We took 3 seats out of our helicopters and convinced the regulator that was enough reason to escape the 10 passenger seat rule...obviously makes life a lot easier for all sorts of reasons.
In 3,800 hours S76 offshore I never checked the FDR once, nobody ever did. We were never told we had to, or how to, or that an FDR was even fitted. I don't even recall a CVR being fitted in the 76 A or C, but I do know we had them in the C+ and C++ because there was a black box in the cockpit with an erase button and annoying green lights that blinked when you spoke.