Just for clarification, I went to the Practical Test Standards, revised, and copied the text for you all:
FAA CFI Practical Test Standards Here
Bold and underline added by me for clarification:
Performance of Autorotations
Instructional knowledge must be demonstrated on the practical test in
autorotations, either straight-in or 180°, as per Area of Operation X for a
helicopter class rating.
An examiner may accept, at his or her discretion, a logbook endorsement
in lieu of demonstrating these tasks during the practical test.
This logbook
endorsement must be given by a current flight instructor with a rotorcraft
category and helicopter class rating on his or her flight instructor
certificate that provided the training and can attest to the applicant’s
competence in these tasks. The following areas must be trained, and
documented in the endorsement, as evidence of instructional knowledge relating to the elements, common errors, performance, and correction of
common errors related to straight-in and 180° autorotations.
This logbook endorsement may be accepted, at the discretion of the
examiner, provided the practical test is not a retest as a result of the
applicant failing the previous practical test for deficiencies in instructional
knowledge pertaining to the elements, common errors, performance, or
correction of common errors related to straight-in or 180° autorotations.
In the case of an applicant who was found deficient in these areas, the
examiner must test the applicant in the instructional knowledge pertaining
to the elements, common errors, performance, and correction of common
errors related to straight-in and 180° autorotations. The applicant must
provide a helicopter appropriate for performing autorotations if
demonstration of this task is required during the retest.
So, in reality nothing has changed other than giving an examiner the ability to accept an endorsement from a more current CFI. This would be in line with a proper Flight Risk Assessment by the examiner.
As Wageslave so eloquently put it:
Much less risk for the examiner you see, avoiding all this unnecessary and hazardous flying.
Until he became an ass:
Why he feels the need to be like that I do not know-----and yet is is this side of the pond that gets accused of being the assholes.