Could someone in the know elaborate on the crewman/co-pilot role? Say for example, is the co-pilot to perform all co-pilot duties in the IFR enroute phase, and then when they arrive at the destination, he get's out of the co-pilot seat and hops in the back to man the winch. And when that is done, he jumps back up the front for the return to base? What if it was a night over-water winching mission, will there be a co-pilot actually in the co-pilot seat during the winch? What about flights over-water generally, if there is a ditching will there be a crewman in the back at all times to assist the passengers with evacuation, or will he be riding up-front flying?
It is an admirable move to have the aircrewmen trained and competent to perform a flying role, as long as it doesn't detract from the function of aircrewman. To my way of thinking, it is better to have 2 pilots up front and an aircrewman in the back, at all times.