First of all, you are all being very unkind to Hand Solo. He should be pitied, not chastised. Lets all send him a birthday card on his 21st birthday. Inexperience should be treated with sympathy, not disdain.
To get to the point, as an earlier post mentioned, F/Es are invaluable when the outside check, walkaround, call it what it you will, has to be carried out on a dark and very rainy night.. .And it is a special treat when you have hidden his umbrella.
It is a shame that a lot of fun has gone out of it now he has to wear those fetching luminous jackets, so he is no longer invisible to tractor drivers, refuellers and caterers et al