Vuichard Recovery Technique - How to escape a Vortex Ring State
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.พ. 2025
- Visualisation of escaping a Vortex Ring State with a Lama Helicopter.
CAUTION
This video allows the vortex ring state to develop further for demonstration.
When practicing recovery should be initiated at the first sign (lightness in the seat) in the incipient stage of the vortex ring.
A Claude Vuichard film, founder of the Vuichard Recovery Aviation Safety Foundation. A film about the Vuichard Recovery Technique to escape the Vortex Ring State.
Explore more Vuichard Recovery Techniques on vrasf.org
✔✔ The clean Vortex aerial shots can be bought at: aerialstage.com ✔✔
✔✔ To buy the clean version of this film please contact: info@aerialstage.com✔✔
Credits:
Helicopter: SA 315B Lama / Air-Glaciers Sion / Switzerland
Claude Vuichard: Pilot / VRASF Fribourg / Switzerland (vrasf.org)
Sébastien Widmer: Pilot / Air-Glaciers Sion / Switzerland
Cineflex Helicopter: Robinson R66 (valair.ch)
Hansruedi Amrhein: Camera Pilot / Valair AG / Switzerland (valair.ch)
Martin Bäbler: Aerial Camera Operator / AERIALSTAGE / Switzerland (aerialstage.com)
Editing: Martin Bäbler / bsv-production GmbH / Switzerland (bsv-production.ch)
PLEASE READ FOLKS: My hat is off to Mr. Vuichard. Sir, I owe my life to this technique. True story. I am a retired US Military Pilot (US Army helicopter pilot with over 37 years of flying experience, accident and incident free all of these years, I'm retired now). When I retired I started flying EMS helicopters.
I responded to a scene flight at 2:00 am in the morning, zero moon illumination, and overcast skies. I had my ANVIS 9 NVG's thank goodness. My landing zone was extremely tight and I made 3 attempts to land with no luck so my last option was to land with a tailwind (not the best decision), I should have landed at another location and had an ambulance take my medical crewmembers to the scene, but I didn't.
On final approach at approximately 400 to 500,' I IMMEDIATELY started to settle in my downwash (Vortex Ring State, VRS). I knew right away what was happening, not my first time in VRS. The trees were 150' (tall pines), if I had attempted to recover the old way, by lowering collective (altitude permitting) and flying out of the VRS I would have smacked the trees (98% sure that would have been the end result).
Sir, I performed the "Vuichard Recovery Technique" I learned 6 months earlier and BAM!!!!! I "immediately" stopped my sink rate in
Mich B Glad you got out alive Mr.B☺ Great comment!
Love this comment - top work sir
Awesome stuff. Thanks for your service.
Awesome testimony! Everyone needs to learn this Technique
Congratulations on your amazing achievement! This looks like a challenging situation to get out of. This visual helps in the understanding of the laws of The Vortex Ring State. I am happy you were able to save yourself in that situation.
As a CPL and instructor with over 7000 hours this is brilliant!
Really cool way to visualize it
This very clever presentation should be shown in all helicopter flying schools and annual recurent trainings everywhere. So clear ! It will save helicopters and lives. Merci !
You are so correct, read my comments above. I am going to call Fort Rucker and talk to the Army Senior Standardization Pilot at the US Army helicopter school and ask is he has seen this video, if NOT I will send him the link.
Tail curl
Awesome! The visualization of the Ring State with the mist really drives the point home. You can instantly see when the rotor system enters and exits. Keep up the great videos!
I’ve studied your videos over and and over again! Made it through at Rucker and a lot of my understanding of .4 aerodynamics is owned to your videos
I’m not sure who gave this a thumbs down but I hope they never fly a helicopter with passengers. In every walk of life you will find knobheads I suppose. Great video. Great visuals. Life saving techniques demonstrated. Thank you.
I had heard of vortex ring state as a risk for helicopters and found this video. The visualization provided by the mist makes it stunningly clear what is going on and why it would be such a risk in flight.
Brilliant Demo!
I've seen quite a few illustrations of VRS in my time, this has to be the best by a very long way.
Thank you sir.
Excellent demonstration that will save lives. Deserves a safety award.
Tim Tucker gave me my PPL checkride in 2014. We did traditional recovery. I passed. I just did the Robinson safety course in August and we did this Vuichard recovery. It's so much quicker and more efficient. We are told to use takeoff power, roll right, and add left pedal. It's that easy. Recovery is fast and easy. If you have an obstacle on your right you can roll left.....just takes a bit longer. THANKS TIM TUCKER
Tim tucker gave me my PPL -rotorcraft helicopter in I think 84. Some 35 or so years ago. Then my commercial in 88. That guy is AWESOME !!!
