Wow! Is there a hidden agenda here or what? Arrogant? My butt!
Landing at that altitude, with an FAI data recorder on board, and with official sanction is a major helicopter achievement. This flight had to be pulled off very carefully, and is a technical triumph. I personally congratulate the team that did it, it is remarkable.
What is the problem with a landing at 30,000 feet?
Everything! Blade stall affects tail rotor and main rotor control, engine power limits effect hover capability, Thin air affects electrical switch and generator behavior because sparks tend to jump more easily. Cooling of critical systems is affected by the thin air, and hydraulic systems behave poorly up there, as well.
Remember the thread a while back about some
PR guy who claimed an altitude record out of South Africa, but who forgot to tell the FAI, and who had no recorder or independant means to verify his claim? This new record is a record, and I am sure EC did not cook it in any substantive way, not with the FAI looking over their shoulder.
Does this mean the aircraft can do this landing routinely? No. I am sure an engineering team had to test and analyze every system to be sure it would work way beyond its limits, just to make the attempt with a TP possible. Does this mean the aircraft is exceptional in some meaningful ways? probably, because the ability for any given helo to land up there is near nil, even with stretching the limits as much as possible.
Cut the crap, ppruners, this is the biggest thing on pprune since the Tsunami, if you don't like the French, deal with it!