But undeniably the "grade" so to speak has changed over recent years due to the decline in hours. Surely students aren't expected to meet the same standard as those who completed their training with greater hours? I'm pretty sure it used to be upward of 100hrs at BFTS where as now its down to 65... Can't remember the figures for 2FTS, last I heard there was going to be a small increase in hours for an extra component.. but overall there has been a reduction in hours.
One of the reasons for the reduction in hours, apart from cost cutting, was to get more people through in order to fill the expected vacancies in the upcoming acquisitions. Unfortunately Wedgetail was late, and the KC-30 is still a bit away... Super Hornet just arrived and JSF keeps getting pushed back. So there are now a large number of post wings pilots who are in virtual limbo because of the wait between 2FTS and conversions. Last time I spoke to someone in this boat it was a 18 month wait.
Sure a fix on the supply end will fix the problem... but that will take a year or two to trickle down towards the end. The quicker fix that i've heard is for the training units to be a little bit more fussy... so to speak.
Thats what i've heard, so thats what i've been saying.
I don't necessarily agree with the way things are happening but I don't make the decisions....