Granny - perhaps I didnt phrase that too well. I agree there is no difference in the ACT of getting out at the Pole and getting out to stop your passengers getting diced. After all you still get out.
What I was trying to say was that there is a big difference in why you are getting out - one to maybe save someone's life - which is a sound reason, the other just for a lark which might not be considered quite so sound in most quarters.
Why not get out? Well, have you not read enough stories about guys who thought they had put the collective friction on, only to see their heli leave without them? Is it not possible for the friction to be worn, or for it to vibrate loose? Or maybe for the throttle governor on the R22 to malfunction and open up the throttle? Can you GUARANTEE that when you see somebody rushing headlong towards the tail rotor you will always put the throttle to ground idle, put the frictions on, turn the hydraulics off? Or that in your haste when you remove your seat belt the buckle doesnt slip under the collective and then snag your belt / the Leatherman dangling from it / your trouser pocket / boot whatever as you leap out?
I saw the aftermath of one incident at Long Beach where a 206L had been run up on a dolly for the engineers to inspect for leaks. The pilot of that one thought he had the collective friction on when he wound it up to flight idle. He then leaned out to talk to the techie, the collective lifted slightly and the next thing he knew
the apron was covered with pieces of LongRanger.
Secondly, do you think the insurance company would see it from your point of view if there was an incident?
Thirdly, it usually says something like "minimum flight crew one, to be situated in the right (left) hand pilots station" in the FM. As a "Flight" is defined as being from the moment the heli moves under its own steam to the moment the blades stop turning, then technically if you leave the cockpit there is no crew on board. The heli is then being operated outside limitations, hence the C of A is invalid, hence the insurance is invalid.
And finally - we are talking machinery here, and we all know that if somethings going to go wrong it will be at the very worst time.
I wonder how many thousand of Robinson hours the Intrepid "Q" has - and yet when he has to put it down for real, he's 100 miles out over the South Atlantic, not the forgiving fields of England.
Its just my personal opinion of course - so feel free to ignore it! - but helicopters can give you a nasty bite all by themselves - why make it easier for them?