Why is piloting a helicopter considered more challenging, despite not requiring much space to take off and land and being able to stabilize in the air and stand still?
In: Engineering
The biggest test of an operator’s skill is crisis management. Operating a working machine is the easy part.
If your engine breaks down in a car, so what? Just sit by the side of the road for a few hours. But if your engine breaks down in a plane, you’re now in a glider that is not built for gliding, and your life is also in danger.
And if your engine breaks down in a helicopter, you’re pretty much a falling rock. And you need to act quickly to not be a very dead pancake.
This is why pilot testing is so much more rigorous than driver testing – they test your ability to deal with engine failures, control surface failures, etc. that would not matter in a car, but would save your life in a plane. It’s the same deal with a helicopter – when your engine kicks it, you’re a glider on autorotate. Your ability to survive depends on your ability to utilise autorotate, so you’re not getting your license if you can’t land on autorotate, and even after getting it, your skills check includes autorotate landings.
This is not to mention all the different skills and knowledge that are not transferable between the two types of aircraft (ie what all the other redditors said), and that needs to be relearned by a plane pilot flying a helicopter (and vice versa).
Source: read too many magazines and blogs about flying
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