Pilot shortage?

[Spurlash2]

Telegraph article here (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/8412467/Shortage-of-RAF-pilots-for-Libya-as-defence-budget-cuts-bite.html)

[Really annoyed]

The handful of pilots used for air shows will also be withdrawn from displays this summer. :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

Disgraceful. The spotters lobby will be up in arms about that. Quick, somebody start an e-petition. Stop that outrage bus and get on and tell the driver to take you to Downing street.

[Flarkey]

You say 'pilot shortage'... I say 'too many planes'.

[bakseetblatherer]

12 Typhoon pilots in the FI? Wow. That must be many nights on spicy and coke 'cos there will be sod all Q and flying for them all to do with just the 4 jets :rolleyes:

[Doctor Cruces]

12??? Is this a holiday camp now?
When I was there with 23 on the Mighty Phantom, we had one crew for each aircraft.
:)
Doc C

[Willard Whyte]

4 on Q, the other 8 to help with a bit of mutual ego massage, or perhaps to stop 'em getting beaten up by the bigger boys in Phat Albert.

[high spirits]

'due to be replaced within weeks?' The det has only been in Italy for 1 week. Sounds like the reality is longer detachments....or getting bullied by the spice-blind, off duty SAR crew in MPA!

[dakkg651]

"Never, in the field of parliamentary stupidity, has so much been asked of so few".

[Faithless]

Time to call for assistance from the Polish, Czech's, Canadians, Ozzies, kiwis....Again! :O

[Fox3Fox2FoxYou]

Can't believe anyone here believes ANYTHING the so-called defence correspondents write in the Telegraph. Journalists and numbers? You've only got to look at their expense claims (on a par with politicians...):ugh:

[Caractacus]

I do hope our enemies don't read the Internet because we seem to tell the world an awful lot about our capabilities.

[The Helpful Stacker]

Can the MoD not just call-up all the MS Flight Sim warriors who are often found on here stating certanties about comparative a/c abilities as if they are the world's most in demand test pilot rather than actually being a nerd who knows how to find Wikipedia?

It's almost the same isn't it, flying for real and sitting in your boxers in a darkened room, fiddling with your joystick and snacking on crisps?

[charliegolf]

4 on Q, the other 8 to help with .......

Changing the odd light bulb?

CG

[500N]

"4 on Q, the other 8 to help with ....... Changing the odd light bulb?"

8 Officers to change a light bulb, that would be right:O

[The Helpful Stacker]

Better that they're in charge of a lightbulb than a map.

[Rector16]

Interesting how it's always the Telegraph that 'leaks' stories about the military with a lot of made-up 'facts' about who is doing what and where. makes you wonder if they have an agenda (or political guidance).....

12 Typhoon pilots in FI, handful doing airshows, short duration deployments, etc etc. Given the lack of truth to these statements, you'd have to ask why they're doing it.:suspect:

The worrying thing is that people who make decisions might actually believe some of this.

[The Helpful Stacker]

I wonder if the 'bearded bull***tter' has a hot line to the Telegraph?

[AngryDave]

The article itself only says 6 down in the FI...

[Thelma Viaduct]

The UK should only get involved with bombing others (from the safety of 25,000ft) if we have the capability and political will to do it alone.

Anything else is a show of weakness, not strength.

If the UK is going to steal oil from another country, lets be open about it, put up, or shut up.

[Biggus]

AD,

Not on the front page of my Torygraph - definintely says 12....

I can't see what the problem is. Possible solutions:

When the 18 curently deployed come home they are replaced by (and in turn replace) some of the 24 "committed to QRA".

Given that the Libyian airforce has been officially descibed as non-effective, we reduce our contribution of air defence assets in theatre, and cut down to say 12 Typhoon pilots.


At the end of the day, if we have 69 Typhoon qualified pilots that is enough to man say 2 Sqns (2x18=36), an OCU (15?) an OEU (5-10) a few senior needies (Sqn Cdr Conningsby, etc). How many Typhoon Sqns do we have currently declared as operational?


Of course,the hours spent getting Torphy qualified to fly solo on Typhoon could have been put towards making it 69+ ....

[Wrathmonk]

makes you wonder if they have an agenda (or political guidance).....

.... or has a semi-high ranking relative who works in the non-light blue RP community ;)

[Really annoyed]

Better that they're in charge of a lightbulb than a map.

Says the man in charge of stacking blankets.

[TEEEJ]

House of Commons

Oral Evidence

Taken Before The Public Accounts Committee

Ministry of Defence: Typhoon

Wednesday 9 March 2011

Ursula Brennan, Air Vice Marshal Simon Bollom and Air Vice Marshal Stephen Hillier.

Stephen Hillier: Could I just come back? We have 48 pilots who are trained for the tasks that we require them to do. Eight of them are required to be trained for the multi-role task, and we have eight trained in that role. We have 48 pilots overall.

Corrected Evidence - 860-i (http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmselect/cmpubacc/c860-i/c86001.htm)

TJ

[mmitch]

Worth reading the whole of that link. :ugh:
mmitch.

[The Helpful Stacker]

Really Annoyed - Alas I am an ex-Stacker so those duties fall on others now.

[minigundiplomat]

Alas I am an ex-Stacker


Whereas it seems obvious that Really Annoyed is still a complete clown.

[E-Spy]

Having read about half of that transcript, it amazes me that the 'interrogees' kept their cool with such seemingly unqualified questioning, and at times, inane wording!

