SAR is not a place for a stick jockey
actually, in many cases, it is - that is if the casualty wants to get rescued of course. No-one is saying you have to be reckless or irresponsible, just prepared to put your life (and those of your crew) at some risk (mitigated as much as possible) in order to save the lives of others in peril - that is what SAR is about.
Try sitting 40' from a vertical mountain slab in the dark and rain, in and out of cloud trying to establish a stable winching platform (oh did I mention the gusty wind?) and then tell me you would rather look through either a peephole or a curved perspex window with no wipers (no distortion there then) when a simple sliding cockpit door gives you uninterrupted views of your hover references (usually in the 2 - 3 o'clock). Try doing it to a night deck that is moving plus or minus 30' in any direction and you will find that clarity of vision becomes very important.