (lower collective + throttle per POH) as conditioned responses to the cue.

2 · Rollover, resonance, antitorque

Teach dynamic rollover (recovery = collective down, not opposite cyclic), ground resonance (lift off if RPM normal, else close throttle/lower collective per POH), and antitorque failure / LTE (pedal, reduce collective if able, gain airspeed; follow POH for the failure type).

3 · Low-G (SFAR No. 73)

Per 14 CFR Part 61, SFAR No. 73, teach that an abrupt forward-cyclic input or pushover causes a low-G condition in which the teetering rotor allows a right roll; the recovery is to immediately apply gentle aft cyclic to restore positive G before any lateral cyclic — left cyclic against the unloaded disc risks mast bumping. Teach prevention first: never abrupt forward cyclic/pushovers. Also teach the inadvertent-IMC plan (control on instruments, climb for terrain, turn to VMC, get help).

4 · Watch

Curated reference clip — “Vortex Ring State / Settling with Power in Helicopters - Part 1,” Helicopter Lessons In 10 Minutes or Less (YouTube), verified via oEmbed. Embedded with the creator's player; we don't host or alter it.

5 · Reference sources

Use the authoritative references

📄 Helicopter Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-21) — Emergencies & Hazards 📄 14 CFR Part 61, SFAR No. 73 — Robinson R22/R44 Awareness Training 📄 Robinson R44 POH & Safety Notices
Your aircraft: the emergency responses (low-RPM, low-G, dynamic rollover, antitorque) are aircraft-specific — teach from the R44 POH/Safety Notices and SFAR 73 awareness training.
✍️ Fill in for the aircraft you fly the R44 low-RPM warning RPM & recovery, the SFAR 73 low-G recovery wording, and your HV/min-height limits — look these up in the R44 POH/Safety Notices and confirm with your CFII.
⚑ FLAG (Walter): the R44 is VFR-certificated; confirm any aircraft-specific values you teach from the current R44 POH, and confirm all endorsement wording against AC 61-65 and 14 CFR Part 61.
Risk management (the “Consider”): teaching emergencies is inherently higher-risk, and the Robinson-critical item is low-G mast bumping. Per SFAR No. 73, drill gentle aft cyclic first to restore positive G before any lateral cyclic, never demonstrate abrupt forward cyclic/pushovers, set hard minimums for every emergency demo, and keep your hands/feet ready to intervene.

7 · Knowledge check