Professional Aviator Spine - it replaced spec aircrew in a fairly spectacular way and, if you were the right age, gave you more money instantly and more money in your pension - very difficult to turn that down.
Gotcha ... obviously I would have missed that change. I understand the imperative, though.
Nice terminology. Shame they couldn't have woven 'RAF Officer' into that
We have a former VC-10 Captain around here who is VERY proud of making sqn ldr. He then poked off at the first opportunity to fly for [I think] Cathay. I'm sure he's a pilot, I just can't think of him as an officer ... and his general demeanour bears that out
