> "The thing is, helicopters are different from planes. An airplane by it's nature wants to fly, and if not interfered with too strongly by unusual events or by a deliberately incompetent pilot, it will fly. A helicopter does not want to fly. It is maintained in the air by a variety of forces and controls working in opposition to each other, and if there is any disturbance in this delicate balance the helicopter stops flying immediately and disastrously. There is no such thing as a gliding helicopter. This is why being a helicopter pilot is so different from being an airplane pilot and why, in general, airplane pilots are open, clear eyed, buoyant extroverts, and helicopter pilots are brooders, introspective anticipators of trouble. They know that if something bad has not happened, it is about to."

-Harry Reasoner

Helicopter turbine engines operate on exactly the same principles at the 90,000lb thrust turbofan under the wing of a 777. They are incomprehensibly reliable.

Things that lead to helicopter autororation are usually mechanical failure of the transmission.

Then there is the challenge of landing a Harrier Jump Jet on an aircraft carrier.

Then there is the challenge of landing a Harrier Jump Jet on an aircraft carrier that happens to be postage stamp sized and in the South Atlantic high seas during an actual war, the Falklands War.

This still seems amazing and unbelievable to me.

Here’s one with an outside view, which I think is easier to grasp for non-pilots: https://youtu.be/twGid07JR9s

Basically, the helicopter “falls” down and slightly forward, driving the main rotor disc (potential energy turning into disc rotational energy), then the pilot flares the helo, slowing the forward speed and taking energy from the rotor disc to slow the vertical descent, finally resulting in the aircraft settling to the Earth at a slow speed. Just like gliding an airplane, it’s a one-shot kind of a thing (except in training where you generally keep the engine running and available).

Note that the rotor disc is connected to the engine via a one-way clutch, so the engine can drive the rotor but not vice-versa. Otherwise, a seized engine would result in a rotor disc stoppage (and an uncontrolled descent).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTqu9iMiPIU&feature=youtu.be...

That's a bit misleading. The Gimli Glider landed without thrust but almost certainly had electrical and hydraulic power. Same deal with the British Airways 777 that crashed at Heathrow.

Meanwhile, LATAM landed a 777 with no electrical power[1] not that long ago. That's a whole different ballgame.

1: http://avherald.com/h?article=4c1cc3f6&opt=0