Eurocopter EC120

Aircraft Information
> Aircraft Make: Eurocopter (Airbu) Model: EC120 Nickname: none
> Aircraft Mil Civ Description: Helicopter
> FAA Category and Class: Rotorcraft/Helicopter
> Engine Description: single turboshaft

Aircraft Experience
> As of: 11/7/2024
> Number of Hours Flown: 1.8
> Number of Times Flown: 1
> Other Aircraft Models Associated: —

First Flown Information
> Sequence First Flown: 169
> Date First Flown: 4/2/2015
> Location First Flown: Grand Prarie, TX (KGPM)
> Who and/or What Organization First Flown With: Airbus Training Center, Mike Evans

Recollections: I was in the Dallas area for other business and arranged to “rent” the EC120 at the Airbus training center, for currency and exposure reasons.  I flew with Mike Evans.  The EC120 is very comfortable to sit in and fly.  It’s maneuverable, appears to have good performance and, in my view, feels better than the EC145.  

After some initial airwork, my instructor pilot Mike Evans took us into looking at autorotations.  After some power recoveries, we moved into doing full touch down autos.  The topic of “are full autos smart to do?” has been a favorite of mine since my days in the Navy.  On one hand, it’s great training and–in the right hands-very safe.  On the other hand (the hand that was ingrained in me as a safety officer and later CO who was witness to the adverse effects of full down autos) it’s just not worth the risk, unless you’re at a training center like the ones run by Airbus, Bell and Robinson.  The chances of engine failure are low and practicing full down autos (where, at some point, you might as well have a failed engine) is just inviting disaster.  Regardless, with Mike on board performing what is standard for training centers like Airbus and nearby Bell, we did them.  We even did autos straight down, while hovering at about 500 ft over the runway numbers, we chopped the throttle, backed up enough to see the landing spot as we descended and then intercepted an auto profile to touchdown.  It took several repeats before I was able to do it but I eventually got there.  It gave me confidence that I’d probably be able to successfully auto-rotate in the event of an engine failure.  I repeated this experience later in an R-66 at the Robinson facility.