New Pilot Trying to Fly a Helicopter

[pipergirl]

Came across this video of a guy jumping into a helicopter after purchasing it without being checked out in it....


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZYnCw0U-Ho

isnt it shocking how idiotic some people can be
:uhoh:

[pipergirl]

lol...i'm hardly a teenager:confused:

[PPRUNE FAN#1]

Please don't be miffed, Pipergirl. A lot of us have been in this industry for a long, long time. Because we're avid fans ourselves, we've seen just about every video clip imaginable. We dissect them at length, interminably prattling on and on about what caused what, etc.

It's tough being so jaded, having to maintain that slightly-bored, seen-it-all/done-it-all attitude. There are those on this board for whom that is a specialty. And some of us forget that there are always new people coming into aviation, making these "discoveries," watching them in fascination and awe, and wanting to share them with others. Trouble is, coming here and doing so is akin to going to your local preacher and informing him that you've just found out that people sin. But you couldn't know that.

Aviation in general and this discussion forum in particular is chock-full of self-anointed experts who just can't wait to tell you everything you need to know about flying (because *they* know everything, you see). Personally, I like poking fun at and holes in such gasbags. In a way, it makes me guilty of the same thing, but I can live with that.

Back to your video clip: Yes, that guy Hawg (or "Hog" or "Hawk"...it's hard to tell) was galactically stupid for trying to hover the little 269 without more experience. But hey, Igor Sikorsky did it! There was no one around to teach him how to fly helicopters, because he invented the dang things! You can tell that Hog is trying to get his nerve up. He inches the collective up a bit at a time...everything's cool so far...until the skids break free of the ground and then suddenly all hell breaks loose. We watch, almost expecting the crazy music accompaniment to begin, like the Benny Hill theme or something. It is a classic example of how "behind the aircraft" you can get (instantaneously!). Poor Hog never does get a handle on it. He must surely have been thinking as it went 'round and 'round, "HOW DID IGOR LEARN HOW TO DO THIIIIIIISSSSSS!?"

And that's the thing about helicopters. People assume that they're "easy" to fly. They're not. They're difficult to fly, easy to crash. When you master the art of hovering, you will feel that you have well and truly accomplished something. And you will have. But that's not even the half of it. Flying is about constantly learning, constantly improving...refining your technique and improving your judgement. It never ends. But sometimes, after a lifetime spent in the air, some of us get to thinking that nobody (especially not some wet-behind-the-ears newbie) can teach us anything. Read this forum for a few weeks and you will quickly see who I'm talking about.

The real trick in this business is to go from a "W-B-T-E" newbie to "B-T/D-T" old guy without becoming so blase (should be an accent over the "e" there) and jaded that we can't empathize with the excitement that a newcomer would get from seeing that video. But you know what? It is amazing. It still gets my adrenalin pumping every time I watch it. It's a lesson that all of us can continually learn from.

[DBChopper]

TOP post PF#1. Very well and eloquently put, as usual. :ok:

Pipergirl as PPRuNe Fan #1 rightly points out, you will normally find a friendlier welcome in Rotorheads than Billy-No-Vowels, or whatever his/her name is, cared to give you, and I for one never tire of watching (Boss?) Hog's comedy hovering, in common with many others on here... :E

[TheFlyingSquirrel]

if you were not a girl - you'd a got a roasting !

[Whirlygig]

Actually TFS - that's not strictly true! PPF#1 gave me a good ole pasting a couple of years ago; he must be wearing his nice hat today ;) :p

Cheers

Whirls

[Vfrpilotpb]

I have not actually worked out but "What happened to the Pilot(or person holding the stick)" was he one of the people leaning against the upturned wreck at the end of the vid clip?


Vfr:cool:

[Gerhardt]

He's still trolling pprune in his spare time under the moniker SASless. He had one boy, TheFlyingSquirrel, and one daughter, Whirls. Both of whom he taught to fly helicopters.

As for this being a chatroom for teenage wannabe pilots, zxcvbn may have a point. When I first stumbled across this forum the description of it being for "professional helicopter pilots" turned me around (because that's certainly not me) and I perused the other forums here. Unfortunately, none of them pertained to helicopters so I stuck to reading-only at first. Maybe there should be a Rotorheads Jr. forum here for folks like me, and a Real Rotorheads forum for real helicopter pilots.

[papa68]

G'day all,

I'm in complete agreement with most of the comments made in this thread.

