Now I'm intrigued!
Firstly...are we talking singles or twins?? I'm talking twins! I've only got 200hrs in singles & as such I'm not aufait with the Cat A profiles for singles.
'A helipad take off into wind isn't as safe as a down wind departure' did I understand you guys right??
Helipad approaches & departures are taught to allow you to safely get in & out of areas much smaller in area than the proverbial 'Clear Area'.
'Towering' take offs are not a recognised CAT A profile (at least not in the helo's I fly).
A donk stopping during a Helipad allows for a safe reject....that's what the profile is designed to cater for!
Even in a very fat Squirrel you can reject post donk failure back into your site without too much grief.
Of course it does mean that you have to fly the profile well & accurately! Surely that isn't a problem?
I am presently too stunned at the answer 'commercial pressure' to allow coherent thought. I cannot believe that commercial pressure forces pilots to ignore into wind profiles.
I therefore am pleased to say that I work for a commercially liberated company in an ideal world!
Oh...by the way....there are no Cat A performance profiles, Cat A restricted performance profiles or Cat B performance profiles in the Flight Manuals for the two helo's I presently fly that allow for downwind T/O's or landings.
Obviously flying under an AOC or a PAOC, an aircraft captain has to satisfy himself that his aircraft can meet the relevant performance criteria.
Perhaps that is why this all comes as such a shock to me.
[ 08 September 2001: Message edited by: Roofus ]