There are three factors in play affecting the flying hours shortage, Slife indicated: Those numbers have been steadily declining for years, with the flying hours program having historically been a bill payer for other sustainment accounts. Limited flying hours available to keep pilots proficient remain an issue. “And if the production pipeline could produce more pilots, we would have a hard time absorbing them in the operational squadrons,” Slife said. Those limits, he explained, are primarily the number of flying hours a pilot has and the standard of experience the service sets for a pilot to then be considered fully qualified and absorbed. And so there’s a limit to how many new copilots that can come in.” “You can’t have a C-17 Squadron full of copilots with no aircraft commanders. “We have a well-established construct for how we produce and absorb new pilots into our squadrons,” Slife said during a March 7 panel discussion. “Jim” Slife, deputy chief of staff for operations.
#Budget u pull it drivers#
The Air Force’s continued pilot shortage is among the drivers for change, as leaders seek to accelerate pilot production using new training approaches and qualification procedures. Indeed, even if those changes do yield more new pilots, the Air Force isn’t necessarily ready for all of them, said Lt. AURORA, Colo.-The Air Force’s pilot training and safety enterprise is in the midst of a pivotal transition, with data analytics and high-tech simulators gaining ground but limited flying hours and related budget pressures a continuing issue, top generals said at the AFA Warfare Symposium.
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