The process of landing a helicopter without the engine is called auto-rotation. This is the process of removing the pitch from the main rotor blades with "down collective" and allowing gravity to draw the helicopter towards the ground and the relative wind to keep the main rotors turning. The speed is controlled using the cyclic and cyclic input can also affect the main rotor rpm. A slower speed will help increase rotor rpm and a faster speed with slow them down. Upon entry into the auto-rotation, the pilot must lower the collective all the way and apply slight aft cyclic. This slight aft cyclic will assist in restoring lost rpm during the pilots reaction time. A glide established at 70 knots seems to work great in most helicopters. The forward speed is important for the flare that will be executed near the "spot". The height of the flare will depend on the helicopter (you'll want to level close enough to cushion the landing and have no damage, but you don't want to smack the tail either). Pilots that are preparing for the private or commercial check ride will have to recover to a hover after leveling from the flare. Pilots preparing for the CFI check-ride will have to demonstrate full down auto-rotations on the check-ride or be endorsed by a CFI that provided the training and then endorsed them. This emergency should only be practiced with a qualified instructor on board.
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