Shawn,
It is worse than you think. The FAA has approved a bunch of aircraft for weights at which there is NO side flight capability, using a change to 27/29 that allows them to abrogate the 17 knot demonstration. They retain just the ability to hover and approach/depart with nose into the wind. Look at:
http://www.bellhelicopter.textron.co...licopters/430/
page 22, step 2 shows how to calculate the weight at which you have no sideflight capability, whic is the weight for Cat B, 9 pax or less operations. They have similar charts for the 412 family and ohers. They have proposed these weights for Saudi mountain rescue operations in the 412!
Check out page B101 of AC 29-2C:
http://www.airweb.faa.gov/Regulatory...569cf00737a9d/$FILE/Chap2_pgB46-B124.pdf