Helicopter Training Safety: Preventing Student Errors with Jay Bunning – Part 2

Max talks with Jay Bunning, CFI and creator of helicoptertrainingvideos.com, for Part 2 of their series on Helicopter Training Safety: Preventing Student Errors. Following up from Part 1, Jay brings real-world accident examples and practical strategies for instructors to manage common mistakes during training flights.

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Quick Stops / Rapid Decelerations

Jay begins with rapid deceleration or quick stop maneuvers, which require simultaneous control of cyclic, collective, and pedals. He explains why instructors must guard both pedals closely, since students often apply the wrong pedal or fail to add left pedal when raising collective. Improper collective inputs can also create conditions for vortex ring state (VRS), overspeed, or altitude loss. Jay notes the importance of sequencing training—avoiding quick stops immediately after autorotations to prevent negative transfer, since students sometimes confuse the two and roll off throttle. He also highlights an R44 accident where a CFI invented a non-standard rapid decel procedure that ended in rollover—reinforcing why instructors must stick to manufacturer guidance

Vortex Ring State (VRS)

The conversation moves to vortex ring state, also known as “settling with power.” Jay explains both the traditional recovery—lowering collective and pushing forward cyclic to gain airspeed—and the Vard (lateral) recovery, which uses collective, left pedal, and right cyclic to slide out of the recirculation. While the Vard technique can recover faster, Jay cautions against prolonged drifting, over-banking, or excessive collective input, which can cause yaw or RPM decay. He stresses training students to recognize the first indications of VRS—unusual vibrations, buffeting, or an increasing descent rate—and recover immediately. Riding a helicopter deep into VRS for demonstration purposes h