I work with a fleet of AW139's and they all have a camera mounted on the verticle fin, so gives a great view looking forward from the tail and can be easily accessed via the displays in the cockpit. Would be a useful visual aid when presented with a fire warning.
The RAF's Puma HC1s had an interim mod in the late 70s/early 80s, to slightly extend the cold weather operating envelope. Rear view mirrors were fitted, which allowed us to look into the engine intakes for signs of ice.
When the Polyvalent intakes mod was fitted, the engineers began to remove the mirrors. We (the pilots) tried to retain them, because they were so useful. We could see down the whole sides of the aircraft and beyond the tail. The engineering answer was a resounding "No". Stupid, totally stupid. But there was seldom any squadron pilot input allowed in
any engineering decision.