PP #1 Fan,

You're spot on with regards to many of the comments made in relation to "Olds and Bolds" and their attitudes towards newcomers to the industry. It appears that many of us must never have been newbies and as such, there would be no requirement for us to exhibit empathy for those starting out on their way.

Having said that, I do believe Rotorheads is sometimes hijacked by "enthusiasts" rather than professional pilots. That's not to say that the enthusiasts out there shouldn't be entitled to their own forum. I guess we need to ask ourselves what sort of forum do we want for the pilots and can another forum be generated for the keen would be rotorheads out there?

One of the problems I find with Rotorheads in it's current format is that the sheer number of threads being generated is substantial but many of them are not especially relevant from a professional standpoint. Don't get me wrong, I like a good laugh as much as the next guy, but perhaps threads with more of a humour / general interest angle could be placed somewhere else more appropriate.

Cheers,

P68:D

[PPRUNE FAN#1]

papa68:Having said that, I do believe Rotorheads is sometimes hijacked by "enthusiasts" rather than professional pilots. That's not to say that the enthusiasts out there shouldn't be entitled to their own forum. I guess we need to ask ourselves what sort of forum do we want for the pilots and can another forum be generated for the keen would be rotorheads out there?You know, I actually thought about this one day! I must have been bored out of my mind, already having had a good wank and was left with literally nothing better to do with that day...and so I found myself pondering the mission statement of this forum-within-a-forum: "A haven for professional helicopter pilots to discuss the things that affect them." Professional helicopter pilots. I may have even started or joined a thread on the subject.

Bottom line is: There are already enough sub-forums on PPRUNE. Fractionalizing helicopter pilots (I now come to believe) is wrong. The rotorcraft industry is comparatively tiny. Really. I am constantly amazed at just how small it is.

Secondly, I'm not sure it's such a good idea leaving all the "pro's" together in this room. What would we talk about that hasn't been hashed-out before ad nauseum?

Thirdly, if we segregate the newbies to their own forum, who will advise them? They'll need an "old hand" to answer their questions. More and more of us will gravitate over there and before you know it..."Rotorheads II."
So, no. Let's keep everyone here. "Professional" is a state of mind just as much as a statement of livelihood, I'm big enough to admit that now. It's the Bronx's and the Bravo's, the SAS's and the Mars, the Nicks and the Shawns, the Whirls and the Squirrels, and all the others who make "Rotorheads" what it is, warts and all. I wouldn't change a thing.:E

[overpitched]

Something I've always wondered whilst batting ideas back and forward with people on this forum is...... PPF is there just the one of you ar are there in fact 2 of you using the same log on ?????:O :O :} :O

[papa68]

PPF #1,

Mate, your points are valid but perhaps the "professional" angle I was aiming for related less to whether one was actually being paid to fly for a living but rather if they were actually involved in the aviation game as opposed to perhaps just being a keen observer.

Again I stress, I'm not trying to get the enthusiasts offside, just trying to keep the threads related more towards actual issues that affect flyers such as technical questions, employment opportunities etc etc. I don't know if poetry and jokes etc come under that guise but that's only my opinion.

Enough of my hijacking this thread.

P68:D

[Whirlygig]

For information, PPF1 is one individual who used to have a previous login name but got banned!!!! Gymble is the one you are thinking of who is, in fact, a group of engineers who like a wind-up. One of the Gymbles can spell (which probably means he isn't a proper engineer ;) ).

I find myself in the bizarre position of agreeing with PPF1 - we all need a bit of diversity in our lives. Most rotorheads never venture outside this forum and so come here as well for a bit of light relief. Admittedly, there are posts on here which may be more suited to Jet Blast but that is up to Heliport as to whether he feels it is appropriate to move them.

I am working towards my CPL ground school at the moment and have been a Ppruner for 3 years when I was training for my PPL. There are all sorts of aspects to flying and "wannabes" can make valid contributions especially if they have an expertise in other areas (in my case finance and accountancy).

Cheers

Whirls

PPF1 - are we friends now!!!???

[Whirlybird]

PPF1,

Spot on! I was going to say a lot of that, but you said it first. What's happened to you, PPF1? If you're not careful, we're going to start thinking you're a nice guy. ;)

I don't quite understand why anyone has a problem with threads started by newbies. It's obvious what they are, and I don't see anyone standing there with a gun forcing you to click on them.

