Phil,
Absolutely! My season is done and since the machine is going in for maintenance, I am currently looking for another job. I have had 8 engine failure events over the years. A mis-spent youth, trying to build flight time. The things we do when we are young and dumb and full of ***. All but one were in the takeoff portion of flight. What I got from Jim was that this was the worst possible place it could happen in. So to be prepared that is where he practiced it. The theory being if he could handle it there, every place else would be a snap. As for the forward movement, Jim's comment because of the terrain they normally have under them when working fires, he wanted to ensure that the helicopter was not going backwards or sideways. It must be working, because the last time I talked with Jim, he still hadn't had an engine failure fighting fires.