Yep, it sucks major league! I can understand training on twins-only as most aeroplane commercial work is on twins, and you have the whole asymmetry thing to deal with; but when the rotors are driven through a single gearbox...
It is a bit of a hangover from the days when there were virtually no 'light' twin helicopters and even less certified for actual IFR flight. Seems to be still hanging on as the usual training helos for initial IR (in the States at least) are the R22/H300 which are not certified for actual IFR, and so the CAA are being a bit conservative over here. As long as pilots don't try to actually use an IR in their R44, etc and wait until they are in a proper machine really suitable (autopilot, etc) as you will find at a much lower level in aeroplanes.
Flug
Last edited by Flugplatz; 4th February 2008 at 22:45.