.... or has a semi-high ranking relative who works in the non-light blue RP community ;)

Says the man in charge of stacking blankets.

House of Commons

Oral Evidence

Taken Before The Public Accounts Committee

Ministry of Defence: Typhoon

Wednesday 9 March 2011

Ursula Brennan, Air Vice Marshal Simon Bollom and Air Vice Marshal Stephen Hillier.

Stephen Hillier: Could I just come back? We have 48 pilots who are trained for the tasks that we require them to do. Eight of them are required to be trained for the multi-role task, and we have eight trained in that role. We have 48 pilots overall.

Corrected Evidence - 860-i

TJ

Worth reading the whole of that link. :ugh:
mmitch.

Really Annoyed - Alas I am an ex-Stacker so those duties fall on others now.

Whereas it seems obvious that Really Annoyed is still a complete clown.

Having read about half of that transcript, it amazes me that the 'interrogees' kept their cool with such seemingly unqualified questioning, and at times, inane wording!

Bulls*** baffles brains, but bulls*** for brains beats heads against a brick wall :ugh:

mgd

I think that you are being somewhat unkind to the harlequinade with that comparison.

A similar chain of thought crossed my mind several times when reading the transcript - I don't think I got much further either !

Sure enough the Bearded Bulls**tter is right in there on the Telegraph letters page with an SOP dig at the RAF over this-he's now sporting a double barrelled moniker. All rather rich considering that the FAA NEVER had enough fixed wing pilots since the introduction of the FRS1. They have now though.

I'm glad this mob wasn't running the Battle of Britain.....:=

Well, to an outsider it would obviously seem rather odd that the RAF has recently canned a whole bunch of trainee pilots and technically must also now have a few surplus Nimrod, Harrier and F3 aircrew - yet there is an alleged 'shortage' of pilots despite a manpower strength of 40000?

Pilots discarded in RAF cuts are needed to carry out missions in Libya - Telegraph

Amazing - no mention of the SH-word in Ward, sorry, MacCartan-Ward's letter. He's slipping!

30 odd thousand in the RN and they are constantly telling us they couldnt manage another Falklands Taskforce!

What do they all do?

Writing letters to the Torygraph it seems.....

Typhoon Display - Suspension

We very much regret that it will not be possible for the Typhoon Display Team to display at some of its planned air shows in the immediate future. We sympathise with the publics’ disappointment but operational requirements must remain our priority.

It is the aim to reinstate the 2011 display season at the earliest opportunity as soon as operational circumstances allow.

Although the Typhoon aircraft will not be present members of the Typhoon Display team are planning to be in attendance at the 16 planned air show venues in the UK and Netherlands, where they will be able to provide information and answer questions.

RAF Typhoon Display Team - News

TJ

This is really a non story!. All elements of the armed forces are short of "suitable/experienced" aircrew.

The only question is: "at what point do we openly accept a crash because our experience levels are so so low?"

Regards

Ralphmalph

That "fewer airshow displays" PR release from the RAF is a pretty shrewd move.

It seems Joe Public rarely gives two hoots about defence unless it means that they might not get an opputunity to see something fast make a lot of noise at their local airshow.

Perhaps as a futher move, obviously to make best use of experienced crews, would be to ground the Red Arrows for the time being so that their highly-experienced crews can be transfered into the Typhoon training pipeline?

With a 6-month (?) OCU and the OCU closed anyway, I don't think that would work. :rolleyes:

How can these idiots keep getting Typhoon and Tornado mixed up? We're just canning 2 x GR4 sqns, so what doesn't Mr Ward get about 30 available pilots. Anyway, the original report said shortage of Typhoon pilots, Tornado wasn't even mentioned. :ugh:

just another jockey - I'm aware of pipelines times etc, but Joe Public isn't.

Perhaps the spectre of not seeing 9 red Hawks doing their thing during the summer will be the 'lightbulb going on' moment for the great unwashed and as such the only means by which a message regarding the wholesale destruction of this country's military capability can be put across.

'We' know it'd be a token gesture but does the average 'The Sun' reader?

Kind of like stabbing yourself in the foot to get attention?

Reds
 

A lack of suitably experienced pilots to put through the Typhoon OCU is not the problem. Taking guys from the Reds will help no-one.
BV:rolleyes: