Guy Alcala wrote:

snip

A couple of corrections.

When the Indians set the old landing and takeoff record with the Cheetah
(license-built Lama) back in 1969 at 24,600 feet, they did it with two crew
on board, and did the same when they broke that a month or so previous

to
the Eurocopter Everest stunt by landing and taking off at a density altitude
of 25,135 feet, using a Cheetah equipped with a new engine with which
they're considering upgrading their fleet.

Actually on November 1st, 2004, and it was at a DA of 25,150 feet/(rounded down
to) 7,665m. Both crew were Indian military, and strangely enough the FAI denied
the record because "Pilots were not holding a valid Sporting Licence when the
flight took place." See

http://records.fai.org/rotorcraft/pending.asp#canceled

I can only say I feel the Indian reply should have been the Hindi equivalent of
"Badges! We don't got to show you no steenkin' badges!"

Guy