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Yosemite Valley
4 miles south west of Yosemite Valley, California, United States
Elevation3,619 ft asl
Weight1,568 kg
Fuel432 kg
Wind159° · 2 kn

Flight Score

76.98 %
Yosemite Valley
4 miles south west of Yosemite Valley, California, United States
Elevation3,618 ft asl
Weight1,559 kg
Fuel422 kg
Wind155° · 2 kn
11 Nov 2026 0:04 3 nm Aérospatiale SA 315B Lama 10 kg
Departure Score
61.96 %
Enroute Score
89.94 %
Arrival Score
79.03 %

What went well

Touched down at 207 fpm — a soft arrival
No sideways movement at touchdown

What held you back

Departure Transition — Sank at up to 644 fpm while accelerating away at 0 %, Nose down by up to 42 ° at 0 %, −8.33 points
Departure Transition — Nose down by up to 27 ° at 41 %, bank angle up to 23.9 ° at 70 %, −4.35 points
Arrival Approach — bank angle up to 62.8 ° at 0 %, Fastest descent 14,724 fpm at 0 %, −4.07 points

Next time

Departure

Lower the nose no further than 15° and add a little collective as the speed builds.

What happened: The nose went down by up to 27° to accelerate, and the helicopter sank at up to 222 fpm. A steep nose-down attitude trades height for speed, and sink is what usually follows.

Watch for: Attitude: nose no lower than 15°; vertical speed level or climbing.

See Departure Transition

Arrival

Line up with the landing spot earlier, so the last part of the approach needs only gentle turns.

What happened: The steepest bank on the approach was 63°, against 20° for full marks.

Watch for: Bank angle: within 20° on the approach.

See Arrival Approach

As you push the cyclic forward, the rotor's lift tilts forward and less of it supports the helicopter. Until you reach effective translational lift, the helicopter will tend to sink, so add a little collective as the cyclic goes forward, and accelerate gently.

Read more in Basics of helicopter flight

Start to finish · 9 stages, 8 in the score

The flight story

Departure One segment per stage, in flight order — colour is the score band. Drag the bar to move along the flight, or click a stage card to open its detail. Arrival
Departure Transition 50.00Accelerated away from 0 kt to 65 kt, reaching 84 ft above the spot in 8 seconds.
ScoreDescriptionStartProfileEnd
100 % Steepest bank 13 °Full marks up to 15 °
0 % Sank at up to 644 fpm while accelerating awayFull marks up to 100 fpm
0 % Nose down by up to 42 °Full marks up to 15 °
100 % Lowest rotor RPM 98 %Full marks down to 97 %
100 % Highest torque 77 %Full marks up to 100 %
Info Average height above the spot 47 ft0 ft min to max 105 ft 0 84 ft
Info Average ground speed 12 kt0 kt min to max 65 kt 0 65 kt
Info Average airspeed 2 kt0 kt min to max 26 kt 0 26 kt
Info Average VSI 850 fpm-644 fpm min to max 1,407 fpm 18 -644 fpm
Info Average collective 87 %65 % min to max 100 % 65 100 %
Info Average pitch angle -16.9 °-41.9 ° min to max -1.9 ° -1.9 -28.9 °
Info Average bank angle 6.1 °0.2 ° min to max 13.4 ° 1.8 1.8 °
Info Average g force 1.15 g0.83 g min to max 1.38 g 1.10 1.10 g
Enroute Climb 99.77Enroute climb started 4 miles south west of Yosemite Valley (California, United States). Climbing from 3,716 ft asl to 7,565 ft asl, an increase of 3,849 ft in 2 minutes and covering 1 nm.
ScoreDescriptionStartProfileEnd
100 % Average speed 45 kt27 kt min to max 70 kt 27 69 kt
100 % Steepest bank angle 29.0 °0.0 ° min to max 29.0 ° 1.8 22.9 °
98 % Average g force 1.15 g0.65 g min to max 1.81 g 1.13 1.11 g
Info Average VSI 1,796 fpm-787 fpm min to max 4,196 fpm -684 -718 fpm
Info Average altitude 5,353 ft asl3,697 ft asl min to max 7,582 ft asl 3,716 7,565 ft asl
Info Average pitch angle 1.6 °-27.5 ° min to max 20.3 ° -27.5 -6.9 °
Info Turn coordination 73-97 min to max 127 86 -97
Arrival Approach 65.67The approach began 480 ft above the landing spot at 73 kt and slowed to 6 kt in 41 seconds, covering less than 1 nm.
ScoreDescriptionStartProfileEnd
90 % Steepest bank 23 °Full marks up to 20 °
29 % Fastest descent 1,655 fpmFull marks up to 800 fpm
18 % 42 % of the approach descending fast with little airspeedMore than 300 fpm down below 30 kt is where a helicopter can settle into its own downwash. Full marks up to 5 %
100 % Nose up by up to 6 °Full marks up to 15 °
100 % Lowest rotor RPM 99 %Full marks down to 97 %
100 % Highest torque 41 %Full marks up to 100 %
Info Average height above the spot 99 ft10 ft min to max 480 ft 480 10 ft
Info Average ground speed 19 kt6 kt min to max 73 kt 73 6 kt
Info Average airspeed 19 kt10 kt min to max 68 kt 68 10 kt
Info Average VSI -453 fpm-1,655 fpm min to max 139 fpm -817 -251 fpm
Info Average collective 54 %23 % min to max 78 % 30 71 %
Info Average pitch angle 0.8 °-13.8 ° min to max 6.2 ° -7.6 6.2 °
Info Average bank angle 6.8 °0.0 ° min to max 22.6 ° 22.6 3.4 °
Info Average g force 1.04 g0.89 g min to max 1.56 g 1.14 1.14 g
020040060005001,0001,5002,000Steepest, 1,655 fpm down

