Hummingfrog,
As SASless says the Bo105s of Management/North Scottish/Bond were all flown under VFR (even if they may occasionally have been operated IFR!!).
The Cormorant A Super Puma hitting the sea was not due to IFR conditions, but to turning downwind with too low an airspeed in very strong winds. In the early 1980s Bristow lost one Bell 212 on the Brent contract when it was flown single pilot into a fog bank and the pilot became disorientated, lost control and flew into the sea as he was trying to turn away from a production platform. There was also a similar accident with a Bell 212 out of North Denes around that time. I also remember the case of the S58T 'taking a walk on the wild side'. I seem to remember that the pitch change rods were bent and the scissors damaged on that aircraft.
I think also that SASless has a point when he talks about the environment in which single pilot IFR is being flown. Offshore it's not really too much of a problem as ATC and track change demands tend to be fewer and most offshore rig-radar approaches are to the same format, whilst onshore SPIFR in Europe can be very demanding, especially if having to carry out a difficult approach into an unfamiliar airfield at the end. I used to fly 365Ns and AS355Fs single pilot IFR around Europe and often found it very demanding, especially if doing something like an organ transfer late at night at the end of a long day. Two pilots would definitely have helped.
A lot of the
confusion or misunderstanding that may occur in a 2 crew environment despite our CRM training
can be ironed out by doing LOFT oriented 2 crew training in a simulator. The simulator may not be totally realistic for some things, but for 2 crew IFR it's a very powerful teaching tool and it's a shame that your company doesn't send its pilots there at present. Maybe it's something worth taking up with your management if you're still working for Scotia.
Like you, I've flown both single and 2 pilot IFR, onshore and offshore. I also like single pilot offshore, but I'd rather fly 2 pilot IFR onshore in a busy ATC environment (as long as both pilots have been properly trained in 2 crew co-operation). My own favourite helicopter for single pilot IFR is also the Dauphin 365N series, though I'd like a 4 axis autopilot if flying it SPIFR (my company only has the 3 axis autopilot. The S76s I flew were better in that respect, with 4 axis autopilot and EFIS displays, and very stable in turbulence, but I find the Dauphin smoother and easier to fly when the 'gadgets' fail. The AS355 was nice because there was plenty of space for charts and documents.