Flying Around Puddles
I'm reviewing Chapter 11 of the Rotorcraft Flying Handbook and thinking about autorotations. The first step of iniating an auto is to choose your landing zone, then establish the appropriate airspeed (50-60 kts) and atitude (level) for best rate of descent and glide distance. As we fly along, we're supposed to be scanning the skies for traffic and weather in 10 degree increments 90% of the time and scanning the ground for obstacles, emerging traffic, and landing zones. I've done all those things, but it's not exactly second nature to me yet the way it is with driving (I've been driving for 20 years, 400 highway miles per week on average). What does "landing zone aware" flying feel like? Is it like walking over and around puddles on a rainy day? Your course is still fairly straight, but you avoid certain areas? Should I be "flying around puddles"? The patchwork quilt terrain of the earth from a helicopter looks a bit like puddles on the ground from eye level.
