Not hijacked - it "evolved" :ooh:

No, it was hijacked by the 'NCO pilots for the RAF' lobby who are as bigger bores as they always were. It isnt going to happen, get over it.

Rear crew commissioning is underway as I understand it, with applications invited. Good luck to to all who feel the need.

I do believe that this thread is dead.

:D:D Well said StJW :D:D

I have it on good authority that SH Crewman Leaders will not be coming back on the forces that lost them, rather the new WSOs will have as full a career as any other Fg Branch officer. I don't see why they couldn't take on rearcrew issues as an SME either - it would appear that being Above Average in the air is one of the prerequisites for application.

So OIC Rations it is then... :E

Bigger? bores
 

St Johns Wort Those NCO Pilots for the RAF can probably use the correct wording as well as being "bores". ( Big a bores my highly educated one), just as C130jbloke needs to learn to spell (responceability???).

I have been a rotary crewman for ten years with time as a ground trade before that. I do not wish the current system of NCA and officer pilots to change; I fail to see any serious cash saving. Furthermore, with such a small air force the RAF can afford to be very picky about the calibre of pilots it recruits. Why settle for a SNCO pilot whom would not be deemed suitable for a commission when you can employ the cream?

It is good to see though, that a crewman is shortly to become the boss of a rotary Sqn. Well done!

More like get my spell checker sorted out :ooh:

DS,

Well put. I have now served with two ALM sqn ldr and also met a wg cdr ALM. The wg cdr was 17 years ago and must have been off the shinies as he was too big for a Puma; a cnut.

The two sqn ldrs, one a quater century ago and subsequently OC the AA Training at Finningley was possibly the best SO2 I had come across at that time and I had worked with some very good ones. As an aside he was replaced by a nav, Wally by name, wally by nature - the contrast!

The other more recently and also far superior to the two navs be replaced.

The good guys do thrive and deserve to be commissioned.

:D Bravo Old Fella Bravo:D Thats the ticket, if you dont have anything constructive to add.............be a bore.

Its not RAF policy to have NCO pilots. It wont happen, I say again, get over it!

P.S. Go on admit it, you think that Im a pilot dont you?:cool:

"It is good to see though, that a crewman is shortly to become the boss of a rotary Sqn. Well done!"

Who? Where?

Be cryptic, I'll get it.

I have heard of one ( unconfirmed ) who will be OC Ops at a secret helo base in Hampshire, but a Sqn boss .... ?

Hope its ture and best of luck to whoever it is.

:ok:

I have it on good authority that he's an ABBOriginal!

Got it, ta.

:mad: me! Really?

If it's who I think it is, we were Sgts on different fleets at the same time!

Good for him and the crewman mafia in general:ok:

And, yes, the new OC Ops at the aforementioned Hants airbase is indeed a crewman.:D

And used to live in the room opposite to mine in the Sgt's mess - top bloke and very well done to him :).

Can't wait for all those 'Should have tried harder at school' comments when the new boss arrives:ok:

And I should hope so too. He's not a pilot, after all...:E

But he was an SNCO, so maybe we should bring back NCA pilots............:uhoh:






















Sorry, could not resist, i'm going now, bye........................:ugh:

Now that its underway and the stampede is on I suppose that only one question remains; are they going to get the same flying pay as Pilots?

StJW

Yes, they'll get the rates commensurate with their experience (ie a stepped increment every 4 yrs) with all non-commissioned breveted time to count (as before). The only thing they won't be entitled to, obviously, is Pilot's enhanced rate (after 12 yrs in receipt of fg pay).