The likelihood of the flotation bags keeping the old girl right way was ... Zero!!
In all my time on the 10's I only once saw a sea state which would have allowed an upright initial alighting. Rotor rundown, voluntary or involuntary thereafter would almost certainly put the rotor head/gearbox in its gravity inspired position!!
When we did the 'dunker' at Vernon, the assumption for ALL exit drills was that it would be from an inverted, nose down position. A tale or two to be told from those sessions, too!!
Still nothing quite like the Whirlwind (rotary version) for sheer SATISFACTION when you got it to do exactly what you wanted ... NO automatics, NO stabilisation systems, two powered control axes and one 'mandraulic' and if you let go of the cyclic, it instantly diverged.