[Sailor Vee]

But hey, Igor Sikorsky did it!But, at least he started tethered, so he couldn't get as far as this pillock did! It was after quite a time tethered before Igor let himself loose. If you haven't seen the early film of him, it's worth a look, the cyclic moves about like a whirling dervish!!:E

[PPRUNE FAN#1]

overpitched:Something I've always wondered whilst batting ideas back and forward with people on this forum is...... PPF is there just the one of you ar are there in fact 2 of you using the same log on?Well it must seem so, I guess. As I've stated before, I've been in this business for a long, long time. I have definitely made my share of mistakes. But somehow...miraculously?...I am still around, plugging away, not dead yet.

It's tempting to form mental pictures of people. We read some of the things they write and we think we've got them figured out. We come off pretty two-dimensionally in the printed word. Most of us are not Dickens or Hemingway, and these posts cannot convey a real sense of who we are. But we are all so much more than we present to the world here. At least, one would hope so.

I don't enjoy intentionally pissing people off, but on the other hand I don't care if I do. Whirls (both of you), I apologize if we have crossed swords in the past. But by dint of simply sticking around and not going away you two have shown your mettle and I respect that. Okay, I admit to having a short fuse; it's just that I loathe the foolish. I simply cannot tolerate those without common sense. For instance!

1) Guy comes on here, talking about the hairy, heroic 180 auto he pulled off after a power problem on takeoff in his R-44. Everyone cheers his magnificent demonstration of airmanship and skill. Only...wait. It turns out that he was taking off from an airport! for cryin' out loud. He departed from the very upwind end, over some trees (or other area with no good forced-landing area) and his only option was that hairy, heroic 180 auto back to the airport. If he had possessed the common sense that God gave a flea, he simply would have back-taxiied and given himself some extra margin of error/safety. But no.

2) Another guy comes on here, bitching indignantly about a farmer who fired a missile at his helicopter as he was on approach to an airport (another airport...Jeez!). The fellow as all angry, and expected us to be, that this farmer's cap (okay, so it wasn't a Shrike) could have gotten into his tail rotor and caused mayhem. (Was he that low??) Turns out that the airport in question is horribly noise-sensitive and is posted as such. And the Bell 47 in question was making a standard approach to the threshhold of the runway, of which there is an adjacent chicken farm (hence the noise-sensitivity of the place). A Bell 47 dragging in on a shallow approach at 50 mph or so and 3100 rpm makes an awful racket for a long time (certainly longer and louder than an airplane whistling in at idle/approach power). Anyone with an ounce of common sense would have made a steeper approach or tried to avoid flying right over the chicken coops altogether. But no.

These are the things that make me go ballistic...pilots doing dumb-**** things and then expecting the rest of us who know better to sympathize or support them. Oh yeah! Not.

Flying helicopters is much more than pushing the little sticks around and following procedures set forth in the Basic Helicopter Handbook or whatever. That guy Hawg/Hog/Hawk found this out the hard way! Flying helicopters involves constant thinking. And thinking ahead. I am constantly amazed and frustrated when I fly with other pilots who have absolutely zero conscious thought of their next landing until it comes time to actually make it. No forethought or planning whatsoever. Not to mention guys who don't plan their takeoffs properly! It just sets me off. And I get...well, "testy" would be a good word.

There is a guy at our base who likes to hover sideways and make banked hover turns. He must think it's fun. And maybe it is, although it's been so long since I've performed such bonehead maneuvres that I literally probably could not even bring myself to do them now. "You're going to crash the ship," I tell him. "Maybe not today, and maybe not tomorrow, but some day that **** is going to bite you. And I hope you're good enough to pull a rabbit out of your arse, because you're going to need a trick like that to save it." Not to mention the bad example it sets for other pilots who might see him. No common sense. (Needless to say, he knows better than to do that stuff when I'm aboard.)

Experience can be gained simply by sitting in the helicopter and flying. Judgement and common sense cannot be taught though. And it is my sad observation that a lot of helicopter pilots don't have a lot of either.

[Flingwing207]

Here's the Helicopter Forum Continuium of When You'll Get a Reply
Hours--->0 ----------------10--------------------100-------------------1000-------------------10,000
Forum:
JH: .......flame.................flame.....................flame ...........response........flame...
.
Vertical
Reference: Acknowledgement.......encouragement......................... .reverence.......
.
PPRuNe: ignore.........................ignore (unless really funny).................respond patronizingly................enter into serious debate...