Unfortunately I have not flow rotorcraft in over 15 years, I would hang up the G550 to fly the old Robinson 22 model HP again
Great video and very well done. We have been using this technique for over 25 plus years in the Canadian Helicopter industry. It is extremely effective for longline operations. The use of spray booms gives the perfect visual effect. Two thumbs up!
KMAXdawg ...guess Canadians can keep secrets ha haha
AT LAST I have found a visual demonstration of what VRS is. Makes so much sense now. Thank you!
Great idea for visualisation of air flow. . . and concept of new, more swift exit route to recovery = should get award. Thanks all.
Wow, that's the best visualization of VRS I've ever seen!
GENIOOOOOOOOOOOO !!!!!! GRACIAS POR ESTE VIDEO. I ALSO TAKE OFF MY HAT TO MR.VUIVHARD BECAUSE OF HIS BRILLIANT TECHNIQUE, BUT WHAT IMPRESSED ME MOST, WAS HIS WAY OF SHOWING IT. CONGRATULATIONS AND I REITERATE MY GRATITUDE
Very good explanation
That is awesome to see. It's one thing picturing it your mind but to see it explains everything.
This should be mandatory viewing. Good job, and thank you.
I'm not a pilot but have a deep love of helicopters. Have spent many hours in a sim thanks to a good friend and successfully did a number of autorotation landings and a 360 degree pirouette with nose pointing at a fixed object. Simple for you pilots but a bit much for a total rookie. I just want to add my compliments about this amazing video. Seeing the phenomena actually happen and how to recover gave me goosebumps. Awesome video and no doubt it will save lives. Seeing is so much more effective in teaching than just words or drawings. Bravo!
E Smith I can recommend RC helicopters. Basically even harder than real ones (in some ways) but much cheaper and safe! Very rewarding when you progress with RC. Oh, also, inverted flight!
I am a helicopter engineer, not a Pilot, however I use a simulator and enjoy flying the simulator. I have practised this procedure upon discovering it recently, also spend time really understanding everything, getting out of the dirty air as quickly and safely as possible.
Well done my man. Clever. Realistic. Teachable. Must become standard recovery maneuver .
I managed to wrap my head around it from explanations, and had a working mental picture of what was happening, but seeing it like that in such exact detail was unreal, great job 👏 👍
What amazes me is how quickly the vortex is destroyed, the helicopter only needs to move sideways by half the rotor diameter and the vortex just breaks up. I had visualised that it needed to move sideways by a whole diameter but it appears that you don't. Excellent and very informative.
What a phenomenal demonstration!! Thank you, sir!
Helicopter pilot for 20+ years and 6k+ hours. Absolutely amazing procedure! The other procedure is so ingrained into me as a motor skill now, I just hope I can remember this one next time.
Great way to demonstrate visually! Well done videography also! Hope they put this video and the procedure into all RW flight Training and the manuals!
Thanks!
Thank you for this beautiful video, but most of external load pilots knew and used this recovery technic before you named it Vuichard, as vortex are part of our daily job.. Cyclic foward (or into the main wind) and pich lowered is still a good technic depending of the vortex conditions, quality of your blades, rotor efficiency, trajectory/path, hight, (cross)wind(s), landshape and type of obstacles you got around you. One technic, does NOT replace the other, they are just complementary and combinable.
Thank you Claude for all your work and engagement for safety in the helicopter business. Absolutely brilliant and clear message for all pilots.
Bravo! To all involved in the creation of this video.
What an amazing demonstration. Great job
Thank you for an excellent presentation. This really helps visualize what happens.
Awsome video! Thanks so much for visualizing this manouveaour!!
Brilliant .... an excellent exercise .. shows that pictures (especially moving ones) can save thousands of words .. thank you !!
Thank you Steve
Great video and lesson for all the aviators out there..thanks 🍀
Wow wow wow, what a fantastic detailed demonstration, thanks for doing this 👍🏻♥️
This is an amazing video showing the Vortex Ring State. It was visually captivating, and showed the air and how it behaved around the helicopter. This method was en genius. Thank you for sharing your knowledge!
Incredible insight into vortex ring state. Thank you
Excellent training video, thank you so much for creating.
That video is so cool. Love to watch
One day I will fall into a vortex ring and I will escape it with the technique learnt from this video, for that I will be eternally grateful.
Wonderful service to safety and knowledge! Thank you.
Well that's certainly convincing. My instructions were always "move" in the quickest way possible, whether forward sideways or even aft. But this strongly suggests that "right is right" (for my machine). THANK YOU!
