Chippy
If you pop up through a hole and either convert to IFR or remain VFR with a Traffic Service is not going to save you in a single engined helicopter. Yes, you will stay clear of the hard stuff but when it all goes quiet that little hole you popped up through is not going to be as big as it was or as big as you would hope it to be, and it certainly is not going to be where you thought it was.
You had one option - turn around and go back! It is easier to explain to a customer why you could not get there than it is for your family to hear the bad news of your last decission.
I firmly believe that ALL single engine helicopter pilots need to think twice about the consequences of flying anywhere were they can't safely land that helicopter if the engine decides it has had enough, or you get an emergency which will eventually require YOU to shut it down. You'll buy yourself an extra couple of minutes in the later case but from experience, there's never too much time on your hands before flicking that off switch. Whether that is above cloud or over water etc, always ask yourself the question, "have I got a safe option if I need to land in 90 seconds", if you do carry on! If you don't and you still carry on, please do us all a favour and please take a different career path because we all already have enough reports to read without reading yours.
