The OP had a (slightly emotive) reference to foot out of the door & exiting with the blades winding down at speed. Anyone who's operated a JetBox in high temps without a gas strut to open the door soon learns to wedge their right foot in the door frame to get a bit of cooling during the 2 minute engine off procedure: nothing wrong with that whatsoever, assuming the pilot remained strapped in and at the controls! After a 2 minute idle, I find it difficult to believe the
the rotors continued to run down at high speed.
Whenever the subject of hot refuels and/or leaving the controls whilst the helicopter is running comes up on Rotorheads there is always a huge discussion, usually following the same split. Those who operate where it is a normal, accepted but
controlled procedure, and those who can't see past the operation they are in where fluffy kittens will die by the hundreds if anyone should even contemplate such a heinous crime
CASA have mandated the parameters for hot refuelling and for leaving the controls of a helicopter whilst running, and they have served me (and others) well over the years. ISTR that the North Sea also allowed hot refuelling back when Pontius was a pilot, has that changed and if so, why?
There are parts of helicopter operations that need and benefit from lateral thinking. Just because the CAA prohibits something doesn't necessarily mean that it is intrinsically wrong or unsafe
