At the risk of thread-drift, I acknowledge that the requirement for aircrew to 'head' the organisation is worthy of debate however my observation is that the majority of the future 'leaders' of the RAF are effectively identified very early on in their careers primarily based on flying ability, not leadership ability. I was once told by a deskie that in order to have the 'reach' to get to CAS you need to be promoted to Sqn Ldr around the age of 30 - but what 'leadership' qualities have you displayed by then as aircrew? I've had many a conversation with flying colleagues about the concept of 'leadership in the air' (e.g. 4-ship lead) but to me this is more in line with management of a task (albeit very skilled management) rather than any ability to motivate, engage, develop etc. Indeed the most important box on the OJAR to my mind (if it still exists) when it comes to assessing leadership potential is the one that assesses 'subordinate development' - but what opportunity have aircrew had to display this? This is not to say that aircrew can't be good leaders, but that the behaviours they are selected, promoted and identified by early on in their careers are not necessarily the ones required to 'lead' the organisation at the more senior levels. Indeed I still recall a former VSO (3*?) addressing a leadership conference a couple of years ago effectively saying that he had got to the top by being the arrogant fighter pilot who knew how to do everything and that if he shouted louder people would jump higher and that's how he had been taught to do leadership (or words to that effect). This is not to say that aircrew cannot/do not make good leaders, but that the ability to fly an F35 does not necessarily make you a more capable leader than your peers.
PS Although I have not personally met him I have heard similar comments to RLE's regarding the 3* Engineer.