Flipster wrote:
<<I don't think so as, these days, nearly every 18 yo of any quality wants a degree, while DE TOS must be very unattractive to todays 'youff'. Furthermore, with today's apparent educational standards, those that want DE may be less likely to be of the right calibre. >>
There are pros and cons in this argument and it is another sign of the magic roundabout. If we accept that the educational output at 18 is not what it was we must also accept that the same is true of university. I make that assumption on the basis that the first year is now making good any knowledge or skill gap at school. The range of degrees on offer are also questionable. So our 18 year old that wants to go to university must also be selective in what degree course they embark on. In other words they must already be aiming at military flying.
What hasn't been stated in this UAS release is the shift to getting in DE aircrew at 18. The training system then handles any academic discrepancies and the 18 year old enters productive service 3 years earlier and can leave after a couple of productive tours whereas the UAS man may be seeking out after one tour - but that is less attractive in terms of hours and experience!
Do UAS make better aircrew prospects? As I said before, of 6 ex-UAS only the two who wanted to be navigators made it straight through the system (and the only two who got their PFB). Of the other 4, all became chopped pilots and only one got through nav training.
From that I would conclude that they did not have a better chance of getting to a FJ cockpit but a better chance of staying in the system so we would get a return on our money.
From this end of the tunnel that looks a very dubious prospect especially as we marked the 3 failures as high risk at the meet and greet!