The old adage of saving money with NCO pilots doesn’t hold water any more for more than one reason. Firstly some of the WO and NCO’s are on the same pay rates, being on professional pay spine. (True caped at level 22 but £52,045 a year is significantly more that a ground Maj/Sqn Ldr remember that the Queen also Commissions people who don’t ever fly!) Taking an example close to home I was paid somewhere in the region of £ 78 Thou with bonuses, this would keep at least 6 Pilot Officers in spot cream for a year.
The job market outside is much the same for NCO or Officers being somewhat depressed at the mo but it is sill unusual that a NCO pilot leaves the Army to not go into a flying job. The majority of them going to the charter airlines or police aviation (all that extra time not commanding the men being put to good use with study towards ATPL(A)) My aim is not to denigrate the officer corps in any way but to put the misconceptions of the “drumstick drivin, dung eating hairy arm corps” in to some context.
What the Chief of the Air Staff say in regard to the question raised by the PAC is open to debate but the head in sand won’t work and rumor is it wont be that long before many might be subsumed any way, allegedly! I personally wouldn’t complain too much.