What we have to bear in mind is that different customers have different specifications and therefore the height of the skids may vary.
All I can say is that when it first appeared at HAI there was detrimental comment on the height of the rear rotor and I have a picture of a man standing by that early assembly mouth open and pointing.... but I will not use that one as I have another from 2009 where we have men of a selection of heights standing by the rear of the 429 on display.... although the t/r is not at full height it is clear that the tall man is in danger of losing his belly button even if to be precise it may just miss it! I am a bit taller so I may not be so lucky.....
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10932568/Bell429HAI.JPG
My comment was in response to a question about the rotor guard and was fairly accurate.
No one is saying that the 429 is a heap of.... it is not, its a great airframe and [to be precise] I do not recall anyone saying it is rubbish.
This end of the posts on this 429 thread is about the new weights and whether EASA [arguably the main market] are going to play ball with Bell.
Some of us believe they have a struggle on their hands [even if its a superb bit of kit].