ABSTRACT
Helicopters are just like fi xed-wing aircraft except that helicopters are diff erent. Th e diff erences are not in the men and women who fl y helicopters, for they can be, and sometimes are, the same men and women who fl y fi xed-wing aircraft . Th eir abilities and limitations are the same regardless of the kind of aircraft they fl y. Helicopters and fi xed-wing aircraft diff er in how the crew makes fl ight control inputs, the information required to decide the necessary control movements, and the missions assigned to the crew. Th ere are many areas of similarities, such as in navigation, communication, subsystem management, monitoring vehicle status, coordination between crew members, and interaction between the helicopter and other aircraft . Helicopters and fi xed-wing aircraft follow, for the most part, the same fl ight rules and procedures. Minor diff erences exist in the fl ight rules, mostly about the minimum visual ranges and decision heights. Although rotary-and fi xed-wing fl ight are mostly the same, the diff erences are important and oft en overshadow the similarities.
