Originally Posted by
SASless
HC....Having a PM looking over your shoulder is nice....not necessary.
The PM can relieve the PF of some of that stress by analyzing and troubleshooting and offering up a plan of action while the PF.....flies the aircraft....right?
We did all this Single Pilot long before "Screens" and automation were heard of and it worked.
Do you reckon Pilots...PM or PF are less capable today because of the very Technological advances and changes in Training/Cockpit Procedures?
Are they really becoming "Children of the Magenta"?
I appreciate that you are one of those Single Pilots (never married?) who always flew perfectly and never had any self-induced near misses or accidents. But unfortunately that does not apply to all Single Pilots. There was plenty of crashery - it's just that you have blotted that bit out! And let's remember that most of your Single Pilot flying was VFR. It's a bit easier when you can see what you are doing!
Anyway the point of multi-crew is to improve safety. Most people think it does, although I realise that not all do. Single Pilot can be fairly safe. Multi pilot can be safer. It's just a matter of degree. However the benefits of multipilot only occur if the crew operate together well (I think someone once said it was called CRM) and the chap not in charge is empowered to make interventions. Also, during critical phases of flight, it helps if the other chap can see the same "picture" as the pilot - it's hard to monitor someone if you can't see what they can see. Therefore if you are going to design a new helicopter to be as safe as can be (and bearing in mind that the humans are probably the least reliable bit) why not maximise the crew's ability to work together by giving them the same information - even and especially when things are going up the creek?
PM and PF are not becoming less capable these days, it's just that the skill set is changing. Less importance is now placed on the captains ability to shout orders and ensure everyone knows he is the boss, less importance on the copilot doing a good impression of a quivering subservient wreck, and more importance on working together to ensure a good outcome. Scary, isn't it!