Originally Posted by
Countdown begins
For reservist aircrew, is it much of a cost saving? I’d have thought with abatement etc, but the loss of HDT, it must be exactly the same cost as a regular?
It's not about cost saving (well, not directly). Think of it more as a "retention" measure, in that people who've had enough of regular service might be "retained" in cockpits on reservist terms. So more use would be made of that expensive initial training, which today is generally lost to the RAF when someone leaves; a larger force could therefore be sustained. That's the theory, anyway. A possible risk would be regulars stampeding for the exit if they thought they could ditch all the BS and just keep flying...