NCO pilots

[thebig C]

In the British Army Air Corps, as you probably know, "...almost two-thirds of AAC aircrew are non-commissioned officers. Within the Army, NCOs, of at least LCpl rank with a recommendation for promotion, from within the AAC and from the remainder of the Army may also apply for pilot training. NCO pilots spend the majority of their service flying and many go on to be commissioned as Officers, normally to fill specialist flying appointments such as flying instructors." (from army website)

Any reason why this shouldn't happen here too? (We follow their example when it comes to swords..... )

[a04bf527]

As far as i know air corps has more than enough pilots at the moment to meet its requirements and does not need a surplus, apparently this year only 4 air corps cadets are being taken on due to this fact.

[thebig C]

long-term not short-term

As far as i know air corps has more than enough pilots at the moment to meet its requirements and does not need a surplus, apparently this year only 4 air corps cadets are being taken on due to this fact.

Have Aer Lingus and Ryanair stopped hiring?

The suggestion was not intended to address a short-term shortage of pilots; it was more about a longer-term change to provide job and career opportunities for NCOs.

[X-RayOne]

first he wants to get rid of their swords....now he wants to get rid of officers flying.....

my god man.....just don't take their sam brownes!!!!

(next on his target list could be the CoS position...why have officers at all???)

[hedgehog]

who is this chap

he has an opinion on everything

I wonder is it a version of me

come back from the future to warn us all

[ZULU]

Opinions on everything - yes,

logical reasoning - sometimes, more often than not, debatable,

Coherent justification and supporting proof of argument, minimal

Sounds like HH from the past, present and future

[hedgehog]

logical reasoning - sometimes, more often than not, debatable,

Coherent justification and supporting proof of argument, minimal

I wouldnt say that

the lad makes some valid points

on everything from Naval Vessels to Air Corp pilots and swords

but its good to see enthusasism and passion

[thebig C]

Flight Sgt.?

If RAF Sergeants were good enough to fly Spitfires and Lancasters during WWII, and British Army Air Corps pilots today are mostly NCOs, is there some good reason why selected, trained Irish Air Corps NCOs could not fly any of the aircraft in the current inventory?

[ZULU]

I be only messing,

Carrington, Im piss-taking, no offence intended

[thebig C]

I be only messing,

Carrington, Im piss-taking, no offence intended

Hey, none taken, no problem..

[spike]

this idea has had air time before, maybe on franks site. there are plenty of guys in the don with PPL's so it's not as if the EM aren't interested in flying, and are willing to pay to do it. It's more a political choice and i don't mean government level

[hedgehog]

The Term isnt EM

its OR

for other Ranks

[thebig C]

NCO apache pilots

this idea has had air time before, maybe on franks site. there are plenty of guys in the don with PPL's so it's not as if the EM aren't interested in flying, and are willing to pay to do it. It's more a political choice and i don't mean government level

:confused: I wonder how they can stand over that "political choice", with NCOs flying Apaches in the British and U.S. Armies, and in the U.S. they fly Chinooks also.

[thebig C]

NCOs can't fire nuclear weapons, but apart from that...

from the UK National Audit Office report on Battlefield Helicopters, April 2004

“…..The Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force have not always
excluded non-officer pilots. The policy was introduced
in the 1950s when the two Services assumed
responsibility for delivering nuclear weaponry, although
only fixed-wing aircraft and anti-submarine helicopters
actually carried such weapons. It was assumed that only
an officer would have the requisite decision-making
abilities and authority to drop nuclear munitions. The
phasing out of the Royal Navy's nuclear depth charges
and the Royal Air Force's nuclear bombs has, however,
removed this rationale for excluding other ranks from
becoming pilots.

The distinction in aircrew ranks between the Services has
also partly been justified on the grounds that the
helicopters of the Army Air Corps have been less complex
to fly. This argument, however, does not appear to have
the same strength with the introduction into service of the
Apache Mk1, which is a highly complex helicopter. The
ratio between non-commissioned and commissioned
officers in an Apache regiment will be 62:38.

In addition, it is difficult to see why a non commissioned
officer could not fly a larger support aircraft, such as the
Chinook. Indeed, the Joint Helicopter Command has
experimented with this in the "Templar" exchange
programme where a senior non-commissioned officer
from the Army Air Corps was seconded to a squadron
flying Chinooks. Moreover, Puma and CH-53 support
helicopters are piloted by non-commissioned officers in
France and Germany, respectively….”

[hptmurphy]

We did have sergeant pilots during the Emergency or that which was called WW2 else where....flying staus was changed to fficers only soon afterwards.