Starts generally - the Eurocopter procedure works fine. People are on record as having toasted an engine with an "improved" procedures. Hot and fast is better for the engine, I am told.
Hot starts - I prefer to get T4 clearly below the limit - 20 degrees or so. Also, keep the throttle back slightly from the white line then advance it in to prevent run-away T4 (exciting when that happens!)
Take the voltage warning seriously - below 15v at start and you are likely to have an over-temp. Watch that as closely as T4 during starts. If the machine has been idle for a while then consider a remote battery for the first start.
Run the engine weekly. If not the specs require you to set it up for storage. If you don't then you may find your paperwork to be a problem, and having to send the engine back to T for inspection is time consuming and not cheap.
Check the gearbox casing bolts - are they capped with weather-proofing? This is now standard for a rebuild (after 12 years) and on new machines. Without it corrosion in the gearbox studs can be a problem which you will find when you come to strip the MRG.
Load - the machine is sensitive to fwd centre of gravity. If I have anything in the load compartment I try to keep it to the rear of the bay as it does affect cyclic position and it makes me happier. As a rule of thumb, no cargo you +2 chaps then unless someone is very heavy you can carry full fuel. Any more pax (4x chaps or your 3 chaps plus a lady) and you are unlikely to be able to carry full fuel. I would suggest however that if you are departing in an EC120 with your W&B based on a 'rule of thumb' then we will be reading about you soon in an AAIB bulletin. I know, you do actually always check.
Make a note of the frame number and the tail number as these are different (not a lot of people know that). It can be an interesting discussion during a CAA audit (that's how I found out). The answer is the tails are built in China and have their own identification plate, so the aircraft frame number is the one the CAA chap needs, not the tail one.
Last edited by John R81; 24th Sep 2013 at 11:33.