Originally Posted by
BEagle
For those who think that I'm out of touch with the RAF of today, sorry, but you're wrong...
Last year I was chatting with the boss of a squadron which operates quite modern multi-pilot aircraft. A thoroughly nice chap, he told me that many of his pilots were PVR'ing and there wasn't anything he could actively do to persuade them otherwise. "So I guess it won't be long before I'll be doing the same", he concluded.
Doing my PVR porridge, a fast jet DeskO bounced into the office I was using at Binnsworth. "Got an ATPL?", he asked. "Yes". "Lucky blighter, I wish I was in your shoes"....
In the end I only used my ATPL for FI/FE work on light aircraft - although there was a possibility I might have needed a Type Rating for the instructional and development work on the military aircraft programme on which I was working after I'd left the Service.
Some have written that 'airline' pay is the main attraction for many PVR'ing pilots. "The job is very boring, but they do at least hose you down with dosh", as one of my airline pilot FIs explained a year or so ago.
It isn't really likely that there could be a substantial pay rise for military aircrew - but is money the only reason people seem to be leaving in the numbers some are claiming?
Anyway, for those staying in, I hope you'll have the enjoyment I had - for most of my time.
Aren't you the guy who thinks that pilots leave the RAF for civil aviation to " sit in the RHS of a 737 to fly drunken oiks to various waterholes" ? That crass statement strongly suggests to me you are completely out of touch with the civil aviation world, perhaps too much time on Prune. ! Just take a look at the types British airlines are flying, all possibilities for ex RAF pilots: A380, 330, 340' 320, 350 coming, plus 747, 757, 767, 777, 787 plus the workhorse 737.
Add to that significantly reduced time to command due to expansion makes the civil world extremely attractive to many !
Money is certainly not the only reason pilots are leaving, there are many other factors, including , not least, the opportunity to take control of your own lifestyle and determine your own future.