Huey in real life ... safe wind speed to fly?

Hi guys,

ironically I was not able to find a solid answer for this on the net so I thought about asking to you guys that are Huey's nutz :)

In real life, up to which wind speed an experienced pilot would consider flying the Huey.Is there an official statement from Bell? 30 knts, 40 knts 50 knts ? I really don't have a clue.

I am looking for the speed where the military would consider the wind to fast to leave ground with the Huey.

Thanks!

Huey in real life ... safe wind speed to fly?

I checked the the -10 and the Huey and here is what it said

Max crosswind for hover is 30 knots

Max tailwind for hover is 30 knots

And max wind for starting is 30 or max gust spreads of 15 knots

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I checked the the -10 and the Huey and here is what it said

 

Max crosswind for hover is 30 knots

Max tailwind for hover is 30 knots

 

And max wind for starting is 30 or max gust spreads of 15 knots

 

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Thanks Eagle_Rising! This is exactly what I was looking for. Seems like 30 knots is a bit low ... wonder if pilots were risking with a bit more officialy (from the Air Force point of view).

Thanks Eagle_Rising! This is exactly what I was looking for. Seems like 30 knots is a bit low ... wonder if pilots were risking with a bit more officialy (from the Air Force point of view).

Did not mean you prohibit to fly by winds stronger than 30 knots.

Only says when it's more than 30, keep your nose into the wind during takeoff and landing, because tail rotor trust may not strong enough to control gearing.

Well it does say starts are limited to 30 knots.

In forward flight the aircraft knows no different.

I think the reason you are limited is actually because of the nature of the rotor system it being a semi rigid underslung rotor system. Mast bumping is a real problem and in those wind conditions you could get into mast bumping conditions. In hover flight it could also be because of the tail rotor but the fact that the starting limit is the same is an indication to me.

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Huey in real life ... safe wind speed to fly?

Also I would argue that tail rotor authority changes on weight and density altitude.

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For startup must bumping may be the reason for the limitation because between zero and flight idle rotor RPM, the gyroscopic and stabilizing effect, as well as the reaction to control inputs, is minimal.

In a hover it's mainly the tail rotor. It may be possible as well that cyclic input may not enough to counteract the wind pressure to the fuselage so the pilot may not be able to control the helicopter effectively and the aircraft will be shifted by the heavy wind.

Really the fact is the -10 says you are limited at this many knots then you are just limited. It’s not really up to the pilot to decipher it. There are some limitations that are either arbitrary or there to reduce stress and with a letter from the manufacturer it’s kinda hard to know.

For example in the UH-60 we are limited to roll on landings below 60 knots and for years every one said it was because of limitations to the tail wheel until someone wrote Sikorsky. Their response was that the military gave them the requirement of 60 knots so they didn’t test it any further.

We are probably both right but without knowing from the engineers it’s kinda hard to tell and you would go mad trying to knit pick everything in the -10.

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But it's still fun and meaningful to think about what's behind all that numbers.

Because of circumstances, there may be a time you have to make a decision besides the POH, and then only the PIC matters. :pilotfly: