In the "real world" thanks Gordy... or maybe I've just been damn lucky until now...
I guess I could have phrased it a little better...
A lot of the techniques described, and many that I have been taught, have put the machine smack in the middle of the dead man's curve for the initial power check.
There is nothing wrong with being in the "dead man's curve" as you call it..I think it has been used to scare people into not going in there. I spend a fair amount of my flight time there---we prefer to call it the "money curve"...tis where all the money is made---it is after all what helicopters were designed to do... As I am sure you know, on an approach, the curve is not as bad as on takeoff.
I've got into the habit of doing the initial hover/speed comparison check when I get airborne
Again---this is good if you have the time to do it...In most of the work I do, I rarely get above 300 feet, and often times am landing in different places all day. I do not have the luxury of time to do these checks. I have HIGE/HOGE cheat sheets aboard the aircraft, that are laminated. I can look to see what I can and cannot lift very quickly. I have a standard 500lbs of fuel version, but I created it in excel, therefore I can adjust the aircraft/fuel/pilot weights as needed. Here is the one I use:
