Maneuver:
~ from a normal hover, decrease power to approach the ground
~ it is critical to be aware of the horizon, and looking too close to the helicopter removes this from your vision
~ you don't normally need to look down to judge your height above the ground, your peripheral vision will do this for you
~ when the ground seems to be about level with your ears, you're about to touch down
~ as you descend, ground effect will decrease your descent rate,
~ and you will have to continue to lower collective to maintain a steady descent rate
~ as you are approaching the ground, allow ground effect to decrease your descent rate for a softer touchdown
~ don't allow your descent rate to stop, however
~ eventually a skid is going to touch the ground
~ if helicopter is not hovering perfectly level, this will cause the helicopter to pitch, roll, or both
~ as the fuselage transitions from hover attitude to the attitude it assumes sitting on the skids
~ as it pitches and rolls, input opposite cyclic just as you would on a slope landing, in order to prevent drift
~ many pilots will quickly get the collective down in order to get weight on the skids, as this will stop any sliding motion
~ this is a bad technique for a couple reasons
~ one, if the ground isn't level enough, the helicopter could roll over
~ another bad thing about lowering collective too quickly is that you are rapidly lowering the blades toward the fuselage,
~ and you increase the chance of rotor to airframe contact on a gusty day
~ hover slowly down until a skid touches
~ balance there for a few seconds without allowing the helicopter to drift around on the ground
~ lower some more collective and put a little more skid on the ground, while compensating for drift
~ keep doing this a stage at a time until you have slowly lowered the helicopter all the way onto the ground

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