I understand why some are advocating that the PPL syllabus is changed to include what they feel is more relevant. If you work in that field then I'm sure you have a good grasp on what you'd like to do, so include more stuff. The 45 hour course is the minimum time, it's not a target.
I cannot subscribe to taking pilots out into bad weather to scare the crap out of them to demonstrate superior decision making. Most instructors nowadays don't have the experience in any case, so including bad weather flying in any syllabus is asking for disaster, all that would be achieved is launching into weather on a flight you plan to abort.....I don't see a lesson there, other than a bad one.
This thread started after an accident with a PPL, for that reason, it seems to point towards a PPL issue. It is not a PPL issue. Can we please stop trying to cure a "PPL issue" by changing the PPL syllabus.
There have been several accidents in helicopters in the past few months which happened in bad weather, as far as I am aware, this is the only one with a PPL at the controls.
This is a widespread problem which has nothing to do with unstabilised, single-engine helicopters, it is about not allowing it to happen in the first place. Why not introduce a "Stop-and-think" point. For example, when you get to within 500 feet of the cloudbase....stop and think....what are my options, why am I pushing on?? Or perhaps at 5km or 3 km visibility, stop and think.....
This is probably what most of us do subconsciously.
Tam