Double Bogey - I find it interesting, if a little sad, that whenever an 'old n bold' pilot, or shall we call them a 'pre 4 axis fully coupled pilot' offers an opinion, helpful suggestion even (like I attempted) it is immediately derided by yourself and others who are understandably wholly committed (roger committed!) to the NS 'Airline' way of doing things. Rose tinted misted spectacles aside, there are other ways of flying a helicopter that are not acceptable to commercial operations like the one you are tied up in. But I can remember when NS operators would find a platform on radar and fly up the leg in fog - NO, I don't think that was a better way than the one you use now (but is that how the RM do it still?) but military pilots do all sorts of strange things that wouldn't be acceptable on the NS shuttles. It's not boasting, just a fact, why, even SH types don't always understand what SAR Buoy (wankers) get up to (unless it's all got incredibly pc since I retired) and I wouldn't have much of a clue about the Stan. I can fly on instruments, even had a proc IR courtesy of Aberdeen's Sim and would have loved to have the automation that you enjoy but it wasn't much use up a mountain, day or night. What I think various O+B people are trying to say is systems operating, whilst very important, isn't the whole story when it comes to helo flying. Maybe, just maybe, some other essentials have been lost along the way? Perhaps due to accountants who do not really understand aviation?
