"Mike Rapoport" wrote
I am a strong believer in "train the way you fly and fly the way you train"
and so are FlightSafety and Simcom. Actually this applies to all endeavors.
If you want to be a better runner, then you are better off running than
swimming.

Maybe. Cross-training is a valid and recognized approach in
professional athletics; I think it's just as valid for aviation. I
found that my skydiving improved when I started flying airplanes, my
airplane flying improved when I started flying gliders, my tri-gear
flying improved when I started flying tailwheel - and so on. Even if
you normally fly single pilot, I think there are gains to be made by
learning to fly as part of a crew, and practicing the skill on
occasion.

I can't and won't disagree with any of your points except to point out that
unless your copilot is trained in the aircraft, it takes longer to teach
them how to do things than to do them yourself.

Not necessarily. How much aircraft-specific training does one need to
find an approach in a book of plates? IME most instrument students
can do it.

If it makes the
examiner happy, I will asign him the duty of reading checklists.

That was one of the duties I assigned. Finding me the approach plate,
or reading some aspect of it to me, was another. It's not much - but
it's better than nothing. I did in fact point out to him that since
we did not fly or train as a crew, the tasks I could assign to him
were limited - but not nil. That seemed to satisfy him.

The interesting part of this was the way the single engine ILS played
out on the checkride. I was vectored all over creation, in and out of
cloud. I was given an intercept that was too tight and WAY too high
(the GS needle was pegged down as I was cleared). However, because I
had offloaded the duty of finding the approach and briefing me on it
to the DE, and because I had the A/P on, I really had minimal
workload. I could see the bad vector/altitude situation developing,
and I adjusted the power/speed accordingly.

When the clearance came, I disengaged the autopilot, dumped the nose,
and dove for the intercept altitude at 1000 fpm. It was the only way
to be stabilized on altitude and on airspeed as I crossed the marker -
where I 'lost' an engine. Had I needed time to decide what to do as I
got the clearance, I would not have made it.

The approach was easy, and keeping it within a dot was a non-event.
Would I have pulled it off without the DE and autopilot? Certainly.
Would I have kept it within a dot at all times? Probably, but
possibly not. Would I have done it smoothly, such that successfully
keeping it within a dot at all times (in spite of an engine failure at
the marker) was never in doubt? Probably not.

The ATP ride was half over before I really understood the point. Even
seemingly minimal resources can be useful and should be used.

Michael