How are pilot slots filled around the world?

rpg83 · by **rpg83** » 03 Jun 2015, 23:29

No, I am not one of those asking for a slot.

Instead, I am more interested in how the slots are filled in different air forces.

I would assume that in the Western world pilot slots are filled with the best applicants available with little to no politics involved. How about the rest of the world? How do you get to fly in the Russian air force or South American air forces? Are bribes involved more often than not? What about Arab nations? I have read about some Arab states hiring retired Western military pilots, but then again, I would assume that in those cultures knowing someone in the right position would be your ticket to the cockpit.

Any input is much appreciated!

35_aoa · by **35_aoa** » 04 Jun 2015, 02:35

I think generally in the Arab world, they are along the lines of Princes, or at least someone with a pretty strong family line. That, and perhaps just the Arab ego (kind of like "machismo" in Latin American culture), contributes to it being REALLY difficult to debrief them in any useful manner. They will get upset, argue with facts, or just plain make stuff up to not admit a mistake or error. I remember one mass debrief with a squadron of Viper pilots from an unnamed M.E. nation, where the overall lead asked for their collective "times on target" (TOT)........without looking at a single note, or missing a beat, the squadron CO/CC said "on time". The overall clarified "ok, so there was no actual set TOT, so what was the time your bombs hit the target?" He just responded again, "on time". That sort of useless interaction was pretty common. On a personal level, the ones I have interacted with have all been nice guys, but in a professional sense, it is frustrating, especially when you are trying to conduct a Western style debrief and/or collaborate on something. There are varying degrees of this phenomenon both amongst individuals, as well as between various partner nations, but I'd say it is a "thing" over there. That isn't a slight at them, culturally, or as collective Air Forces.......I enjoyed the time spent working with them, and Middle Eastern hospitality is without a doubt, second to none anywhere....fantastic hosts. However, it was a quirk that you just had to accept and move on from.

popcorn · by **popcorn** » 04 Jun 2015, 04:02

Will debriefs for F-35 missions rely heavily on data recoded by the jet during the flight? If it's the idea to download all that data and present it on a bug screen for all to digest that should facilitate the debriefing process.

35_aoa · by **35_aoa** » 04 Jun 2015, 05:37

popcorn wrote:Will debriefs for F-35 missions rely heavily on data recoded by the jet during the flight? If it's the idea to download all that data and present it on a bug screen for all to digest that should facilitate the debriefing process.

that has already been the case for many years now. For a lot of reasons, this is not something that is done with all foreign nations, even those operating US products.