4.  Reducing throttle rapidly in situations in which  proper rpm has been exceeded, usually resulting in  exaggerated heading changes and loss of lift, resulting  in loss of altitude. 5.  Failing to ascend slowly. 3.  Confusing attitude changes for altitude changes, which  results in improper use of the controls. 4. Hovering too high, creating a hazardous flight  condition. The height velocity chart should be  referenced to determine the maximum skid height  to hover and safely recover the helicopter should a  malfunction occur. 5. Hovering too low, resulting in occasional touchdown. 6.  Becoming overly confident over prepared surfaces  when taking off to a hover. Be aware that dynamic  rollover accidents usually occur over a level surface. Hovering Turn Technique Hovering Technique Common Errors 1.  Tenseness and slow reactions to movements of the  helicopter. 2.  Failure to allow for lag in cyclic and collective pitch,  which leads to overcontrolling. It is very common for  a student to get ahead of the helicopter. Due to inertia,  it requires some small time period for the helicopter  to respond. 9-7 After the 90° portion of the turn, decrease pedal pressure  slightly to maintain the same rate of turn. Approaching the  180°, or downwind portion, anticipate opposite pedal pressure  due to the tail moving from an upwind position to a down- wind position. At this point, the rate of turn has a tendency  to increase at a rapid rate due to the tendency of the tail  surfaces to weathervane. Because of the tailwind condition,  As the turn begins, use the cyclic as necessary (usually into  the wind) to keep the helicopter over the desired spot. To  continue the turn, add more pedal pressure as the helicopter  turns to the crosswind position. This is because the wind is  striking the tail surface and tail rotor area, making it more  difficult for the tail to turn into the wind. As pedal pressures  increase due to crosswind forces, increase the cyclic pressure  into the wind to maintain position. Use the collective with the  throttle to maintain a constant altitude and rpm.  [Figure 9-6] After experience is gained, a pilot develops a certain “feel”  for the helicopter. Small deviations can be felt and seen,  so you can make the corrections before the helicopter  actually moves. A certain relaxed looseness develops, and  controlling the helicopter becomes second nature, rather than  a mechanical response. Initiate the turn in either direction by applying anti-torque  pedal pressure toward the desired direction. It should be noted  that during a turn to the left, more power is required because  left pedal pressure increases the pitch angle of the tail rotor,  which, in turn, requires additional power from the engine. A  turn to the right requires less power. (On helicopters with a  clockwise rotating main rotor, right pedal increases the pitch  angle and, therefore, requires more power.) As with a takeoff, the pilot controls altitude with the collec- tive and maintains a constant rpm with the throttle. The cyclic  is used to maintain the helicopter’s position; the pedals, to  control heading. To maintain the helicopter in a stabilized  hover, make small, smooth, coordinated corrections. As the  desired effect occurs, remove the correction in order to stop the  helicopter’s movement. For example, if the helicopter begins  to move rearward, apply a small amount of forward cyclic  pressure. However, neutralize this pressure just before the  helicopter comes to a stop, or it will begin to move forward. To maintain a hover over a point, use sideview and peripheral  vision to look for small changes in the helicopter’s attitude  and altitude. When these changes are noted, make the  necessary control inputs before the helicopter starts to  move from the point. To detect small variations in altitude  or position, the main area of visual attention needs to be  some distance from the aircraft, using various points on the  helicopter or the tip-path plane as a reference. Looking too  closely or looking down leads to overcontrolling. Obviously,  in order to remain over a certain point, know where the point  is, but do not focus all attention there. A hovering turn is a maneuver performed at hovering height  in which the nose of the helicopter is rotated either left or  right while maintaining position over a reference point on the  surface. Hovering turns can also be made around the mast or  tail of the aircraft. The maneuver requires the coordination  of all flight controls and demands precise control near the  surface. A pilot should maintain a constant altitude, rate of  turn, and rpm. A stationary hover is a maneuver in which the helicopter is  maintained in nearly motionless flight over a reference point  at a constant altitude and on a constant heading.