Advice needed around safety pilot
 

Take into consideration the following scenario.

I am flying with my colleague acting as the captain for all flights. We are both rated on the aircraft but he is rated on that type as a single pilot while I am rated as multi-pilot. Currently the aircraft is operated as single pilot only in our company. It is clear to me that I won’t be able to log any time on that type because the aircraft is operated as SP but:

1) Can I claim myself to be and act as a safety pilot since I don’t have a SP rating on that aircraft?
2) The captain (which is not FI rated) sometime hand over the controls to me so I can feel that I am not so useless. While doing this he still remain the Captain and off course I still can’t log the time in my log book. Are we breaking any air law by doing this?

Please do not take this as a definitive answer, but my thoughts are:
You are not necessarily breaking air law, in that you are flying an aircraft which you are licensed to fly. However, you would appear to be breaking your company SOPs, by flying quasi- multi-pilot on a SP operation. Your flight ops inspector will probably be unimpressed if he finds out. Likewise your insurers.

Ok that is clear now, thanks guys

One reply says you are not breaking any air law and another reply says that you are...

Thanks, I actually mis-read that. So it is not a clear cut I assume... Both responses seem to agree on breaking the SOP though

There are other questions that beg asking about this whole thing.

None are directed at the OP or the responses given so far.

I sit here, safely retired after a long career flying helicopters in various regimes around the World.

Someone please tell me why the "Safety Pilot" in the scenario's given cannot "Log" the flight time whilst he is handling the flight controls of the aircraft?



You can Log every minute of it.


The Authorities may not allow it to be applied to any Legal Requirement for Licensing, Currency, or whatever.....but he can indeed Log it.




Why the angst over the Single Pilot/Multi-Pilot certification issue.....why not question the mere fact there is such a distinction to begin with?

If you can fly the machine as a single pilot....you darn tooting can fly the machine with two pilots in the cockpit....so why do the authorities add that requirement on your license.

That should be an Operator SOP issue....not a license issue.

Liability.....is the PIC's burden....not the Safety Pilot.

Why is he in the cockpit as a safety pilot? In my outfit (OZ) there is absolutely no way he could log anything.

Similar discussion in the past.......


https://www.pprune.org/flying-instru...sa-vs-faa.html

The OP is asking can he claim to be a safety pilot. The answer is no, he hasn't been assigned that role by his company. If he were the company would have protocols in place, such as responsibilities, who logs what, etc. You are just along for the ride, bringing the CoG forward a little, reducing available payload, but more importantly, gaining exposure, insight and experience as to how a SP operates versus a two pilot operation. We went from SP to two and it complicated things no end, turning it in to make work environment in order for both to feel they were there for a purpose. Would have been admirable if it was a IMC operation, but was actually VFR. There is always the redundancy argument of course.

Had a couple of instances where the single pilot/ 2 crew came into play.

First was in a SPIFR S76, for a private operator, and we flew it single pilot. However, when we had occasion to carry members of the royal family, the Powers That Be decreed that we had to have 2 pilots. We found that it actually DECREASED safety, as we tended to chat about things and people from our past, which perhaps doesn't fit into the Sterile Cockpit environment. But their regal uppitinesses survived every time.

Second was an EMS operation, again in an SPIFR machine, a B412 this time. The next machine in the hangar was also an SPIFR B412, a newer model, but that contract required 2 pilots, which meant ATPL, so my measly CPLH meant I couldn't fly that bird. I could safely fly SPIFR, but legally not with a copilot. Weird. No taking into account the 11 years of operating crewed choppers in the military.

Can any of the rules and regs experts tell me if the requirement to complete a MCC course can be sidestepped if you have the requisite previous experience (ie ex-mil multi engine, multi crew helicopters)? I have only SP ratings on 2 types.

The CAA don't seem interested in answering my question.

Did you try their website?

212man - thanks, I did but my ATPLH was issued in 1991 and converted to EASA 2 years ago. My 139 TR was completed SP as I couldn't demonstrate completion of an MCC.

I may have got it all wrong and simply needed to show the ATO (non-UK) my logbook.

Can someone explain the CAA/EASA thinking that a Pilot rated for Single Pilot IFR operation of a helicopter cannot safely then operate in a Two Pilot operation of the same helicopter without taking some additional training course and paying vast sums of money for the course and subsequent Licensing Fee?

Why is that not an Operator function....train, check, and assign Pilots to their position in the Crew?

I am thinking your system is way...way...way....too cumbersome and expensive.

Top info 212man - thank you:ok:

Reminds me of when I turned up with the other three pilots from BSP as the first group to go through the S92 course at FSI in WPB. They were going to refuse us training because we couldn't show them proof of an MCC course certificate - this despite the fact that we all had S61 ratings and two of us also had Super Puma ratings, so this was not going to be our first MP type! I forget how it was resolved now.....