Height above the landing spot against distance to run, both in ft. is where it was below 30 kt and descending faster than 300 fpm - slow and sinking, which is what the settling mark counts.

Arrival Touchdown 100.00Touched down at 123 fpm with 1 kt over the ground.
ScoreDescriptionStartProfileEnd
100 % Touched down at 123 fpmFull marks up to 200 fpm
100 % Sideways at touchdown 0.0 ktFull marks up to 1.0 kt
100 % Forward at touchdown 1.4 ktFull marks up to 5.0 kt
Info Average height above the spot 4 ft0 ft min to max 10 ft 10 0 ft
Info Average ground speed 3 kt0 kt min to max 6 kt 6 0 kt
Info Average VSI -113 fpm-236 fpm min to max -50 fpm -236 -50 fpm
Info Average collective 52 %0 % min to max 70 % 70 0 %
Info Average rotor RPM 100 %100 % min to max 101 % 100 101 %
Info Average torque 25 %7 % min to max 36 % 36 7 %
Info Average pitch angle 2.4 °-4.4 ° min to max 6.2 ° 6.2 -4.4 °
Info Average bank angle 2.6 °0.0 ° min to max 7.0 ° 3.6 0.8 °
Info Average g force 1.01 g0.95 g min to max 1.17 g 1.14 1.02 g
050100150-15 s-10 s-5 scontactAbout 400 fpm down
Height above the ground, ft, against time to contact. It met the ground at 123 fpm.
5 kt1 ktNose
Movement over the ground at contact, nose up. 1.4 kt, straight ahead. Inside the 1 kt ring sideways is full marks.
Departure Transition 73.91Accelerated away from 2 kt to 64 kt, reaching 243 ft above the spot in 18 seconds.
ScoreDescriptionStartProfileEnd
70 % Steepest bank 24 °Full marks up to 15 °
76 % Sank at up to 222 fpm while accelerating awayFull marks up to 100 fpm
41 % Nose down by up to 27 °Full marks up to 15 °
100 % Lowest rotor RPM 99 %Full marks down to 97 %
100 % Highest torque 43 %Full marks up to 100 %
Info Average height above the spot 69 ft4 ft min to max 243 ft 4 243 ft
Info Average ground speed 12 kt2 kt min to max 64 kt 2 64 kt
Info Average airspeed 6 kt1 kt min to max 37 kt 1 37 kt
Info Average VSI 687 fpm-222 fpm min to max 1,165 fpm 167 -222 fpm
Info Average collective 75 %75 % min to max 75 % 75 75 %
Info Average pitch angle -2.9 °-26.9 ° min to max 2.3 ° -2.5 -16.3 °
Info Average bank angle 4.1 °0.1 ° min to max 23.9 ° 3.1 10.3 °
Info Average g force 1.05 g0.89 g min to max 1.16 g 1.16 0.89 g
Enroute Descent 80.11Enroute descent started 4 miles south west of Yosemite Valley (California, United States). Descent from 7,299 ft asl to 5,639 ft asl, a decrease of 1,660 ft in less than 1 minute. and covering less than 1 nm.
ScoreDescriptionStartProfileEnd
100 % Average speed 86 kt41 kt min to max 148 kt 41 148 kt
56 % Steepest bank angle 61.8 °7.3 ° min to max 61.8 ° 14.2 22.6 °
75 % Average g force 0.83 g-0.01 g min to max 1.62 g 0.86 1.62 g
Info Average VSI -4,528 fpm-15,485 fpm min to max -520 fpm -520 -15,485 fpm
Info Average altitude 6,907 ft asl5,639 ft asl min to max 7,299 ft asl 7,299 5,639 ft asl
Info Average pitch angle -27.3 °-57.6 ° min to max -9.0 ° -19.0 -42.6 °
Info Turn coordination -56-127 min to max 20 20 -114

