Hi guys
regarding leaving the helicopter, with blades turning.
Totally Legal in NZ, and done, probably thousands of times per day in NZ alone, with very few incidents. The few incidents that we have had so far, have been when guys dont use the control locks, or in the case of AS350s keep the machine running at full Rotor RPM because it costs money to wind it down to ground idle! Instead they ring the insurance company for a new helicopter...
I know that i will never be able to convince some people that you can hop out of a helicopter safely with the blades turing, but done properly, it is far safer, in some situations, than sitting watching the action from the inside. In NZ we operate in a totally different environment than UK/Europe, most of our landings are off airport, and the pilot is also the ground crew, marshaller, fuelly everything.
When it comes to productive flying, how do you guys get on doing a 12-14 hr shift, single engine, single pilot, without being able to get out of the aircraft to pee, or grab your lunch, or stretch your legs?
We also only count our hours as when the helicopter is actually flying, as we are only concerned about "flying" experience, but thats a totally different discussion that different countries will never see eye to eye on!
And a "good" pilot will know if the weather conditions are likely to produce a freak gust of wind. The guy operating that machine is far better than a "good" pilot.