Very interesting thread. I can see I'll need to do some serious revision before my next standards check.
One minor point, the Chinook doesn't handle quite like a normal helicopter in roll. In a normal helicopter, once you have banked, the pendulum force of the cab tries to pull you wings level again, forcing you to keep some into-turn cyclic to maintain your angle of bank. For some unknown reason Boeing decided that the Chinook should fly like a fixed wing aircraft in roll. When you push the stick sideways the AFCS interprets this as a demand for a rate of roll proportional to the displacement. It will keep rolling the aircraft until you are upside down if you let it. You have to put the stick back in the middle to stop the roll, at which point the AFCS will automatically hold the angle of bank.
Lu: Your sideways stick stuff is not a problem in autorotation. As has been said, we can fly just like any other helicopter. It does play a major part in Vortex Ring or "settling with power" as the Americans would say. Although I know people who say that you can power out of Vortex Ring in the mighty wocca, and they have, the best solution is to accelerate, as it's impossible to maintain Vortex Ring above 30kts. Trying to pitch forward in the Chinook would only lead to an increase in collective pitch on the aft head which would go deeper into Vortex Ring and fail to pitch up. The way out of Vortex Ring in the Chinook is to accelerate sideways because, as you pointed out, this cyclically pitches both heads which gets round the problem.
Arm: All very good points and I wouldn't argue with any of them. The Chinook has a wind limit of 45kts from any direction and is very tolerant of downwind approaches/hover with very little increase in power demand. Even single engine, at training weights, the pilot would have plenty of power in hand, especially if he did a running landing (max speed 60kts). Into wind is better, but downwind at 10kts is not a problem.
Vfrpilotpb: Ever since the Wessex crash a few years ago, in which three ATC cadets died, the MOD have become EXTREMELY resrictive about carriage of civilians. It has to be approved from on high, and then only for a good reason. We would love to take you flying but, normally, they won't let us. I suggest you try to think of a cunning reason and write to the Station Commander at Odiham to ask. What have you got to lose?
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Through S**t to the Bar