[Gerhardt]

PPF,

You sound a lot like my CFI. Even THINK about making a mistake (or doing something stupid) and he barks, and barks loud. Which is the way it should be.

With that said, you mentioned something that amazes me. There are a lot of pilots (yes, including CFIs) that hover-taxi sideways at speed, take off over buildings, etc. And it does influence not just me, but other students, into believing the maneuvers are acceptable once we build a few more hours and are more adept. There seems to be a tiny gap between what we're told is unacceptable and what we see every day. Most days I wish I was 20 years younger so I could go through a more structured training environment in the military.

I hope you don't ever worry about offending someone here by being blunt. If you bark about something stupid someone did and someone gets offended, then so be it. Surely I'm not the only low-hour pilot here, lurking, and picking up bits of information. Set the record straight and tell us the way it should be...because more people are learning from you than you realize.

[IntheTin]

Doesn't matter what the subject is, PPF's replies are still the best. :ok:

[PPRUNE FAN#1]

Gerhardt:Set the record straight and tell us the way it should be...because more people are learning from you than you realize.Inthetin:Doesn't matter what the subject is, PPF's replies are still the best.Thank you guys, but dang! I had to cancel a flight just now. Got into the ship and found my head banging simutaneously on the rotorbrake handle and right hand upper door post. Just wouldn't fit into the greenhouse. And I think someone left my headset out in the rain, because it must've shrunk, because I coudn't even get it over my already-sumptuous noggin. I don't think that I can take it, for it took so long to make it...ahh, there I go lapsing into Richard Harris verse again...Sorry.

Look, seriously, I have had the incredible good fortune of being able to learn from a variety of very talented people as I was coming up. I believe that to be a true student of aviation one must accept knowledge from wherever it springs forth. And never stop! Even at this advanced age (50+ now), I'm still fascinated by flying. I still love watching helicopters fly, and watching the differing techniques of those mortals at the controls. It's pathetic/funny, really. As I hear a helicopter rev up for liftoff, I *must* stop and watch. Will he get the yaw figured out beforehand so the ship doesn't slew sideways? Will he get the cyclic positioned *just right* so the ship eases gracefully into flight? Will he stabilize at a hover long enough to check things out, or will he just begin moving right away? Will he takeoff into the wind? Will he handle the ETL burble/balloon smoothly? I'm obsessive about that stuff, because when it's done right, it's pure poetry.

There is no single person who has all the answers, and for certain I do not claim or pretend to be him. AND! And I've found myself being wrong about stuff, even recently. Which is upsetting, because nobody enjoys being wrong in front of others. Yet we must continually allow for the possibility of being wrong, which is easy to say but very tough to do.

I hate hearing about helicopter crashes, especially those in which the first indications tend to point back toward the pilot (such as the most recent H-300 wirestrike accident in California). I hate it. There is just never any reason to crash a perfectly good helicopter. Yet people do, with monotonous regularity. Yes, even us so-called "experienced" guys. I just wish people would learn to use their noodle and use some common sense. Learn as much as you can from as many different sources as you can, folks. Meld it all together into a flying philosophy that works for you. Get and be good, and more importantly, strive to be even better every day, every takeoff. But don't ever think that you're so good that the basic "rules" that we learn when we're young don't apply to you now because you're older.

And don't ever let me catch you making banked hover turns.

[Overt Auk]

Two old bits of advice that may be new to some:

All Aircraft Bite Fools.

The superior pilot uses his superior judgement to avoid situations requiring his superior skills.

[Thomas coupling]

Pprude...you got 'em eating out of your hand you old fart. Nearly had me cry a little there for a moment.

Perleeeeze.............................:suspect:

[ShyTorque]

Hey PF#1,

You wrong? Surely not, we thought you had your faults - but from what you told us before, being wrong wasn't one of them! :confused:

Has someone slipped something in your coffee? ;)

[5.0]

"Professional" is a state of mind.:E

I am loving that! When I say it in the office (and I will!) do you mind if I don't credit it to you?

Also, is a banked hover turn something you do when hover taxiing or is it a stationary spot turn kind of a thing?

[overpitched]

Guys. I already told you. There's two of them thats got access to that keyboard. And when evil PPF1 catches this new guy there's gonna be blood.

