Ah, those were the days.....
Like Geordie I have jumped from helicopters, I was an instructor who checked pilots out. I used a company at Goodwood Airfield. Great chap who owned the company good to work with and great pilots too, I think one of the pilot's name was James.
Nothing wrong with waving at the pilot through the front windscreen.(LOL) Must agree with the departure though. We practiced to be smooth, whether it was 2 at a time or dependant on height all 4 together.
Also in a later life dispatched jumpers from a Bell 47 for a local jump center, only 1 at a time.If they stood out on the skid for too long and it was a getting a tad interesting handling, its amazing a slight right tap on the cyclic and they were away.
What great fun though