RCAF looks elsewhere for pilots

[seewood]

I know guys that would drop everything for a chance to fly their equip in a heartbeat.

So long as they have a degree from a recognized university. To fly anything in the Canadian military you have to be a commissioned officer, ie. university degree.

In the states, you can fly helicopters as a warrant officer, or you could as most were during the Viet Nam era.

Still have to do basic training if a newbie.

I knew a fellow that flew the equivalent of the Bell 212 in the Canadian air force. Flew perhaps 200 hours a year. In civilian life, perhaps 500 hours a year up to 1000 or more if you have a good logging/fire year.

Flying fast jets would be cool , but again, just how many hours do you get a year because of budgets and aircraft availability?
If Canada decides to purchase the F35, because it is an insanely expensive aircraft to fly, I understand most of the training will be done on a simulator. How demoralizing is that? How do you recruit to fly on a simulator and very limited flight time?

If Canada upped the aircraft flight hour budget for their aircraft, including transports, perhaps retention might be better.
Canada does have good kit, as good as any other country but I think budget constraints keep them on the ground and pilots flying a pine bench.

[OKkayak]

And, here is the officer pay scale....it's not bad. https://www.canada.ca/en/department-nat ... ml#captain

Looking at the pay scale for pilots, yeah, you'd be way better off at WS or AC, if your seniority is high enough, you could be double that.

[oldtrucker]

So long as they have a degree from a recognized university. To fly anything in the Canadian military you have to be a commissioned officer, ie. university degree.

A uni degree can be less expensive than 0-300 hours of flight training...private, commercial multi engine IFR. The weird thing is that you can have a arts degree and it will count, but your commercial lic you spent 80k on doesn't....

[OKkayak]

A uni degree can be less expensive than 0-300 hours of flight training...private, commercial multi engine IFR. The weird thing is that you can have a arts degree and it will count, but your commercial lic you spent 80k on doesn't....

I remember when Southern Interior teamed up with OK College back in the early 90s to offer the 2-4 year aviation degree program. Took twice as long to finish (as opposed to just doing your CPL), cost a heck of a lot more and between the students who took that program and those that just did their CPL, getting a job and paying their dues, they all ended up at the same carriers. Never understood the obsession that North America has with college degrees.

[Glacier]

What a crock. I know a guy near me who has 20 years of experience with British Airways and other international flights, and he's getting like 5 days of work a month right now because of the shutdowns. There are very experienced pilots doing jack right now.

[OKkayak]

What a crock. I know a guy near me who has 20 years of experience with British Airways and other international flights, and he's getting like 5 days of work a month right now because of the shutdowns. There are very experienced pilots doing jack right now.

But thats the thing, would he be willing to give up 20 years of seniority with BA?

[Glacier]

But thats the thing, would he be willing to give up 20 years of seniority with BA?

He would probably too old since RCAF is looking for 20 somethings and not 40 somethings. Another friend of mine is a retired RCAF pilot, and he works for a small airline in Saskatchewan as the chief pilot and now manager, and has had to lay off half their pilots. Small airline pilots make a lot less than RCAF pilots, and also don't get the same Benefits. These people would love the opportunity to work at the RCAF.

[OKkayak]

He would probably too old since RCAF is looking for 20 somethings and not 40 somethings. Another friend of mine is a retired RCAF pilot, and he works for a small airline in Saskatchewan as the chief pilot and now manager, and has had to lay off half their pilots. Small airline pilots make a lot less than RCAF pilots, and also don't get the same Benefits. These people would love the opportunity to work at the RCAF.

I totally get your point on younger pilots, but now you need to ask:

1) Do they have the qualifications?
2) What does their family think of joining the military?
3) What kind of commitment is the RCAF looking for?
4) Have some of them applied and not been accepted?
5) Are they temporarily layed off or has their employment been terminated?

[Ka-El]

The weird thing is that you can have a arts degree and it will count,

You won't be flying fighter jets with an arts degree

[seewood]

You won't be flying fighter jets with an arts degree

go to fast to admire the flowers.

[Glacier]

I wonder if this has something to do with meeting requirements to more people of color and women? If so, it would make sense to recruit from majority non-white countries. A friend of mine who ad volunteered for years as an auxiliary member was turned down for the RCMP (even though the RCMP is greatly short staffed) because they are trying to get their non-white male numbers up.

[Even Steven]

I wonder if this has something to do with meeting requirements to more people of color and women? If so, it would make sense to recruit from majority non-white countries.

It's probably tough to hire people for RCAF from other countries able to pass the security clearance.

A friend of mine who ad volunteered for years as an auxiliary member was turned down for the RCMP (even though the RCMP is greatly short staffed) because they are trying to get their non-white male numbers up.

I hate when people say "I was not hired because I'm the wrong color/gender/not disable/etc." because they think they're the perfect candidate, and the vast majority of people are not. There are a million things that could have played against your friend during the selection process, but he goes around saying he was not hired because he's white. Being auxiliary and being a full member are vastly different positions, require different selection and requirements. Just because you're one doesn't mean you're a shoo-in.

[oldtrucker]

A uni degree can be less expensive than 0-300 hours of flight training...private, commercial multi engine IFR. The weird thing is that you can have a arts degree and it will count, but your commercial lic you spent 80k on doesn't....

I remember when Southern Interior teamed up with OK College back in the early 90s to offer the 2-4 year aviation degree program. Took twice as long to finish (as opposed to just doing your CPL), cost a heck of a lot more and between the students who took that program and those that just did their CPL, getting a job and paying their dues, they all ended up at the same carriers. Never understood the obsession that North America has with college degrees.

Bingo....I shudda moved to Europe in the 90's and got out of N America.

[Randall T]

The future is unmanned drones. Lots of gaming nuts already good enough to fly them too.

[oldtrucker]

The future is unmanned drones. Lots of gaming nuts already good enough to fly them too.

Light years between playing a video game and actually knowing what air and a machine 'feels' like. I'd rather have a human crew that has their lives on the line rather than someone thats used to being able reset/ start again if they bleep up.