I flew the Wasp a couple of times as a 'jolly', I was never qualified on it as I started on the Sea King before transferring to the Lynx later in my time.
Being a tall chap and a rugby player the Wasp was never really to my design and the ubiquitous 'Nr' horn would sound quite often as the poor old Nimbus donk attempted to lift my bulk and that of the QHI! Often the sortie length could be extended by removal of the doors! Deck landings were done to some fairly tight decks, the Type 42 destroyers being one of the smallest then Leanders and the T21 Gin palaces. Ironically, in my time, I always found the smaller decks better to land on as your visual references were 'closer in' thus the drift and pitch easier and quicker to pick up. The T23 was a football field designed for the Merlin and therefore didn't allow the same level of 'finess', all IMHO of course.
The Lynx was a massive generation leap forward for ship board power and controllability in comparison to the Wasp which suffered many similar problems of the Sea King with respect to design by also having a fully articulated head. What gave the Wasp its advantage was its relative power to weight advantage until you put a torpedo on it!
Halcyon days!
