Hughes 500 - what you describe isn't a TR drive failure drill - it is a tail rotor control failure - ie stuck pedals in different positions which is a different situation.
A crosswind gives you some anti-torque force (ie what you are lacking in a TR drive failure) and gives you lower run-on speeds before breakaway as a result.
DO NOT try to assess breakaway speed at low level with a real TR drive failure.
BTW - techniques you can get away with on light singles or twins may not be appropriate to a heavy twin like the subject of this thread.
Much simulator time is devoted to TR failures of all kinds on bigger aircraft because it is not usually safe to practice realistically on the real aircraft.