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…I felt that I am well in the machines flying capabilities.
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Flying by feel? Isn't that how a blind man reads?
The minimum load factor boundary of the maneuver envelope for a helicopter is more restrictive than that of the fixed wing aircraft. The primary reason for this is that control is directly related to the load factor. At zero G, the pilot of the teetering-rotor helicopter has no cyclic control effectiveness, while loss of cyclic control effectiveness occurs at some negative G value for helicopters with flapping-hinge offset. To avoid loss of control the Nz envelope is established at some margin above the value where loss of control would occur. Approximate values for the lower load factor limit for a helicopter is somewhere between -1 and +0.5.
Further minimum load factor limits can arise from aircraft systems (i.e., oil system, fuel system, gps mounts, etc.) which are not designed for negative load factor.
I believe the AS-350B2 TC is based upon the original type certificate, so a little digging uncovers the (US) FAR at the time--
"The rotorcraft must be designed for--
(a) A positive limit maneuvering load factor of 3.5 and a negative limit maneuvering load factor of 1.0; or
(b) Any lesser positive limit maneuvering load factor not less than 2.0, and lesser negative limit maneuvering load factor not less than 0.5, whose probability of being exceeded is shown by analysis and flight test to be extremely remote."
not sure what the corresponding icao reg stated back then...