Mars et al
It all begins at the beginning - the TR course. All license related courses are designed around the LST. The traditional TR course focusses on how to fly the helicopter, handling exercises take priority.
If the course is designed for experienced professional twin turbine rated pilots with a current IR (and they normally are) then why do we allocate a huge chunk of the course to handling? When you rent a car and pitch up at the collection point you have little idea what vehicle the hire company will give you but do you spend even 30 minutes studying the hand book when they give you the keys - hell no. You get in and learn about its handling as you progress. What you don't know and will need to read up on is the entertainment system and the satnav.
The critical elements of the latest breed of helicopters are their systems and without a really good, and I mean REALLY GOOD idea of how they work and how to work them you will never be able to cope when the chips are down.
Of all the hundreds of candidates I have seen in last seven years teaching TRs and CT courses I can count the number that arrived with a written copy of their SOPs on one hand - yes one hand. When asked if their company uses SOPs some would say "yes of course". When asked if I might see a copy the reply was invariably "well they're not written down". Ladies and gentlemen, if your SOPs are not written down then they are NOT SOPs. They are one man's version of the SOPs.
Back to the regulators - you guys are so far behind it's painful to contemplate.
Aye
G.