Crab,
There are, as you say, very few outfits who can do this job properly. Those who are successful.....survive. They survive because their training / ethos / equipment permits this to happen. One such organisation is the RAF, another is Interim SAR. If it wasn't successful on any level, MCS would have pulled the plug a long time ago.
Don't let's denigrate these people, please. They are atleast your equal.
ALL SAR crews (front and back seat) are capable of ALL aspects of SAR in ALL scenarios. There is no operational restriction on civilian captains limiting them to the degree of danger each SAR mission may offer - they cope with the same demands that military crews cope with.
I flew RN SAR many years ago, we treated it as a secondary duty, because we had other major responsibilities thrown at us at the same time. It didn't prevent us from turning dangerous jobs down because it was a secondary role. We were experienced crews flying a capable aircraft. No-one commented that skill fade (due to it being sporadic and not main stream) increased our chances of making a mistake. Skill fade is associated with flying the machine (like IF), not carrying out the task. As long as one can competently handle the aircraft, the rest is down to competency and experience.
The RAF have chosen to make SAR an empire, there is nothing fundamentally wrong with that perse, but one has to remember, there are a number of ways to skin a cat.
Until you see SAR from a civilian perspective, surely you have to accept your views can only be one sided? Trust me UK civilian SAR is atleast your equal.
