I see that Bristow has finally received certification for its TCAS II installation on an AS332L - the first on a helicopter
. It took a while but then we were fighting the establishment, who said that TCAS II was inappropriate for helicopters - though when you asked why they were not sure.
TCAS I is great for VMC flight but due to the inaccuracy of the displayed bearing, you have to get the threatening aircraft visual before taking evasive manoeuvres - kind of tricky in IMC. The team responsible for developing the idea summed it up by saying that TCAS I is VFR collision avoidance, TCAS II is for IFR collision avoidance, and here on the North Sea we fly mostly IFR.
I was not involved in the project but I hope we get it on the EC225 fleet soon!
HC