Loops And Rolls
To answer a few of the burning questions, not all, here is what i KNOW to be true, not assumed.
You will all know that a special flight permit is issued by the CAA for EVERY routine performed at an airshow. The deisgnated CAA chap is a highly respected and experienced head of helicopter ops in SA, who approved the routine. This is an exceptional case, where the heli was rolled and looped the day before too.
Bell prohibits the maneouvre, for exactly the reasons named before, to prevent youngsters hopping into dads R22 and going large. A rigid-semi-rigid head is fully capable of 3D flight, as long as a load is always on the blades and the flight envelope is never exceeded.
It was a show-stopper, and even His Eminance was screaming about it never even being seen at Farnborough.
The pilot was VERY experienced, both 50% owners of the 407 were in the crowd and the insurers were informed. Bell, after hearing of the event, flew an inspector to Virginia and pronouced the heli undamaged and safe.
Anyone who saw it saw something unique. A civvie heli has NEVER been rolled and looped at an airshow, and i mean 360 deg turns, not rooivalk wing-overs. After all this noise, you can be pretty sure it aint happenin' again.