Wow, lot's of questions. I'll try to get to all of them, as well as I can.
As far as the other air force anecdotes, you're talking about students going to fixed-wing after getting fewer fixed wing hours than before. Of course there's going to be a quality drop. This isn't like that at all. They're not just skipping primary and heading straight to advanced helos. They're getting primary training in a helicopter. Plus, they're doing things at COPT-R - like precision autorotations, VRS training, and a true solo helicopter flight - that most military pilots will never get to do.
The 70ish students that graduated COPT-R and have started the HTs have proven pretty definitively that there is a difference in quality, but in the opposite direction. There have been several wingers now and they're finishing about 5-10 NSS points higher than their peers. I think that will continue to translate into the fleet, too.
Like I said above. COPT-R students are coming out with about 20 fewer flight hours than their VT counterparts. That's what, a month in most fleet squadrons? I don't really see it as an issue.
As far as how this will effect the Navy's primary mission to train the next generation of airline pilots, I'm not going to lose a lot of sleep worrying about it.
The Marines just started participating. I got my first four Marine students today, actually, with about 20 more to follow over the next few months.
On average, COPT-R students are winging about 7 months faster than their NIFE classmates
Here's the bottom line. Yes, COPT-R saves the Navy training time and money (about 7 months and $230,000/student). However, I really don't care about that. I'm a reservist with 23 years in. What do I care how the Navy spends its money? Nor do I really care about how the Navy is going to fill the back seat of T-6s or the cockpits of 737s later. What I do care about is that I have lost several friends over the years and they all had one thing in common: the aircraft they died in (helo and fixed-wing) were all operating as advertised at the time of the crash. It was human error (usually the pilot) that killed them. I think COPT-R makes better helicopter pilots. Period. That's why I agreed to take the orders, and that's why I attached my name to it.
Hopefully that got the questions answered. If I missed one I'm sure y'all will let me know.
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Interesting question. I'll return one to you. How would 70 hours in a T-6 make someone a better helo pilot than 50 hours in a Bell 206?
As far as the other air force anecdotes, you're talking about students going to fixed-wing after getting fewer fixed wing hours than before. Of course there's going to be a quality drop. This isn't like that at all. They're not just skipping primary and heading straight to advanced helos. They're getting primary training in a helicopter. Plus, they're doing things at COPT-R - like precision autorotations, VRS training, and a true solo helicopter flight - that most military pilots will never get to do.
The 70ish students that graduated COPT-R and have started the HTs have proven pretty definitively that there is a difference in quality, but in the opposite direction. There have been several wingers now and they're finishing about 5-10 NSS points higher than their peers. I think that will continue to translate into the fleet, too.
Like I said above. COPT-R students are coming out with about 20 fewer flight hours than their VT counterparts. That's what, a month in most fleet squadrons? I don't really see it as an issue.
As far as how this will effect the Navy's primary mission to train the next generation of airline pilots, I'm not going to lose a lot of sleep worrying about it.
Yes, it's still voluntary. That probably won't change any time soon. Nor do I want it to. I don't need a bunch of Maverick wannabes spending three months in Fort Worth bitter that they "got robbed" of their chance to fly Mach 1.
The Marines just started participating. I got my first four Marine students today, actually, with about 20 more to follow over the next few months.
On average, COPT-R students are winging about 7 months faster than their NIFE classmates
I don't know. I would be willing to bet that the spread between a post-fleet COPT-R kid and someone who flew the T-6 5 years ago isn't as big as you think it'll be. They might need extra flights, but there are folks who already need those. Time will tell on that one.
Yeah. V22s are still their own pipeline. As far as what happens if someone quits or fails out, it's on a case-by-case basis decided by CNATRA and TW-5 using inputs from me. Thankfully, we haven't had to cross that bridge yet. If someone were to fail or drop out because flying helicopters just isn't for them, but they're putting in the effort, they'll probably go back to the VTs and have all the post VT options, including helos, available to them (why you would pick helos at that point I have no idea). However, if they're just not putting in the effort, or they've got some sort of attitude problem, that could be a different story.
Here's the bottom line. Yes, COPT-R saves the Navy training time and money (about 7 months and $230,000/student). However, I really don't care about that. I'm a reservist with 23 years in. What do I care how the Navy spends its money? Nor do I really care about how the Navy is going to fill the back seat of T-6s or the cockpits of 737s later. What I do care about is that I have lost several friends over the years and they all had one thing in common: the aircraft they died in (helo and fixed-wing) were all operating as advertised at the time of the crash. It was human error (usually the pilot) that killed them. I think COPT-R makes better helicopter pilots. Period. That's why I agreed to take the orders, and that's why I attached my name to it.
Hopefully that got the questions answered. If I missed one I'm sure y'all will let me know.
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