it is given in several articles fairly clearly that till the knee, the hepter is considered to be in a full power climb while above the knee it is in level flight. of this i have definitely have no doubt. your post yesterday quoting paco also refers to the same.
Take off power, yes - climbing, I don't think so. Shawn will correct me if I'm wrong, but I think one of the critical elements of this test process is to only change one test point parameter at a time. e.g constant height with incremental speed changes, constant speed with incremental height changes.
Hand away from the collective in the cruise?!!! In my role as a miltary examiner I would ground such a person instantly and subject them to a rigorous debrief as to the dangers of such appaling airmanship and lack of understanding of rotary PoF - thank the Lord I fly with professionals
Interestingly enough, the Mil standard calls for a 2 second delay, rather than the 1 second civil standard, which implies there are considered to be good reasons why you may have your hand away from the lever
