Page 8 - Sept 2015 Volume 19 Number 9

Turbines Inc. Half Page 4/C AdI shifted my approach to the auxiliary platform, on the southeast end of the base platform. It looked like a completely independent structure, jutting out from the face of a limestone cliff. The base platform had been wholly swallowed by the Blob, and as I continued flogging toward my safe haven, just 200 yards away, it began to gobble up the aux platform.I was way too fast. In my haste, I’d been pushing redline, and now it was time to transition for landing. A hundred yards from safety, I pulled the cyclic stick way back and bottomed the collective to slow down fast. Between my feet on the anti- torque pedals, I watched the helipad rapidly fade to white as I closed another fifty yards toward the deck.Man, I said to myself, this is not going well at all. The hair stood up on the back of my neck but real panic had not yet set in. My forward momentum carried me into the fog bank as I continued to decelerate – 50 knots, 40, 30. For another stubborn moment I clung to Plan A, believing I could slow to a hover and find the platform lurking just ahead in the fog.Glancing down to get one final visual reference before I surrendered to the Blob, I was alarmed to find that I could barely discern the water just fifty feet below. That did it. Finally, I realized my only option was to go around while I still had flying speed and at least a fleeting outside reference: Plan B.A go-around in a piston helicopter is a complex operation, even in perfect conditions. I knew I didn’t have time to smoothly transition to climbout attitude, so I just ignored the engine/rotor gauges and airspeed indicator, focusing on the barely-discernible water below. I simultaneously pushed the cyclic forward to lower the nose, pulled the collective lever up to my armpit, wrapped the throttle grip open, and fed in nearly-full left pedal. In the second or two it took to establishMADE IN USAPHONE: (954) 966-7329 FAX: (954) 966-3584 5614 SW 25 St., Hollywood, FL 33023WEB: www.survivalproductsinc.comEMAIL: sales@survivalproductsinc.comSurvival Products Inc.$1,510 $1,960Sixth Page 4/C Ad6 • TWIN & TURBINESEPTEMBER 2015