Bulls*** baffles brains, but bulls*** for brains beats heads against a brick wall :ugh:

[cazatou]

mgd

I think that you are being somewhat unkind to the harlequinade with that comparison.

[Q-RTF-X]

Having read about half of that transcript, it amazes me that the 'interrogees' kept their cool with such seemingly unqualified questioning, and at times, inane wording!

A similar chain of thought crossed my mind several times when reading the transcript - I don't think I got much further either !

[Moe Syzlak]

Sure enough the Bearded Bulls**tter is right in there on the Telegraph letters page with an SOP dig at the RAF over this-he's now sporting a double barrelled moniker. All rather rich considering that the FAA NEVER had enough fixed wing pilots since the introduction of the FRS1. They have now though.

[TBM-Legend]

I'm glad this mob wasn't running the Battle of Britain.....:=

[BEagle]

Well, to an outsider it would obviously seem rather odd that the RAF has recently canned a whole bunch of trainee pilots and technically must also now have a few surplus Nimrod, Harrier and F3 aircrew - yet there is an alleged 'shortage' of pilots despite a manpower strength of 40000?

Pilots discarded in RAF cuts are needed to carry out missions in Libya - Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/letters/8414464/Pilots-discarded-in-RAF-cuts-are-needed-to-carry-out-missions-in-Libya.html)

Amazing - no mention of the SH-word in Ward, sorry, MacCartan-Ward's letter. He's slipping!

[minigundiplomat]

30 odd thousand in the RN and they are constantly telling us they couldnt manage another Falklands Taskforce!

What do they all do?

Writing letters to the Torygraph it seems.....

[TEEEJ]

Typhoon Display - Suspension

We very much regret that it will not be possible for the Typhoon Display Team to display at some of its planned air shows in the immediate future. We sympathise with the publics’ disappointment but operational requirements must remain our priority.

It is the aim to reinstate the 2011 display season at the earliest opportunity as soon as operational circumstances allow.

Although the Typhoon aircraft will not be present members of the Typhoon Display team are planning to be in attendance at the 16 planned air show venues in the UK and Netherlands, where they will be able to provide information and answer questions.

RAF Typhoon Display Team - News (http://www.raf.mod.uk/typhoondisplay/news/index.cfm?storyid=4672EB71-5056-A318-A8865BA10855956E)

TJ

[ralphmalph]

This is really a non story!. All elements of the armed forces are short of "suitable/experienced" aircrew.

The only question is: "at what point do we openly accept a crash because our experience levels are so so low?"

Regards

Ralphmalph

[The Helpful Stacker]

That "fewer airshow displays" PR release from the RAF is a pretty shrewd move.

It seems Joe Public rarely gives two hoots about defence unless it means that they might not get an opputunity to see something fast make a lot of noise at their local airshow.

Perhaps as a futher move, obviously to make best use of experienced crews, would be to ground the Red Arrows for the time being so that their highly-experienced crews can be transfered into the Typhoon training pipeline?

[just another jocky]

With a 6-month (?) OCU and the OCU closed anyway, I don't think that would work. :rolleyes:

How can these idiots keep getting Typhoon and Tornado mixed up? We're just canning 2 x GR4 sqns, so what doesn't Mr Ward get about 30 available pilots. Anyway, the original report said shortage of Typhoon pilots, Tornado wasn't even mentioned. :ugh:

[The Helpful Stacker]

just another jockey - I'm aware of pipelines times etc, but Joe Public isn't.

Perhaps the spectre of not seeing 9 red Hawks doing their thing during the summer will be the 'lightbulb going on' moment for the great unwashed and as such the only means by which a message regarding the wholesale destruction of this country's military capability can be put across.

'We' know it'd be a token gesture but does the average 'The Sun' reader?

[BlindWingy]

Kind of like stabbing yourself in the foot to get attention?

[Bob Viking]

A lack of suitably experienced pilots to put through the Typhoon OCU is not the problem. Taking guys from the Reds will help no-one.
BV:rolleyes:

[The Helpful Stacker]

Kind of like stabbing yourself in the foot to get attention?

Its not stabbing yourself in the foot, its "an unfortunate consequence of defence cutbacks".

The government makes headline-grabbing decisions all the time that only occassionally have real substance. Isn't it about time the military as a whole stopped following the mantra of "improvise, adapt and overcome" in order to deal with neglect from above and started to play the spin doctors at their own game?

I don't want to see the Red Arrows cut and I also understand that pipeline times mean that such a move would have little real impact of cockpit fill but I suspect the man on the Clapham Omnibus understands or cares little for the temporary closure of an OCU but may be a little more upset if their favourite red jets aren't ripping across the sky come summer time.

[serf]

What about the next (2012) season; if we are so short on the front line, can we afford to take pilots from there to put in the Reds? Any Typhoon pilots in the team this year?

[Jabba_TG12]

Definately worth reading the whole of the document in TEEJ's link... jesus christ, ripped to shreds doesnt even begin to describe it.... no wonder things have turned out the way they have. :mad:

[2Planks]

I am no particular fan of 2 of the interrogees in that farce. However, they have to be congratulated on keeping thier cool. I would have reverted to Anglo-Saxon a short time into the meeting. I detest the political grandstanding on these committees. Today, the Public Finance lot, tomorrow more granstanding from the Defence one, another day the gang in charge of industry, the next some regional development bunch. The MOD is a long way from perfect but sometimes we cannot win with all these competing requirements from various interested parties of MPs all with their own agendas, coloured by a desperate need for individual re-election.

Now what time is happy hour before I blow a fuse!