'Cyclic Back' Will Save Your Life

When power is lost to the main-rotor system, the very first thing a pilot must do is apply aft, or back, cyclic.

This is the lesson legendary rotorcraft flight instructor Pete Gillies shares in his “Cyclic Back” lecture, given industrywide. His advice comes from years of examining helicopter accidents around the world.

In his research, Gillies noticed that many helicopter accidents had something in common: though the helicopter was destroyed, the rotor blades sustained almost no damage. This disparity could only have happened if the blades weren’t turning or were barely turning upon impact, a sign of rotor stall.

Sadly, these accidents could have been avoided by a simple, smooth control input—back cyclic.

Join us Apr. 23 at 1 pm eastern (UTC-4) for a must-see VAI Webinar on this lifesaving topic. VAI Western US Regional Representative Chuck Street will present a 13-minute video of Gillies’s talk followed by a panel discussion with three industry-leading experts, Randy Rowles, Tim Tucker, and Chris Hill.

Randy Rowles, president of Helicopter Institute in Fort Worth, Texas, is an FAA designated pilot examiner (DPE) and a former VAI chair. Currently a member of VAI’s Board of Directors, Randy’s career spans more than 25 years in the helicopter industry as a flight instructor, chief pilot, and senior VP of operations.

Tim Tucker has been an FAA DPE for the helicopter industry since 1984. He has more than 21,000 flight hours in helicopters and until 2024 served as Robinson Helicopter Co.’s chief flight instructor.

Chris Hill is VAI’s senior director of safety. He joined the association in 2018 after 32 years of rotary-wing and operational aviation safety experience in the US Army, US Coast Guard, and offshore oil-and-gas support.