Nigel
"We need to impress upon pilots ( again IMHO) that in bad weather FORGET about 500ft and all that crap...all you HAVE to do is keep OUT of cloud."
I'm afraid I just don't see it your way. This is not the message we should be teaching pilots at any level. I believe you are in the dangerous position of believing that what works for you should work for everyone else. That is not and will never be the case.
A VFR flight is a VFR flight. VFR with an unplanned IMC excursion is inexcusable, the flight should have been terminated way before that point - this is what we should be emphasising - IMO.
These rules were not written overnight, they are the result of a long learning process which is continually changing. They are there to protect us from ourselves and whilst I agree there could be room for manoeuvre for those experienced pilots, the rules are there for everyone and should apply to everyone, otherwise we need to appoint someone as the line drawer. Where do we draw the line? Who draws the line?
Sorry Nigel, pilots grow older and more experienced through nurture and supervision, not through a blatant disregard for rules that don't suit them. IMHO, your emphasis is not in the best interests of the helicopter community as a whole, and that is the emphasis that the rulemakers are interested in.
We can't enforce experience and judgement, those have to be developed individually, this is where interpretation of weather reports either works or does not work. If interpreting the ample weather info in the UK is too difficult, cancel the flight, in the meantime, pilots need a set of rules to which they must adhere.
You make some valid points but I just don't share your outlook.
tam