Before LTE (Loss of Tail rotor Effectiveness) was discovered,
manufacturers had the tail rotor run in the other direction, to prevent
the tail rotor swinging dirt towards the helicopter when it was too
close to the ground.

Best regards

Stuart & Kathryn Fields wrote:
Just attended a fly-in at Westport OK. There were some 27 helicopters
there. Attending were Rotorways, a Brantly, some R-22s, a R-44,
Schweitzers, a Hiller and a Safari. Only one of these ships had the tail
rotor turning in the "right" direction. It as the Safari. It seems that
Bell, Lockheed and Westland to name a few have discovered that the "proper"
direction of rotation for the tail rotor is to have the blade that is moving
to the rear to be on top. The change from the "Old" direction to the new
"proper" direction has eliminated some tail rotor control issues in more
than one helicopter. Ray Prouty and Shawn Coyle both mention this issue in
their excellent books published by Helobooks.