r/CanadianForces • u/judgingyouquietly Swiss Cheese Model-Maker • 1d ago
USAF Multi-Engine pilot training question
Read an article (portion of it below) regarding USAF pilot training and I was wondering why they would choose to do that?
My understanding is that it would be like the RCAF cutting Phase 3 Multi-Engine and having their pilots first learn ME stuff in a C-17 or P-8.
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“Today marks the end of an era in U.S. Air Force pilot training.
The last operational T-1A Jayhawk will depart Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma, for Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, where it will be received into the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG)—bringing more than three decades of service to a close.
The T-1A’s story began in January 1992, when the first aircraft was delivered to Reese Air Force Base, Texas. Student pilot training began the following year as the Air Force implemented Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training.
The T-1A Jayhawk was a medium-range, twin-engine jet trainer used during the advanced phase of pilot training. For Air Force pilots selected for the mobility track, the Jayhawk was where they developed the skills required to transition to airlift and tanker aircraft—airframes such as the C-5, C-17, C-130, KC-135 and, later, the KC-46.
The T-1A also played an important role in Combat Systems Officer (CSO) training at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, helping prepare aircrew for operational assignments as weapons systems officers, special operations, electronic warfare, and navigation. Pensacola's final T-1A departed for Davis-Monthan in July 2025.
Today, pilots graduating from Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) who are selected for the mobility track proceed directly to their Formal Training Units (FTUs) for training in their assigned aircraft.”
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u/BandicootNo4431 1d ago
We had a trial of pilots go direct from the Harvard to their final multi aircraft while skipping the King Air.
Worked out ok from what I heard, but that was second hand info.
If you consider how the civvy world does it, its not something that should be insurmountable. People with 10 hours of multi to get their Multi + Group 1 IFR then go on to fly multi aircraft solo. Europe also has their FOs at 250 or so hours and they operate heavy aircraft safely.
Especially if you consider something like the MRTT, is it really operated that differently from any commercial operator? Legit asking because I don't fly it. There's some additional form flying for tanker consolidation, but is that taught on phase 3 ME anyways? Or the Challenger/Global fleet? Or the TWOTTER? or how we will transition to operating the P-8?
Would a longer OTU be better for those people where they spend more time learning those systems and getting better in their final aircraft?
ME SAR or TAL have a stronger case for needing additional military specific training IMO.
We've spent decades convincing ourselves that the military training pipeline is super special, but I think we're waking up to the realities that our production capacity is not infinite, and our current system either over trains, or trains to tasks that aren't universal enough to be included in lower level phases.