There is also a down side to this definition.
1. You can’t have a ‘running change’. You must shut the rotor down, as you can’t have ‘half a flight’, and in most cases that means stopping the engine.
2. For night flying (re) qualification the requirement is no longer just a number of circuits (take-offs and landings) but flights, which includes a full shut down. This significantly increases the cost of night training.
Furthermore there is a body of opinion that uses this definition to justify the view that all ground-runs, compressor drying-out runs, etc. are now required to be recorded (logged) as flight time. No longer is there any requirement to be running the machine with the intention of flight.