Originally Posted by
gulliBell
I'm not familiar with the SPZ-7000 installation in the S76, but in any event the pilot didn't need to engage any pitch mode to save the day. All it needed was to center the heading bug, push the HDG button on George, increase power and confirm climbing. Single cue mode, that's all. It takes five seconds to do that. George takes care of keeping the wings level, your left hand controls the rate of climb, your eyes confirm climbing wings level, and you tell ATC what happened.
The safest thing to do if committing to the climb in that type is to press the GA button and then figure out the next few steps (in this case recognizing that he needed ATCs help). If selecting one mode in a S76B, I’d made it IAS then add power. Pressing HDG and adding power will give an initial climb, but the PBA will quietly convert that to airspeed while you are not looking. Best fly 3 cue IMC and at night if you want to avoid nasty surprises.