Very clever, well done to show everyone! I hope this video reach very far!
Awesome demonstration.
Larry Doll at Rocky Mountain taught a similar technique in the 70/80’s Good on ya for using the ag booms for visual reference.
It's pretty cool seeing it with the spray set up.
MY HAT IS OFF TO YOU GUYS GREAT WORK !!!!!!!
WOW! Nothing like a visual!
Absolutely awesome teaching video!!!! Many thanks.
Absolutely stunning!
Thank you Shaun
Absolutely amazing presentation!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
did it with Claude Vuichard successfully, a must know !
Thank you for all
Awesome demonstration. The UH-1 with counter-clockwise rotor, you must use right cyclic. Thanks for this video!
This is Exactly why we no longer use helicopters to spray insecticides. 22 years going through pilots like hot potatoes, all ending up with weird tumors and respiratory issues. You can see the spray completely engulf the cab at low speed, that's every corner and turn on every field. The Hiller 12E was much more efficient than the Air Tractor fixed wing, but not when it comes to pilot health. Now Finally the multi Billion dollar lawsuit against the weed killer Round Up.
Thank you for the great visuals and emergency procedure training!
I thought the helicopters cab were like air tight. Or why don't they make it air tight so nothing gets in there which means none of those harmful sprays get in contact with the pilot ?
@@xoxoj That would be nice, but they haven't done it yet. Now Japan has made remote control units to fly the helicopter so a pilot is no longer needed for spraying.
Have a Great day!
Wow, Your experience really shocked me. I couldn't think about this phenomena not only affects the vehicle stability and also pilot's health like your cases.
Drones are now taking over.
Very well explained and shown.
Not a real pilot here (my full respect to those who fly helicopters for real), but turns out this manouver is quite effective even on the Mi-24P Hind in DCS which is very VRS-happy when slowing down to hover. Halved the minimum altitude needed to recover. I am truly amazed.
Amazing technique
Awesom! more clear visual understanding. Thanks Vuichard
巧遇张老师:)
哪一个，报名来 ：）
关注我公众号“直升机安全”，我悄悄的给你说
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zhu jian.
Great job 👏
Excellent presentation!
Excellent video.
EXCELLENCE! VUICHARD!
Absolutely brilliant !
FANTASTIC vid👍
Wow! Great job.
Awesome! What a greate idea to use a smoke generator to visualize vortex ring, with a live flying helicopter!
I would say Ag booms and water through the nozzles.
Excellent 👍👍👍
that was the most beautiful thing i ever seen
❤thank you for sharing 🙏
Vortex Ring State is a dangerous state to be in. The Vuichard Recovery Technique is a risky maneuver and in my opinion should only be attempted if no other better option is available. Don't believe me. Just pause the video at 3:38 and see just how close he comes to striking his own tail boom and he has obviously had lots of practice. Different models of helicopters the margin of error for this maneuver may be greater or lesser.
Thank you very much for your comment.
The vortex ring state is a special flight state that should not be achieved in training, but as mentioned at the beginning of the movie:
This video allows the vortex ring state to continue to develop for demonstration purposes. When practicing, recovery should be initiated at the first signs (lightness in the seat) in the initial stage of the vortex ring.
On the other hand, I disagree that in the "Vuichard Recovery Technique" the rotor disc gets closer to the tail boom. In the sequence 3:38 you mentioned, it is a perspective from below that gives this impression! Look at other sequences, e.g. 2:55-3:00, and you will see that the rotor disc is high during the recovery. With the „Vuichard Recovery Technique“, additional power is applied on the rotor, which increases the rotor conicity.
Also, during the lateral movement, there is no backward movement of the rotor disc, which move the rotor disc any closer to the tail boom.
In the future, these maneuvers will certainly be practiced only in the simulator, so that pilots can use them reflexively in critical situations, as you also mentioned.
It is clear that the best recovery technique is the one you don't need, so I will soon bring a new video on "How to avoid a Vortex Ring Sate in helicopter operations". Part I of III will be released in the next few months.
Safe flights
This might be the most important life pro tip video on TH-cam.
Incredible example!!!!!
This is what I want to see!
Pretty neat procedure
Great video!!.
So you you kind of slide diagonally out of it?
Great tool for helicopter pilots. Let's also discuss when it is not the right tool for recovery from VRS.
Obstacles on the side you would translate toward for this recovery would preclude its use. Also, if you're already moving forward, such as during a normal approach, a forward recovery should still make sense. Also, if there's any confusion during the event whether the descent & vibrations are from VRS or overpitching, the traditional recovery should be used, because it solves both.