5.0
I would imagine the banked hover turn relates to taxiing sideways at some speed and then using pedals and cyclic to turn 90 deg. in the direction of travel thus giving you forward airspeed and you fly smoothly away. It's not much of a trick but some pilots do take a while to outgrow it.

[Heli-Ice]

PPF #1 is definitely loosing it!

I really liked you as the old grumpy fart you seemed to be. Now you've lost all credibility...... :)

[PPRUNE FAN#1]

Sideward flight is a manuevre that is peculiar to helicopters v. aeroplanes. But there is little practical use for it other than to go, "Lookee here, I can fly sideways!" Because we helicopter pilots are such paranoid blokes when it comes to failures, we worry about having to be on the ground immediately! A surprise tail rotor failure or engine failure in a hover (I know pilots who've had both) or other malady will put you on the ground faster than you can say, "What the...?" If you happen to have some sideward motion at the time of touchdown things can get messy. So in some circles it's considered bad form to hover sideways, just in case.

Similarly, pilots who hover-taxi a little too fast and a little too high will sometimes make banked turns as they negotiate the particular path over the ground they wish to follow. It is merely an expedient for the lazy or those who are in such a huge hurry that they forget the basics. And it too is bad form. If the dreaded engine failure were to happen when you were close to the ground and banked over like that, you'd be one awfully busy budgie trying to get everything evened out before the skids touched. And hey, maybe you're that good! I'm pretty sure I am, but I'd rather not have to take the surprise pop-quiz on it.

We practice engine cuts in a hover. In a turbine, especially one with certain RR-250 series engines they are yawn-inducing, slow-motion events due to the scheduled decelleration of these engines (i.e. there is a minimum decelleration time that they must meet no matter how quickly the pilot jerks the throttle from full to idle). Pilots who've had real engine failures tell me that they are nothing like the lazy, easy ones we practice, and that the power goes away suddenly, like killing the mags on a recip. Me, I'll take their word on that one.

Now I've never had an engine failure. Yet. I am convinced that it will happen the very day I decide to let my guard down and say, "Ah, screw it," and hover-taxi fast to parking, banking the thing over in the turns as I go. That is my luck and I've learnt not to press it. Your marriage may vary.

I've got some other pet peeves too, many of which I've written about in these very pages. And it makes me wonder if other guys who watch me fly don't sometimes shake their clenched fists in front of their red faces and go, "Oooooh, that guy! I HATE when he does that! Doesn't he know how dangerous that is?!"

Heh. I mean, you never know! There is more than one "right" way to fly, as long as you don't crash the ship, I suppose. Each pilot has The Way that is right for him/her, and he/she probably considers every other way to be just plain wrong.

[5.0]

pilots who hover-taxi a little too fast and a little too high will sometimes make banked turns as they negotiate the particular path over the ground they wish to follow. Yeah, that's what I thought you meant...
It is merely an expedient for the lazy or those who are in such a huge hurry that they forget the basics..That's me I'm afraid. My only defence is nobody ever told me not too, far less that it was one of the basics. I'll buck up.
But you should see the guy who works out of the next hangar, he taxis really fast!

[ShyTorque]

Unless you fly a twin, when it's actually safer in some circumstances to keep the speed up above V1.

[JimL]

...and now you really need to explain what V1 is.
Jim

[Thomas coupling]

V1...wrong aircraft methinks?

[Sailor Vee]

V1 = the speed most Ryan Air 737's taxi at!

[ShyTorque]

V1...wrong aircraft methinks?

No TC, some heli Class 1 / Perf. A departure profiles do refer to V1, V2 and Vy.

But not the EC135.. ;)

Jim, If anyone wants to find out what V1 is they can easily look it up!

[JimL]

ShyTorque,

I know I shouldn't do this but I am hooked:

What helicopters?

What is V1 and V2?

Jim

[ShyTorque]

I'm surprised a certain Capt. Lappos hasn't already joined in, take that as a clue.

As I said, the terms V1 (TDP) , V2 and Vy relate to Class 1 / Perf. A Operations. V1 & V2 are derived from graphs taking into account density altitude and aircraft mass and are bugged on the ASI before takeoff. Vy is given for sea level conditions and is deemed to reduce at a standard rate with increased altitude. For V1, read Takeoff Decision Point (TDP) if you prefer.

Below V1 (TDP), in the event of a single engine failure the aircraft cannot climb away and is landed back on. For the type I fly, this ranges from 30 to 49 kts, depending on prevailing DA conditions.

