Boeing 737 Certification rules as a two crew aircraft
The Boeing 727 carried a flight engineer. The Boeing 737 was designed as a two crew aeroplane. I vaguely recall a Boeing Seattle instructor pilot on the then newly designed 737 saying that the FAA mandated the number of cockpit checks were to be within a set limit for the 737 otherwise a flight engineer would have to be carried. The 737 cockpit was more automated than the 727 for example and that was to reduce the number of switch movements and even eye movements required of a two crew aircraft as against a three crew type.
Now either I imagined this discussion with the Boeing test pilot some 40 years ago but I am sure I got this info from somewhere over the years. Or maybe it is all in my mind.
Can anyone tell me if cockpit activity was measured when the FAA approved the 737 as a two crew aircraft?