Bismark,
You are of course correct - both are infinitely variable. Vertrepping off the small flight deck of a T42 in a CH47 was 'interesting' (though we were lifting 6 Merlin loads in a oner - sorry, inevitable Chinook banter there...) but I'd wager that for crews of any cloth trying to hover next to a yacht in a SS6 or above with the mast whipping around on a dark night is harder than landing on a 4000 ton war canoe.
I see your point re capability, but do we really ever want to be in a situation where a life (mil or civ) is lost because the nearest Chinook, Puma, Merlin had not the foggiest idea? Or, worse,we lose an aircraft and crew 'giving it a go'? I'm sure there are things we should be cutting first; perhaps streamlining vestigial Observer and Navigator training with rearcrew training might be a good place to start....sorry, couldn't help myself!