Events

Fail Overspeed Warning Activated 375 ft agl · 146 kt
Arrival Approach 51.18The approach began 492 ft above the landing spot at 155 kt and slowed to 8 kt in 54 seconds, covering 1 nm.
ScoreDescriptionStartProfileEnd
0 % Steepest bank 63 °Full marks up to 20 °
0 % Fastest descent 14,724 fpmFull marks up to 800 fpm
87 % 11 % of the approach descending fast with little airspeedMore than 300 fpm down below 30 kt is where a helicopter can settle into its own downwash. Full marks up to 5 %
65 % Nose up by up to 20 °Full marks up to 15 °
63 % Lowest rotor RPM 93 %Full marks down to 97 %
100 % Highest torque 77 %Full marks up to 100 %
Info Average height above the spot 136 ft17 ft min to max 492 ft 492 17 ft
Info Average ground speed 54 kt8 kt min to max 189 kt 155 8 kt
Info Average airspeed 57 kt13 kt min to max 175 kt 156 13 kt
Info Average VSI -1,330 fpm-14,724 fpm min to max 2,962 fpm -14,724 -309 fpm
Info Average collective 41 %19 % min to max 64 % 33 64 %
Info Average pitch angle 1.4 °-29.5 ° min to max 20.3 ° -27.8 8.8 °
Info Average bank angle 16.2 °0.1 ° min to max 62.8 ° 33.5 4.7 °
Info Average g force 1.23 g0.94 g min to max 2.83 g 2.37 1.11 g

Events

Info Overspeed Warning Deactivated 260 ft agl · 122 kt
050010001500200002,0004,0006,0008,000Steepest, 14,724 fpm down

Height above the landing spot against distance to run, both in ft. is where it was below 30 kt and descending faster than 300 fpm - slow and sinking, which is what the settling mark counts.

