  In a recent experiment Finne et al. discovered an intrinsic condition for the
onset of quantum turbulence in $^3$He-B, that q=alpha/(1-alpha')<1, where alpha
and alpha' are mutual friction parameters. The authors argued that this
condition corresponds to Kelvin waves which are marginally damped, so for q>1
Kelvin waves cannot grow in amplitude and trigger vortex reconnections and
turbulence. By analysing both axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric modes of
oscillations of a rotating superfluid, we confirm that in the long axial
wavelength limit the simple condition q=1 is indeed the crossover between
damped and propagating Kelvin waves.
