...my question is: am I allowed to take 1 extra person with me, this person holds a CPL, so in my view he would act as a "safety pilot"; does anybody have any info on this?
Any extra person you carry is either a 'member of the crew', or a 'passenger', and as you can't count your friend as a crew member, he must be a 'passenger'
...while you are "sole manipulator of the controls" is sufficient
Mr. A is quite correct.
MJ