Arrival Hover Hovered before the landing for 3 seconds, on average 14 ft above the spot, moving 42 ft over the ground.
ScoreDescriptionStartProfileEnd
Info Average height above the spot 14 ft10 ft min to max 17 ft 17 10 ft
Info Average ground speed 7 kt5 kt min to max 8 kt 8 5 kt
Info Average VSI -136 fpm-296 fpm min to max -76 fpm -296 -169 fpm
Info Average collective 58 %53 % min to max 64 % 64 55 %
Info Average rotor RPM 100 %100 % min to max 100 % 100 100 %
Info Average torque 31 %25 % min to max 39 % 38 29 %
Info Average pitch angle 2.6 °0.4 ° min to max 8.4 ° 8.4 3.5 °
Info Average bank angle 2.7 °0.2 ° min to max 5.7 ° 4.8 0.2 °
Info Average g force 1.00 g0.92 g min to max 1.11 g 1.11 0.96 g
Arrival Touchdown 99.28Touched down at 207 fpm with 1 kt over the ground.
ScoreDescriptionStartProfileEnd
98 % Touched down at 207 fpmFull marks up to 200 fpm
100 % Sideways at touchdown 0.0 ktFull marks up to 1.0 kt
100 % Forward at touchdown 0.8 ktFull marks up to 5.0 kt
Info Average height above the spot 3 ft0 ft min to max 10 ft 10 0 ft
Info Average ground speed 1 kt0 kt min to max 5 kt 5 0 kt
Info Average VSI -117 fpm-200 fpm min to max -22 fpm -175 -22 fpm
Info Average collective 44 %0 % min to max 60 % 57 0 %
Info Average rotor RPM 100 %100 % min to max 101 % 100 101 %
Info Average torque 24 %7 % min to max 33 % 30 7 %
Info Average pitch angle 1.8 °-3.1 ° min to max 6.0 ° 3.8 -1.8 °
Info Average bank angle 2.8 °0.0 ° min to max 6.9 ° 0.6 2.1 °
Info Average g force 1.02 g0.88 g min to max 1.33 g 0.97 1.00 g
050100150-15 s-10 s-5 scontactAbout 430 fpm down
Height above the ground, ft, against time to contact. It met the ground at 207 fpm.
5 kt1 ktNose
Movement over the ground at contact, nose up. 0.8 kt, straight ahead. Inside the 1 kt ring sideways is full marks.

2 landings

Every landing in this flight

The flight is kept as it was recorded: it ends when the engine is shut down, so a landing with the rotors turning is a stop along the way, not a new flight.

# Where Into flight Touchdown Ground speed Sideways On the ground
1 4 miles south west of Yosemite Valley (California, United States) 3:17 123 ft/min 1.4 kt 0.0 kt 0:12
2 4 miles south west of Yosemite Valley (California, United States) 5:14 207 ft/min 0.8 kt 0.0 kt End of flight

Lift-off & hover

The last lift-off of 2 - each has its own stage above.

75.50Sink moving off222 fpm
40.60Nose down27°

Approach

The last approach of 2 - each has its own stage above.

0.00Steepest descent14,724 fpm
86.70Slow and sinking11 %
0.00Bank63°
64.90Nose up20°

Touchdown

The last landing of 2 - each has its own stage above.

98.20Rate at contact207 fpm
100.00Sideways drift0.0 kt
100.00Forward speed0.8 kt

Landing 2 of 2

Hover, approach and touchdown

The last lift-off and the last landing. The other landing has the same drawings in its own stages above.

Approach51.18

050010001500200002,0004,0006,0008,000Steepest, 14,724 fpm down

Height above the landing spot against distance to run, both in ft. is where it was below 30 kt and descending faster than 300 fpm - slow and sinking, which is what the settling mark counts.

Touchdown99.28

050100150-15 s-10 s-5 scontactAbout 430 fpm down
Height above the ground, ft, against time to contact. It met the ground at 207 fpm.
5 kt1 ktNose
Movement over the ground at contact, nose up. 0.8 kt, straight ahead. Inside the 1 kt ring sideways is full marks.

The rest of the report

Explore in detail

Flight narrative

The Aérospatiale SA 315B Lama accelerated from 0 kt to 65 kt, reaching 84 ft above the spot in 8 seconds during take-off.

It climbed from 3,716 ft asl to 7,565 ft asl in 2 minutes, covering 1 nm while starting 4 miles south-west of Yosemite Valley.

During the first approach the aircraft was 480 ft above the landing spot at 73 kt. It slowed to 6 kt in 41 seconds, covering less than 1 nm. On final the aircraft touched down with a vertical speed of 123 fpm and a ground speed of 1 kt. After touchdown it accelerated from 2 kt to 64 kt, reaching 243 ft above the spot in 18 seconds.

The next descent was from 7,299 ft asl to 5,639 ft asl in under a minute, covering less than 1 nm and also starting 4 miles south-west of Yosemite Valley.

The second approach began 492 ft above the landing spot at 155 kt and slowed to 8 kt in 54 seconds, covering 1 nm. The aircraft hovered for 3 seconds, on average 14 ft above the spot and moving 42 ft over the ground, before landing. Touchdown occurred with a vertical speed of 207 fpm and a ground speed of 1 kt.

The total flight distance was 3 nm, the flight time was 4 minutes and fuel consumption was 10 kg.

Metrics
Metrics

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