So anyway, what is the consensus on jumping in an old Mariner and practicing full downs to the water? Worth the risk? Not worth the risk?
Don't see why not, video of an R-44 doing just that. Not familiar with the Mariners but we used to do autos to water in our fixed float Hueys, different, big jet of water would squirt out ahead of you from the channel formed by the two skids on the bottom of each float, but no big deal. Shutting down and starting up on the water was part of the deal. One of our lads rescued the crew from a Wessex that crashed in the open ocean by landing on the sea and dragging the survivors aboard, two unfortunately went down with the aircraft, main transmission had spat a gear wheel out the side of the casing and removed one of the jacks.
Gordy, Photo 1 and 3 look as though they had no choice and the areas not surveyed for the purpose of practicing autos, the second the result of a flare problem and nothing to do with grass.
Is it true, or just bar talk, that you Brits used to do autos in the Whirlwind not using any collective at the bottom, by running it on on the rear wheels in the flare?