Perhaps some of yu have some form of increadibly laborous unending standard callouts, but this is a mystery to me. We certainly don't. The callouts don't change for us. We still call a thousand above or below the selected altitude. The standard deviation calls still apply. Otherwise the standard approach calls for localizer alive, glideslope alive,etc...those apply as do FAF, 1000', 500', approaching minimums, and minimums callouts. Would anybody suggest any of these are out of line? They've been standard every place I've ever worked, and and have been nearly universal between airline, charter, corporate, private, and the government flying I've done...pretty standard stuff.
The only additional calls I can think of are on an approach, and involve a Localizer Captured, and Glide Slope Captured call. While some of you may feel these to be extraneous and unwarranted, I disagree. Sure, one could fly the whole flight beginning to end without hardly uttering a word, and one could do it with a plethora of ADI or other display information...but that would somewhat defeat a large advantage of the two or three man crew.
One could go so far as to argue that there's no need to alert anyone else when caging an engine, as everybody can see the power lever or start lever or whatever else you might be touching, just as well as you. That's not communication though. I'd just as soon know everyone's on the same page. Particularly on an approach. Yes, you can fly it silent and single pilot, and that's fine if you're in a single pilot cockpit.
You're not in a single pilot cockpit, though. I can look at most of our procedures and checklist items and correlate them with specific reasons why they've been included. Some are obvious, some have been wrought by historical events that prompted their inclusion or creation. We have these procedures and have them standardized for a reason. It's not just mental masturbation.
Sterile cockpit doesn't imply stony silence. The cockpit isn't a temple. It's a work site. Simply because one is voicing standard callouts does not mean one has violated or desecrated the sanctity of the cockpit. CRM doesn't compromise safety. It enhances safety...so long as one isn't too busy complaining about how wrong one perceives it to be. In fact, that attitude is really a large part of the reason we have CRM and standardization in the first place. What you have is an active format to get you to do it now how you want to do it, but to do it right.
You might have all the answers and know a better way...but standardization, including standard callouts, provide the means for a level, safe playing field.
Something to think about: one of our checklist items appears several times going out, and several times coming in. Flight instruments: Set and Crosschecked. Seems simple enough...why do it three times? It happens that we've had approach or procedure changes late in the game, and a new confirmation is important. It happens that we've had items missed, even with three sets of eyes looking at them, which got caught on the second check...and just two nights ago I managed a minor miracle...caught someone else without a small item not set (it's usually me that gets caught making the mistake)...on the third and final check. Seems redundant, but the calls are there for a reason, and they work.
It troubles me when I hear others whining or complaining about them.
A very popular event in the corporate world has become the Bombardier Safety Stand-down, each year. It keeps growing. Safety Stand-downs have been incorporated in a number of fields and departments and agencies over the years...the Bombardier one is more of a seminar that's just called a Safety Stand-down. I was discussing it a few years ago with a pilot in a flight department where I worked, and he expressed distain and simply said "why would anyone want to take any time out for safety? We've got money to make."
I submit there's a reason things are the way they are, and that it's not a bad thing. Taking the extra half second to make the standard callout is time well spent, and doesn't compromise the sterile cockpit concept one iota. Talking football scores compromises sterile cockpit...but not cockpit duties.