As straitman implies, not sure where you are going with this!!!
RayBan - - Please don't quote me out of context.
You are doing a really good job of getting everyone here offside.
What I was getting at was exactly what I said. At the time I was not sure where Peter was going with the thread.
Peter - - to answer your question
Straitman.... You are right. They are lit up like Xmas trees. This is a bit difficult to put diplomatically...but are you an offshore ifr pilot ? Can I try and explain it this way. Night Rig approaches , particularly in the S76 are , or can be VERY uncomfortable.
I agree with you entirely and believe that you have largely answered, (with a bit of help) your original question. The S76 isn't easy to operate at night due to the visibility. The combination of well established operating procedures, two crew procedures (CRM) and a huge amount of caution (and as much practice as possible) will make it all work.
Assuming a pad height of 100ft the following works well. 2nm (GPS) 60kts / 500 ft radalt, 1nm 30kts / 300 ft radalt etc.
Re the radalt setting - - 100 ft minimum or possibly higher is necessary. If you are going in a downward direction 50 ft gives you no reaction time for recovery. I know of several occasions where 100 ft worked and 50 ft would have been just swimming.
This is a bit difficult to put diplomatically...but are you an offshore ifr pilot ?
The answer is yes (and still is) for in excess of the last 20 years on S76 a/c!
