I will take this opportunity to put forward a claim for a World Record for the number of people that have got airborne in a single engined helicopter.
In June 1969 a squadron QFI was supervising a new pilot on an exercise in Grik, Northern Malaya. Coming over the trees to the landing site the engine did the Gnome rundown trick but our gallant hero took over control and scraped a high speed engine off. There was no further damage but the engine had been cooked; a bright blue turbine disc suggested that.
Things got going and a couple of days later a new engine arrived on site with C/Tech Brooker and the Singapore Rolls Royce rep.. I, as the maintainance test pilot, stayed behind to do the neccessary.
We had had a few problems with engine rundowns so it was suggested that we trial this engine in the same atmospheric conditions as the rundown to see what effect it had on the engine. What we were going to do was the full acceptance engine checks on a Cat 5 cooked engine.
It started OK, the ground idle and acceleration to rotor operating speed was fine.
There then came the problem of accelerating it sufficiently to do the stall margin test. For those that are unfamiliar with the Gnome, sorry, too difficult to explain.
We asked the resident Gurka battalion if the could help with bods to weigh it down. No problem, they sent a platoon over. Sufficient Gurkas were put in for the stall margin tests; more were put in for the red line checks and then we packed it out for the topping check.
Not enough people; it still got into a 6 inch hover.
XN 126, an ex Queens Flight HCC6 lifted into the air on the 22nd June1969 with Twenty Six troops plus Two operating crew, Twenty Eight in Total.
I claim a S55/Whirlwind/single engined helicopter personnel lifting record unless you can find some liar with an Mi 4.