170'
Chest-beating and youtube videos of light helos flown by experts is one way to determine how to fly your aircraft. Its approved flight manual is another. You get to pick which one you want, but your passengers, should they be foolish enough to climb into your aircraft, trust you to use the right procedures. Here is a copy of the Dead Man's Curves for two helos. As a pro, I made a living producing these curves, with the help of a local fire department standing by, and with the full knowledge that little extra exists when we make these charts. Several times I bounced off the ground, saved by the toughness of the machine I was in and a little blind luck.
If you make your living from flying, you will find yourself driving a taxi should a government inspector see you "youtubing it." For your own fun flying, use 170 feet as a safe hover altitude if you wish, but should the engine quit, don't expect a warm welcome from the ground when you reach it.
Bell 206B:
Robinson R22:
