DB....it's the rude , arrogant one here
You wrote ........
In respect of the ash-cloud crisis. I flew every offshore mission allocated to me IAW the Company guidelines and the MET information avaible. Did you???
Well actually I think you sat on your bottom for a week or more waiting for an expert to hold your hand (sadly there are no experts in this field ...but interestingly the locals around many volcanoes worldwide fly around the ash regularly quite happily). I, on the other hand along with most people I know, flew all week in clear air ... Having used that thing called common sense !!!
As for you not having a problem with any rules ...I just don't believe you. Would you not be pissed off if you had a charter that couldn't happen because there was a 4ft fence 100 yards away?? Then to find that I did it perfectly legally privately
. Do you think it makes sense to have to do training on a real vor (which almost no se Helis have) and not allowed to use the vor on a moving map ??
As for the avoid curve I personally think far more accidents have been caused by low time pilots barreling in too fast to a confined area (trying to keep 30 kn to stay outside this killer zone ...) and coming to grief. I am far happier getting firmly into the curve and do a power check and controlled, slow descent ....funnily enough taught to me by ....a military pilot.
Ps. What's the answer about breaking speed limits ...??????