Above V1 (TDP) the aircraft can be flown away on the remaining engine. V2 is held until obstacles are cleared (40 to 59 kts on said type), then IAS is increased further to Vy, which by definition gives the best ROC.

[JimL]

ShyTorque,

What is V1 if it is a backup profile?

Jim

[407 too]

But there is little practical use for it other than to go, "Lookee here, I can fly sideways!"

one use of 'hovering' sideways is to clear a fence or hedgerow. turn parallel to the fence and hover-taxi sideways over - does two things, limits the time over obstacle in case the donk quits, and you can visually see you have cleared all parts of the ship away from the obstacle before continuing on

what a shame to be halfway over a fence when the donk quits, or think you are clear and settle your tail rotor into it:oh:

and yes, of course you would not do this if you are already flying straight and level, more of something that is used in positioning for take-off or back to a ramp or pad

[ShyTorque]

ShyTorque,
What is V1 if it is a backup profile?
Jim

It's not! V1 only applies if you are talking about a "clear area" type profile, initiated by a forward movement of the aircraft.

If, by saying a "backup" profile you are referring to a vertical profile, the pilot works to a TDP, normally defined as a RADALT height above the helipad.

BTW, Judging by the qualification in your profile, I think you must be fishing...

[212man]

I think you might be right!;)

[topendtorque]

i've always noticed that the biggest egos seem inextricably close-coupled to the shortest fuses.
but to err is human to repeat is----?

taxi speed? i remember in '79 at LGB we were told straight up, fifty feet- fifty knots, or the little green men in the very tall building will shoot you. mind you it was the busiest light A/C hub in the world in company with five of the busiest seven all within 150 nm's, right there in the sunny west. six active rotor pads all day.

The coppers next door to our air log outfit used come out of their compound in their 369's tracking direct at Vjato i am sure of that. they were a good bunch, on for a beer and a joke.

low level maneuvring? it, is simple and something to do with learning about flying helicopters instead of straight line stuff. first you need instruction, then an LL endorsement and shudder -- shudder if you live for 300 hours and if you want to take it further, find someone who will teach you the boundaries that you can then use to explore for yourself.

an attitude to be commended for those who have the flair, as it invariably will pplace you in better cred when that real situation pops up in those out of the way places.
for those who don't wish to push that is also fine, always try to work out how to stay out of that unusual situation, no-where near guns or cattle i think.

[JimL]

ShyTorque,

Fishing? Not really, more that those of us who have such knowledge should be encouraging the use of the correct (and descriptive) terms when they are provided.

Helicopters are far more flexible than fixed wing and so require a different set of terms; yes, Take-off Decision Point (TDP) can be seen as similar (in the case of the ‘clear area’ profile which is analogous to runway operations) to V1 but that is the only case - even then TDP is also associated with a height (unlike V1 for fixed wing).

As can be seen from AC 29-2C there is no need “…to identify TDP by height and airspeed, since height alone or other factors may be more appropriate.” That makes the use of V1 under any circumstances questionable.

Similarly, take-off safety speed (Vtoss) should be used and not V2.

To relate any of these to hover taxi is not really appropriate as it is the combination of height and airspeed (and flight testing) which ensures that these ‘points’ are clear of the HV diagram - which always contains the low-level high-speed avoid area.

By the way, you never did identify the helicopter which has these terms.

Jim

[ShyTorque]

JimL,

Yes, I accept your point about V1 (TDP) that but I was responding to a point made regarding hover taxying speeds, which in my mind do relate to operations over a clear area.

I just checked the RFM clear area graph; it does use the terms V2 and TDP. I will correct my earlier post forthwith! Thanks for that. := :O

I suspect major thread drift is about to occur, not that it hasn't already...

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Edit: Since posting this and sending my reply to your PM, I have now done some more research in the Flight Safety International Pilot Training Manual. There is a mix of terminology, depending where one looks. In the section describing Single Engine Failure on Takeoff over a clear area, "CDP" (go/no-go) is defined as "V1 at 5 - 10 feet wheel height".

[Thomas coupling]

Shy: must be peculiar to that specific a/c you fly?
Haven't heard of it in generic terms though.

'Ready to learn though..............

[ShyTorque]

TC, I think that must be the case.

Different kettle of fish from Eurocopter doctrine, maybe because the rotors go round the other way.

I did notice the test pilot went fixed wing not too long ago. Maybe all that talk about V1 and V2 finally got to him ;)