The US Air Force has gone through a variety of iterations of its “flight screening program,” including the tragic T-3 Firefly program more than a decade ago. The short, civil aircraft-based program is designed to filter out those who demonstrate less than Read more
One question asked repeatedly is whether it’s better to go Air Force or Navy if one wants to fly or be a fighter pilot. The FAQ of this site answers this question (as well as many others), but there’s interesting and relevant information from the graduation of the class of 2011 that just occurred.
USNA:
Class Size: 1035
Pilot Training (incl. “Marine Air”): 305 (30%)
Naval Flight Officer: 75 (7%)
Though it has been done under “beta” conditions in the past, the US Air Force is now conducting its first actual training class of UAV pilots who were not previously aviators.
The training is not short. The new Lieutenants have already completed flight screening, must conduct a significant amount of T-6 simulator training, RPA basic training, and then finally to the basic qualfiication course for UAVs. The “pipeline” is programmed as about a year.
The Air Force Times notes the push by the US Air Force Academy to inspire cadets about a career field most still dread: UAVs.
Flying a drone isn’t sexy — and the cadets at the Air Force Academy here don’t pretend that it is… Read more
The Air Force Times notes that aviation mishaps in the US Air Force fell for a second straight year:
Twenty-two major accidents occurred in fiscal 2010, compared with 30 in fiscal 2009. Seven airmen died in crashes, four more than the year before. The most accidents recorded were 2,274 in 1952. The deadliest year was also 1952, when 1,214 crew members and passengers died.
Perhaps more interesting is the comparison between manned and unmanned (or remotely piloted) aircraft: Read more
After some early experiments, the Air Force announced that it is establishing an official, dedicated “undergraduate RPA training (URT)” pipeline. The first class is slated to begin in October 2010.
According to the release, RPA (UAV) pilots will be part of the 18X career field, which is a rated field equivalent to traditional aviators. They will receive aviation incentive pay, and incur a 6 year active duty service commitment.
An official Air Force press release notes that US Air Force “remotely piloted aircraft” (RPA) crews, otherwise known as UAV operators, have been approved to receive an incentive pay equal to current flight pay rates. (This was proposed–and criticized–as early as last fall.)