So many think that it is OK to use a tongue to fly an airplane. Yack yack, constant chatter repeating the bleeding obvious. What makes you think that the chatterer is actually doing what he/she says he is doing? Much of it is as meaningless as the calls, and such calls as “check speed” are just that; words. I would rather fly with a pilot who does the job quietly and conscientiously than who yacks.
Boeing procedures require the pilots to monitor the performance of the airplane, which means ADI, ND and Eicas. The FMA does the same thing, and displays what it is doing. What is the point of monitoring a monitor? If there was a need for a verbalisation, it would be easy to fit a voice mode, but there is no such need.
The constant chatter degrades the callout effectiveness. If the PNF only called abnormal indications, it would have a greater effect. The PF would actually listen to what was said, instead of tuning it out as a distraction. As it is now, if there was a need to call a malfunction, there is a good chance this would be missed in the general noise.
Newbies to the airplane take a while to learn how to make these callouts, especially during takeoff, and there is no way most of them can see anything other than what they are trained to see, which is normal indications. If there was something going wrong they would not see it since they are flat out getting all the calls in on time. When they have more experience, they still will not see anything outside the FMA since they are trained to have tunnel vision.
If the FMA was taped over, it would be easy to monitor the performance of the airplane using normal flight instruments and much safer, since it would be independent of the FMA and it would actually relate to what the airplane should be doing, not what the FMA thinks is correct. Consider situations that cause errors;
1. Takeoff with LNAV/VNAV not armed (error in setting up or change of runway etc). If the LNAV and VNAV do not capture, the FMA will not change, and many support pilots will not respond since the FMA does not have a reason to react.
2. The airplane levels off during a climb because the intermediate altitude is still in the vertical profile. The FMA shows “ALT”, and the PNF calls it out, not noticing that the level off is not what is wanted. And many times, that is all that will happen until someone notices that the level off is not correct.
3. While in ALT HOLD, ATC instructs further climb/descent. The PNF changes the alt reading to the new value and pushes in the select button. Nothing happens because the airplane is not in VNAV, but he does not see this since the FMA does not change, and he has no reason to make a callout. Again a delay until someone notices that something is wrong.
Pilots nowadays are almost automatons, incapable of thinking. The imposition of Airbus procedures on the Boeing operations does not help, and makes things less safe. Cut out the chatter and use the brain.