On Monday, the Senior MEARW cse at Shawbs was reduced from 10 pilots to 6 (5 RAF and 1 Navy)with only 7 sorties left to wings. The rest of their course and all the other DHFS RAF pilots will enter a central 'Holding Flt' until the execs are told to restart SE & MEARW with, the best performing students 'creamed' onto the first course..... alledgedly. Harsh or realistic?

No change to the MEARW WSO's.

There are only 6 OCU slots in 2011 (all Chinny). How many in 2012???

Right now, the RAF have 200 trainee pilots streamed Rotary. This is going to take some time to even out. :ugh:

Is that because thats all that the front line Sqns require the OCUs to provide for this year or is that because the other OCUs are broken/undergoing aircraft upgrades etc so cant take any more students?

Depending on the answer surely there's a big difference as to the implications further downstream if pilot training is stopped/delayed.

SW

SW

Yes, Yes and Yes.

I am told that the 'six' includes an attrition fiqure of 'two'!:eek:

Telegraph today reports all additional Chinook (x12) cancelled. :{
RAF likely to fight to keep Merlin :ugh:and OCFs busy with the re-role merry-go-round retreads. Puma II casework is probably stronger which :mad:

The DHFS-FBH contract must be in danger of a complete rewrite and/or staff from mil or civil sector in danger of losing jobs. It may be cheaper to change the contract then to employ folk without a job to do.:=

Bespoke DHFS WSOp courses should produce their output quicker then the ridiculous times thus far, and OCFs will need to continue to serve trainee rearcrew. Unless on-the-job rearcrew training is being considered which must have strong merits.:ok:

Who would have seen this coming having read the newspaper headlines in recent years?:(

So four pilots only a few trips from wings will have to repeat the entire course again if they are 'creamed' off and back onto it? Diabolical waste of man hours and cash, but the hot question remains: what on earth is meant to be done? And, perhaps more relevant to the here and now, what is being suggested to be done to attempt to iron out these problems at the moment?

From the front-line point of view, surplus pilots coming out of the training system cause an even bigger waste of time and money, as combat-ready pilots get displaced onto ground tours to make room for the new boys. Front-line training costs are enormous compared to the FTSs, and it is very wasteful having to work new guys up again and again.

Before you suggest it, adding on surplus graduates as "extra" crew at the front line just dilutes the (fixed) pool of flying hours for everyone else at a time when hours are at a premium. The action taken seems harsh from some points of view but makes complete sense from mine.

Easy Street has it right ... sad but true. It sometimes seems that the left hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing ......:(

I also agree with EasyStreet...I think that both our points are suggesting the inevitability of wasted time, stunted careers and messing about at all stages of the pipeline.

On a slightly different note, why are the RAF's rotary OCUs/OCFs full? If no helicopters have been immediately cut under SDSR (contrast the loss of Harrier and however many GR4 squadrons are to go), why is the rotary pipeline so backlogged?

DS24,

Read MaroonMan's post#62 in this thread!

Dark Side,

In a nutshell:

Puma: In the middle of an upgrade => not many hours available for existing Puma chaps/chapesses => no slots for FNGs.
Merlin: Heavily committed to Afghan and destined for transfer to RN => no ability to train lots of new people at the moment, and no point planning to do so in the future
Chinook: New buy in jeopardy, so all the extra people put through Shawbury to fill these slots no longer needed. Some people are needed at Odiham but not nearly as many as expected a year ago.
Sea King: Only ex-SH guys have been getting SAR slots in the last year or so, fleet going in a couple of years => no room at the inn for FNGs.

Not a happy picture, is it?

News...........
 

Apparently a decision on the future of us baby pilots has been made today - anyone else heard anything?

I'd rather like to think they'd tell you guys fairly rapidly. Do pop back and keep the rest of us informed if there's any big announcement; I've only heard total conjecture, mostly in line with the last 22 Gp DIN that came out talking about courses halved in size etc.

Don't forget to read the papers each morning before you go to work. You might find out quicker.

It must be said that, the last time something similar happened, (restreaming from linton) most of those concerned found out on here first!

WSOp pipeline
 

Given that the Pilot's and WSO's have already taken a major hit, has anybody heard if the cancellation rumours around the Chinook buy are going to impact on the large number of WSOp trainees currently in the pipeline?

Currently there are a great many of them holding, having been recruited as part of a surge looking towards the 22 new cabs we were promised...:hmm:

CS

Rumours of an announcement thursday wrt baby pilots?
Anyone else heard anything?

RinC says 15th.

Please could you tell me: What/who is RinC... and is the 15th a fact?

Rumour in Confidence and as much as a fact as anything else on pprune.

PN

Surely you remember that the 1975 Redundancy Scheme was:-

"Positively the last Redundancy Scheme the RAF will ever have !"