Terrier said:
I've heard a training captain repeatedly state that in such an example as presented if you line up into wind, lift to the hover, commence transition and then turn down the runway the hover limit ceases to be a factor; as soon as the cyclic is pushed forward any hover limits cease to apply as you are no longer hovering.
Nick sez:
Having written a fair share of helicopter takeoff and emergency procedures, I am disappointed at that training captain's viewpoint. It's a bit like a legal rather than technical read on the issue. The idea that procedures are invoked and revoked by such clever word games is worrisome. Procedures aren't rules to be cleverly circumvented, they are technically based ways to get machines to behave predictably and safely. Treat them like lawyers treat laws, and you will need a lawyer after the trucks pull back from the wreckage.
The training captain may think that tricks will work to circumvent the manufacturer's recommended limits, but they do not. If you try to land back in the crosswind after pulling that trick, and you prang it, you will look pretty foolish, and your passengers will be more than disappointed. Simply said, the aircraft at that higher weight should not be operated in cross wind above 17 knots.
There is a point in the training captain's comments, though. If you can keep the crosswind component down by getting more or less into the wind, all can be quite nicely done, legally and technically. The whole operation should be done within the recommended crosswind component, however.