Slightly off topic but I have worked on many types of helicopters and fixed wing for more years than I care to remember. Having dealt with quite a few chip lights in the past I have thankfully never been involved with a total transmission failure, engines on the other hand I,ve found can let go with very little warning i.e. moments after the chip light illuminates. So figure this out, several turbine (particularly PT6) fixed wing A/C I have worked on have chip detectors that aren't wired to a convenient lamp on the panel, the only inspection required is to check them with a multi meter for continuity every 100 hours. Therefore you could theoretically fly for 99.9 hours with a chip light and not know it! A prop reduction gearbox failure on a single engine A/C at 30000 ft can be just as messy as a tail rotor gearbox failure at 500 ft, so go figure why for the price of a length of wire and another lamp on the panel the pilots are left in the dark...
JB
