Originally Posted by
flungdung
Spinwing,
You may have missed the point of the thread somewhat. The crewmen in question WILL be trained to CPL(H) standard and they are already very PROFICIENT and experienced in SAR/EMS operations. They will be flying with very experienced SAR/EMS PIC's. This can only make a good operation better. And however EMQ choose choose to crew their AW139's you can bet that it will be done properly.
Spinwing did have a point. Whilst it's their trainset and they can do what they want, combining the co-pilot/aircrewman role does muddy the water considerably in the operational context. Sure, train all the aircrewmen as professional IFR co-pilots, but then leave them in the co-pilot seat for the whole mission. Why have them leave a pilot station mid-flight to man an aircrewman station? The excuse being weight limitations is a crock...if you need a co-pilot then have a co-pilot, if you only need an aircrewman then have an aircrewman, if you need both then have both. With that settled, now go and work out your performance parameters.
A very important duty of the co-pilot is to get the ship home should the pilot become incapacitated, which can happen at any phase of flight. How can he do that if he's not at his station, hit the autohover switch on the winch pendant and then climb in the front and take over?? I think not!! Combining the position of co-pilot/aircrewman is fraught with danger, and will lead to some very interesting questions at the subsequent inquiry should there be an incident.