RAF Flying Training

[Herod]

I'm going to show my age and ignorance here. Can someone explain the current RAF training system, in terms of types, hours "wings" etc. When I went through the system it was 160 hours JP, which resulted in "wings". Then either Gnat, Varsity or rotary (Sioux and Whirlwind). From what I've been able to glean from various sources, streaming takes place much earlier now. All to do with cost I guess. My JP course was one of the last ab-initio jet courses, before the Chipmunk was re-introduced as a cheaper elimination tool. Standing by for old man jokes; the Varsity was an aluminium-skinned Wellington with a nose-wheel; wasn't the Sioux in the Korean War?

[Fareastdriver]

When I went through the system it was 160 hours JP

Young whippersnapper!

[Bill Macgillivray]

120 hours on PP or JP3 and 110 hours on Vampire T11 to "Wings". Lots of youngsters here now !!

Bill

[brakedwell]

120 hours Piston Provost 120 hours Vampire T11 FB5 & FB9. 18 students on the course of which 7 were National Service.

[Easy Street]

There’s a comprehensive answer here (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/UK_Military_Flying_Training_System). Look under the “Elementary, basic and multi-engine pilot training” sub-heading.

To that serious answer I would add the wry observation that RAF pilot training begins with 2 years’ holding...

[Herod]

Thanks, Easy Street. It seems I got the wrong end of the stick regarding the last "ab initio" course. I was under the impression that a short "weeding-out" course on the Chippy was introduced sometime late-sixties, as a cost-saving measure, but I could be completely wrong. My JP course graduated in May '66, so if the Chippy wasn't introduced, my apologies if I've confused people.

[Wyler]

I share an office with someone who’s brother is going to pilot training. About to graduate from IOT and been told to expect a holding posting of at least 18 months. So, whatever the trg is it does not appear to be very efficient.

[Fareastdriver]

Holding is not new. At Changi in 1970 there was a brand new Pilot Officer holding at the Target Facilities Flight having unofficial flying lessons on Meteors that were older than he was.

Mind you, it's the same as the aircraft when they join a squadron now.

[nipva]

Bill M
You did my final handling test on the Chipmunk for my PPL Look in your logbook for the 9th June 1966. I too was part of the all jet primary training but halfway through we were given the opportunity to spend a week with a UAS to get a PPL. In this case it was UBAS at Shawbury. .

[Fareastdriver]

After our Final Handling Test on the Provost T1 we all had the opportunity to do a double landaway to qualify for our PPLs. Mine was Ternhill/Church Fenton/Shawbury/Ternhill. At Church Fenton I had a wander around the Supermarine Swifts that were being chopped up.

[2 TWU]

I really do despair of the system as it is. IOT into a hold, multi training not done in house at present, an order for just 10 Texans feeding into 20 plus Hawks (I know the Hawks do two jobs but even so). How can such a small throughput support the front line?

[Training Risky]

During a 2 year and 3 month period starting in 2000, I squeezed the following in (with no holding tours or MTV hours):

66 hours EFT on the Slingsby Firefly.
88 hours BFT on the Squirrel HT1.
110 hours AFT on the Griffin HT1 and wings.
100-ish hours conversion on the Chinook HC2.

As 9/11 happened during my AFT, maybe the trg system ramped up with a bit of foresight in order to accommodate the front-line demand of the Afghan and Iraq campaigns?

[teeteringhead]

As this seems to have become a "What MY Flying Training was like" thread, thought I'd add my four pennorth (from July '68 - May '70):

Chipmunk 60 hrs (more than usual - an "experimental" course)
JP (Mk 4 ONLY!) 141 hrs (more "experiment" Chipmunk to Mk 4 was "challenging!")
Wings
Sioux 44 hrs
Whirlwind 58 hrs
Wessex Conversion 29 hrs

So Wings after about 200 hrs, onto 1st Squadron with about 330 total - but split between 5 types!!

[ShyTorque]

All jet training in my time, piston engines had been "retired".
I flew the JP3 & 5, followed by Whirlwind 10, Wessex 5 for rotary wing training. 1977-1979.
Wings used to be awarded after the JP course at Linton, 15 course being the last (Sir Douglas Bader presented the flying badges). So many were "chopped" at AFTS at that time I think it became embarrassing to the system. I was 22 course so had to wait until after AFTS anyway.

We were still holding after IOT back then, despite many more aircraft out on the line than these days. So my experience of flying a jet was actually in the Hunter at RAF Honington.