Having previously dismissed anyone's input which didn't nicely agree with your own views DB, it's good to see you coming up with a slightly more balanced post
I think that your ideas are interesting, and worth thinking about, but i also think the issue of training for night offshore flying should be looked at in general. I'm not sure how others feel, but i feel that the night time offshore approach is the most challenging aspect of North Sea flying. If that is a general held view, i find it astounding that we have the same amount of time being checked/trained for our night time offshore approaches, as we do flying a hold - 1 per year. When was the last time anyone flew a hold in anger?
i think the problem with the night offshore approach is 3 fold:
1. it's the only aspect of any type of flying that i know of, which is neither visual nor instrument, but an ill-defined mix of the two.
2. the infrequency and irregularity of the times that this approach is flown - both due to the months when extended daylight make night-time flying practicaly non-existant, and also over the winter months when shift patterns and wind direction mean that weeks go by sometimes without night landings for individual pilots.
3. The bias of the training flights being for onshore procedures. This leads to us all (i think) feeling comfortable and capable for bad weather instrument appraoches onshore, but we are short-changed in the area of training for night offshore landings. I'm not advocating lessening the onshore training, but would suggest it appropriate to introduce more night offshore training, and a review of the procedures.
Andy