My father retired from the RN aged 53, and took another job for seven years, retiring from that aged 60. He got a call from the Home Office soon afterwards, asking if he'd like to apply to join the Police Complaints Authority, for three days a week. The same pension issues as described above came up, so he told them where to put it.

Just as with QFIs, HMG lost a good employee by the tried and trusted shot to the foot :ugh:

How about when you retire you take your pension as normal.
If you became a reservist QFI full time, then they pay you at least what you were earning whilst in the service and you get your pension.
If you work for the airlines and long haul for example, then you could work 1 day a week reservist and be paid pro-rata.
If 5 guys did this then they have the equivalent of 1 FTRS pilot.
There would be a huge take-up and the FTRS manning/QFI crisis would be solved.
If anyone leaving who was a not a QFIs and wished to do it, then just prior to their exit point they could do an abbreviated QFI course, providing they agreed to be 5 years reservist on a 1 day a week contract or 2 years on a full time reservist contract.

Abbotyobs, I'm intrigued about these abbreviated QFI courses. I believe there are some about, but aimed at producing FI/PIs etc, not QFIs! Can't see EFT/BF(J)T working with anything other than a pukka QFI.

Surely if you worked as a QFI one day a week a huge proportion of your time time would be spent maintaining currencies and very little actually spent teaching students.

As Stuff has pointed out, five guys doing one day a week is not the same as one guy doing five days. You'll have five guys who say that week they can only do Monday, for a start. And anyway, why go for the hassle of an 80% commitment with your main employer and 20% with another in the first place?

Most airlines won't let you onto less than 100% commitment until you've served a couple of years, AFAIK.

The ad is quite interesting. It says "civilians with no military background may be considered for employment in Staff Pilot appointments" - can anyone explain more about "staff pilots" and how their role would differ from that of the ex-mil QFIs?

HFD

I know a few guys who fly for the airlines and manage flying fast-jets once a week and instructing quite happily, without any issues of currencies etc.
These guys had a lot of experience by the time they left the service, and so could provide a decent service without having to fly every day of the week.

Instructing once a week on Tutor/Firefly sounds very reasonable, providing the right guys/girls were chosen.

Staff pilots would be required to fly sorties which don't involve pilot training.

Not a good idea
 

I'm sure it would be OK as a one off measure but it must not become the norm. Students benefit greatly from instructor continuity and they also want to know that they are being instructed by someone who has just come off the front line. That's not to say of course that the sqn wouldn't benefit from some great experience.

I agree with you, but how many of our EFTS/UAS instructors have just come off the frontline, unfortunately not very many nowadays and how many are Ex FJ mates.
Instructor continuity is important of course.

I was approached in 1995 to become one of the first five HRR (High Readiness Reserve) rotary pilots.

The RAF would pay me a daily rate, I think it was less than £30, for the days I worked. They expected my present employer, in a foreign country, to allow me the time off, a minimum of 28 days and up to 36 days per year, and to hold open my job if I went to war. The only way I could achieve this was to use up all my annual leave every year.

It would cost me £1200 round trip to travel to the base in UK. The RAF would only pay my motor mileage from the arrival airport to Odiham.

Not surprisingly, I turned down the kind and thoughtful offer.

It looks like they haven't moved on very far since then.

These 'non-op' tours were seen as a drain on the available operational aircrew pool hence the desire to civilianise the posts. Similarly Sim slots and Ops Officers all drained valuable bodies from the front-line.

Well that was the theory. Get in 'cheap' civilians and you could both reduce the number of pilots and navs etc and increase the bodies available to the front line - win-win.

What it overlooked was the R&R that these flying or flying associated tours gave to the front line aircrew. Now the increased operational tempo increases the desire for a bit of R&R which now can only come from a PVR and fly civvie.

Which of course does not apply to creamies if they are still around, nor to permanent FT QFI types (ditto).

Wader,

Yes, very true. Creamies work well and bring something quite unique to flying training. However, QFIs who get stuck in the job for many years, I think, need to get back to a front line and "refresh". There are several such QFIs on EFT/BJFT/CFS and the students don't seem to be able to relate to them as well as those with recent experience. How some people have only managed 1 operational tour in over 16 yers service is beyond me.

The full-page ad is certainly a leap from the little 'box' classified asking anyone out there to contact S/L so-and-so at Crandlitz..........

I wonder whether Binnsworth is coping with the rush of applicants......

Has anyone really applied for this?

I see there's now even an advert on PPRuNe - and that 'ex-service applicants' will have their last 3 assessments provided to the 'selection board' to 'assist the process'.....

That should really encourage applicants...:rolleyes:

The ad says EFT and AFT? Which AFT - FJ, helos or multis?

And no I'm not interested! Just wondered!

I wonder if they've still got mine. It was 19 years ago. On second thoughts, they couldn't afford me these days :E

The pay is rubbish. Who would want to continue as a service pilot on the same cash with less job security and littel advancement prospects? The MoD are living in cloud cuckoo land if they think this is a serious proposition.

There is a world pilot shortage - right now. Two years ago, my company had 2000 CVs on their books. Now, we can't get people to turn up for interviews and we are losing pilots twice as fast as we're recruiting. This FTRS scheme is competing in the same market.

The money being offered wouldn't even cover my kids school fees after tax!

Makes you wonder where the MFTS people think they'll recruit their instructors from.....

MoD - having cut the RAF to an unsustainable level, if you now need mercenaries to do your flight instructional work, then you'll have to pay the going rate....