Originally Posted by
SASless
A question for you Legal Scholars posing as Helicopter Pilots.....the British way of doing a Confined Area Takeoff (I learned it as a Towering Takeoff) differed from the American way of doing the same thing (each used the same power) is far different from the various CAT A, Perf Class One (or whatever you are calling things this week).
Instead of this backwards and up to 400 feet (or so) as we saw used.....what if an old fashioned Towering Take Off had been used from as far downwind as possible and the aircraft accelerate much lower but clear of obstacles.....could Vtoss and Vbroc been achieved much quicker?
What Rules, Regulations, etc.....prohibit such a Takeoff like that a situation as is under discussion?
Are Rules getting ahead of reality and causing greater risk instead of making flying safer?
I must admit that during my time with Army flying, I was always a little puzzled watching civil helicopters performing all sorts of convoluted and painfully slow departures when we just took off into wind and transitioned as quickly as possible, then along the years we started to introduce committed calls at various airspeed and heights in twins. Leaving the military and starting police and corporate flying introduced a whole section of the flight manual to be observed depending on aircraft weight, helipad size, obstructions,....etc. Explaining to passengers why I was not just flying forward became part of the pre take of drills at one particular base, just to head off the inevitable question halfway up to TDP!