but in Europe (and Germany especially), HEMS-pilots do not fly that much.
120-180, maybe 200 hours-thatīs the absolute minimum you need to stay current and proficient.
Disagree! The ammount of hours are not so important to stay current. If you fly several missions a day, and thats, what most of the german HEMS-pilots are doing, you do many take off and landings in unprepared locations. So you gain more proficiency than doing hours of straght and level flying.
Just my 50cts
skadi