3 Commando Brigade

Helicopter crew - question to pilots

It really depends on the situation and the server.

My personal experience with a full crew on public servers is that it can be problematic. People on the guns open up fire when they should not and pilots often do risky stuff that they should not do. The doorguns should (in my opinion) be used to defend the heli from danger and maybe sometimes troops that you just dropped on the ground. Having a full crew often turns a transport helicopter into a part time CAS helicopter and this usually does not end well.

Beside that having a Co-Pilot does have some advantages. The Pilot can concentrate on flying, while the Co-Pilot takes care of the radio communications. In Helicopters like the hellcat he can also operate the camera, which also can be quite helpful. Especially when you are a transport helicopter it is also less boring to wait in base or somehwere else, if you have a second guy on your heli.

Indeed.

When I am a pilot and flying a transport, I will have the last word when it comes to a LZ. Sometimes people designate a LZ that is.

A: Too dangerous
B: Not fitted to land a chopper.

I rather hear some people complaining because they have to walk or wait 5 more minutes, rather than having them cry because the heli gets shot down on approach, or see them back in base after I have returned, because they died 3 minutes after getting out.

Mefirst, that is why I made sure that the pilots had a say on Sunday as to the LZs, they were uncomfortable with the choppers so it was all their choice.