In a helicopter, an autorotation is a descending maneuver where the engine is disengaged from the main rotor system and the rotor blades are driven solely by the upward flow of air through the rotor. In other words, the engine is no longer supplying power to the main rotor.

The most common reason for an autorotation is an engine failure, but autorotations can also be performed in the event of a complete tail rotor failure, since there is virtually no torque produced in an autorotation. If altitude permits, they can also be used to recover from settling with power. If the engine fails, the freewheeling
unit automatically disengages the engine from the main rotor allowing the main rotor to rotate freely. Essentially, the freewheeling unit disengages anytime the engine r.p.m. is less than the rotor r.p.m.

At the instant of engine failure, the main rotor blades are producing lift and thrust from their angle of attack and velocity. By immediately lowering collective pitch, which must be done in case of an engine failure, lift and drag are reduced, and the helicopter begins an immediate descent, thus producing an upward flow of air through the rotor system. This upward flow of air through the rotor provides sufficient thrust to maintain rotor r.p.m. throughout the descent. Since the tail rotor is driven by the main rotor transmission during autorotation, heading control is maintained as in normal flight.

Several factors affect the rate of descent in autorotation; density altitude, gross weight, rotor r.p.m., and airspeed. Your primary control of the rate of descent is airspeed. Higher or lower airspeeds are obtained with the cyclic pitch control just as in normal flight. In theory, you have a choice in the angle of descent varying from a vertical descent to maximum range, which is the minimum angle of descent. Rate of descent is high at zero airspeed and decreases to a minimum at pproximately 50 to 60 knots, depending upon the particular helicopter and the factors just mentioned. As the airspeed increases beyond that which gives minimum rate of descent, the rate of descent increases again.

When landing from an autorotation, the energy stored in the rotating blades is used to decrease the rate of descent and make a soft landing. A greater amount of rotor energy is required to stop a helicopter with a high rate of descent than is required to stop a helicopter that is descending more slowly. Therefore, autorotative descents at very low or very high airspeeds are more critical than those performed at the minimum rate of descent airspeed.

Each type of helicopter has a specific airspeed at which a power-off glide is most efficient. The best airspeed is the one which combines the greatest glide range with the slowest rate of descent. The specific airspeed is somewhat different for each type of helicopter, yet certain factors affect all configurations in the same
manner. For specific autorotation airspeeds for a particular helicopter, refer to the FAA-approved rotorcraft flight manual.

The specific airspeed for autorotations is established for each type of helicopter on the basis of average weather and wind conditions and normal loading. When the helicopter is operated with heavy loads in high density altitude or gusty wind conditions, best performance is achieved from a slightly increased airspeed in the descent. For autorotations at low density altitude and light loading, best performance is achieved from a slight decrease in normal airspeed. Following this general procedure of fitting airspeed to existing conditions, you can achieve approximately the same glide angle in any set of circumstances and estimate the touchdown point.

When making turns during an autorotation, generally use cyclic control only. Use of antitorque pedals to assist or speed the turn causes loss of airspeed and downward pitching of the nose. When an autorotation is initiated, sufficient antitorque pedal pressure should be used to maintain straight flight and prevent yawing.
This pressure should not be changed to assist the turn.

Use collective pitch control to manage rotor r.p.m. If rotor r.p.m. builds too high during an autorotation, raise the collective sufficiently to decrease r.p.m. back to the normal operating range. If the r.p.m. begins decreasing, you have to again lower the collective. Always keep the rotor r.p.m. within the established range for our helicopter. During a turn, rotor r.p.m. increases due to the increased back cyclic control pressure, which induces a greater airflow through the rotor system. The r.p.m. builds rapidly and can easily exceed the maximum limit if not controlled by use of collective. The tighter the turn and the heavier the gross weight, the higher the r.p.m.

To initiate an autorotation, other than in a low hover, lower the collective pitch control. This holds true whether performing a practice autorotation or in the event of an in-flight engine failure. This reduces the pitch of the main rotor blades and allows them to continue turning at normal r.p.m. During practice autorotations, maintain the r.p.m. in the green arc with the throttle while lowering collective. Once the collective is fully lowered, reduce engine r.p.m. by decreasing the throttle. This causes a split of the engine and rotor r.p.m. needles.