Tool of The Man

Premature......

They prefer to call it an innovative approach to student centric learning using a competency-based training method.....

T-1s have been going away for 2 years. The rumor and hope that AF would cough up $$$ to save it was foolish. It was not a training decision, but a by-product of paying for new fancy things. Oh...and still no official date on ending AMF-S....there are recommendations...but no decision. It will be soon, but not immediate.

Gone next year....

We tried....and were told no...competencies can be gained in AMF-S,,,,which was cancelled.

You realize you kinda just described SUPT....which this leadership (and previous) killed.... We had the infrastructure in place until leadership decided everything was broken and had to be replaced...VR, innovation, CRAFT, PTN....once they decided those were important, cut funding in legacy programs to prove your point. Get promoted and leave a mess for the next guy...

Well...we got rid of the plane (T-1) that did train RNAV....

Well...if there are enough FBOs/Training schools to annually produce 1500+ students receiving 100hrs pre-SUPT, let me know. I'm sure our airline friends will have something to say about us sucking up all the resources. But if you are a DPE, get ready to make some coin. And to restate...the AF does not have the T-6B. Mods are on the way, but not anytime soon. There is absolutely no plan to create a flying portion for the MAF after T-6s. It's T-6 direct to the FTU...Nothing in between.

Could be both. Interesting idea that civilian tickets (PPC, instruments and MEL) can bypass all of T-6 Training. And maybe even pick fighter pilots out of civilian schools....

The T-6Bs were at Randolph were on loan from the Navy to prove Pilot Training next (PTN). In true AF fashion, we took a bunch of their hanger queens, paid for MX, flew them and gave them back in better shape.

T-6B is only for the Navy. There are some mods on the books for the AF tails, but don't get too excited about it. Imagine a world with no T-6s in pilot training...coming to a base near you....sooner than you think

Umm...have you heard of T-6 Direct to the FTU? And AMF-S used both Redbird and the legacy T-1 OFTs. We were promised that the RedBirds would be super awesome...just ask Det 24. Anyway, they are garbage.

The decision to divest the T-1 was never about training...leadership has stated we have over trained our heavy pilots for decades. Getting rid of what they consider a waste of time was done to free up $$$ for the T-7. They convinced Congress and Air Staff that T-6 graduates will have the same competencies as before. Plus, we added a great program called AMF-S to bridge the gap. We bought awesome new RedBird devices and a fantastic LMS to create the greatest students in history. Which...was just cancelled. Now, we hope that civilian flying will produce Air Force pilots.

There are a few programs being looked in order to increase the number of pilots. The AUS plan was hatched from AU and is the test case to explore the use of VR in pilot training. The direct to T-1 is a different path. Realize that most of these good ideas are not from the staff, rather much higher on the food chain. Both of these are...interesting...at best. The first is "Technology will save us" the second is "Of course civilian time/training is the same as military time/training." They both operate on the premise that the current training model is outdated and is the reason why we have a pilot shortage. Again...leadership thoughts, not the staff.