Aircrew Sustainability

[Roland Pulfrew]

and doubtless would seriously hack-off those poor souls waiting years to start flying training.

BEags - part of the problem would appear to be a lack of poor souls waiting to start flying training - the frontline is now so small and OCU throughput has been turned down so far to avoid too much dilution, that we cannot get enough aircrew through OCUs and on to the frontline to sustain the aircrew branches. One option would be to take suitably experienced aircrew and return them to the cockpit to provide an element of continuity, reduce dilution rates, bring back some experience and (hopefully) put them through a refresher rather than a full OCU. The sad fact is though that with the loss of so many types in recent years (Harrier, Jaguar, VC10, Nimrod, C130K and shortly Tristar and Merlin) there may not be enough types left to refresh on.

If we are having to try and get rid of 400 aircrew annotated ground posts (probably many with some form of SQEP requirement) then one might argue that we are already below critical mass and its no longer that the bracnh is on the verge of implosion but has already started imploding - it may now just be a matter of how quickly the implosion accelerates.

[TorqueOfTheDevil]

Quite so. On my first tour, I averaged 297 hours per annum (24.7 per month).

A couple of days ago I learned that a Luftwaffe Tornado wing is giving its pilots 41 hours......per year....

Is it any better in the RAF?

Depends where you are. I have managed at least 300 hours per year for the last 12 years. I say this not as an 'Ooh look at me' but just to point out that some of us are still lucky enough to enjoy plenty of flying month after month, year after year.

The biggest problem in retaining aircrew is that following the draconian cuts in the military there is no realistic prospects of a career in the military as clearly it is a shrinking industry.

Are you sure? I would suggest it's the turbulence/instability/op tempo, compared with what is available outside, which is causing retention issues.

shortly Tristar and Merlin

and Sea King.

[A2QFI]

I have been retired for ever, it seems! I got 440 hours in 50 minute sorties at 4FTS in 1965 and I got at least 35 hours a month working a 3 day week on a UAS in the 90s but not every month.