So, Vuichard Recovery is a great technique--the best in certain circumstances--but not an absolute replacement for the traditional method. CFIs should teach both, and especially should teach when to use each.
Wow, great video and ama Inc technique 👍
Феноменально!
Пилотам надо дать соответствующую премию. Операторам съёмки тоже.
В первые вижу визуализацию вихревого кольца несущего винта выполненного на реальном вертолёте!!!
Спасибо
Большое спасибо за добрую обратную связь!
Wahou fabuleux très instructif et ces image expetionnel on comprend à merveille.
wow just wow this is excellent where you got the idea and then the execution of the whole plan this is awesome you explain something to me in a way that no one else can thank you thank you very much
thats beautiful
Increase collective? To max power?explain.
Increasing collective would cause more of a stall right?
It provides max authority to the tail rotor.
I fly drones and have experienced the VRS phenomenon! Great visual !!!
great video, great visuals
would be really helpful to show more from inside the cab to "see what it feels like" as I imagine there is specific feedback from the heli which should be taught to be recognized
I would love to see a vertical auto-rotation. Im not sure we actually know what is truly happening with airflow in that instance.
I'm not a helicopter pilot, but my understanding is this method wouldn't work with autos because the airflow is coming from the front through the top of the rotor and not recirculating like in VRS, so the spray wouldn't be able to show the flow patterns through the rotor.
Thank you, this is an impressive demonstration ! I am sorry but, does it happen only when there are "walls" (as in canyon, or montains) allowing the air flow to make the ring ?
Very interesting, impressive & so good to understand what happens in this situation/maneuver. Also for me as a huge 🚁-Fan with only R/C HELI experience & without a real pilot-license ;]
Cool video 👍🏼‼️
Wow, to actually see the airflow going the wrong way through the rotors is really enlightening. And terrifying. I'm a fixed wing pilot. But I'm curious as to whether you can get in the stall far enough to where you wouldn't even be able to command a roll to execute this. I'm a fixed wing pilot, but I find this interesting.
Wonder why this wasnt thought of earlier. Why did they use either forward or backward opposed to sideways?
amazing.....
thank you!!!
love this alouette ,mean lama sa 315 n the alouette 2 n 3
Great idea .... One thing I don't understand the Lama is a CCw rotor sys( looks like I am not rated) and should escape to the right by description note "2" but instead in the videos it escapes to the left??!
Someone could explain where IAm wrong?
You are my new friend.
EXCELLENT!!!!!
Awesome
Mason Van Der Merwe Thanks Mason
Nice job girlie ✌
PRetty amazing shots! Perhaps its me but i got an spider-man intro feeling to this ;)
Excellent demonstration. What technique would you recommend if the aircraft was rotating uncontrollably and descending with an armful of collective? i.e. Settling with power and spinning. (Personal experience - (;>0))
Dear John
The points listed below primarily to avoid uncontrolled turns:
Hover flight or very slow speed flight with helicopters.
Wherever possible, rotation around the vertical (yaw) axis of the fuselage in hover flight should always take place in the direction of the main rotor rotation (power pedal). This requires more power, but can readily be stopped again without the need for additional power.
If an unintended rotation in the opposite direction to that of the rotor should occur due to cross or tail wind, or as a result of a sudden increase in the collective pitch, the following action should be taken immediately: The power pedal of the tail rotor control should be applied, if necessary to its maximum extent (mechanical stop), and held in this position until the rotation stops.
When a helicopter is being operated at the limit of its performance capability, for example in the mountains, it is important to operate the power pedal at an early stage, especially on approach or when rapidly increasing collective pitch, in order to ensure that no directional changes in direction around the vertical (yaw) axis can occur. This action prevents an unintended rotation opposite to the direction of the rotor rotation, which can only be stopped by applying additional power and usually results in a decrease in the main rotor RPM, since in certain circumstances the required additional power may no longer be available. A decrease in the main rotor RPM leads to a corresponding decrease in the tail rotor RPM, which may, in certain circumstances, result in a complete loss of tail rotor efficiency.
Hover and very slow speed flights out of ground effect should be carried out with sufficient reserve power and only by pilots who have been trained for this kind of operation (CPL level) and have the necessary practical experience.
Best regards
Claude Vuichard
My one and only episode occurred during training in mountain flying techniques in the Rocky Mountains many years ago in Alberta. I took control from the other pilot, dumped some collective, opposite pedal, forward cyclic, and were out of the situation in seconds. (We were tucked up tight to a mountain, so had altitude to play with if we didn't tumble down the mountain side first... (;>0))