crab,
What I am saying is not a change from aerodynamic understanding at all. It is however a major change from the pilot mythology that has been allowed to accumulate, unchecked by anyone who actually understands VRS, for decades.
The article I provided in post 42 is an example, here I also provide the papers of Gordon Leishman from U of MD who, based on the V22 accident, became quite expert on the methods of analyzing the rotor flow:
http://www.glue.umd.edu/~leishman/Aero/vring.html
It is exactly correct to say that when the rotor is descending at 1.3 times Vi there can be NO VRS. When we demonstrate it (I have done so only about 1000 times!) we pass thru that condition (and of course also the .2Vi and 1.0Vi) and call the whole mess VRS.
Can the collective be up to your armpits in auto? Yes, in fact, and a verical auto, it will be fairly high.