🚁 Autorotation
An emergency landing technique that uses the main rotor's stored momentum for lift after a power loss, instead of falling straight down.
What it actually does
Autorotation is landing a helicopter with no engine power, using the energy stored in the spinning rotor. Air flowing up through the descending rotor keeps it turning, and that stored energy is used at the bottom to cushion the landing.
In practice
It is a genuine emergency skill and also a judged manoeuvre. The technique is to drop collective immediately to keep the head speed up, set up a controlled descent, then flare and apply collective at the right moment to arrest the descent.
Worth knowing
Practise autorotations with height and space, and practise them before you need one. The instinct to pull collective early is strong and it is exactly what removes the energy you need at the bottom.