USAF begins enlisted UAV pilot program for Global Hawk (the king of UAVs)

[Dave Folts]

Here's an interesting development announced, in typical Govt fashion on a Friday:

USAF selects first enlisted airmen for Global Hawk pilot training.
http://www.af.mil/News/ArticleDisplay/tabid/223/Article/828066/af-selects-first-enlisted-airmen-for-global-hawk-pilot-training.aspx

NOTE THE FOLLOWING ITEM in the article! (RPA= remotely piloted aircraft)

The new enlisted pilots will begin their Undergraduate RPA Training with the RPA Initial Flight Training where they will learn to fly a DA-20 Falcon. From there they will attend RPA Instrument Qualification and Fundamentals Courses before finishing with Global Hawk Basic Qualification Training. At the conclusion of this training they will be rated, instrument qualified pilots who are Federal Aviation Administration certified to fly the RQ-4 in national and international airspace and mission qualified to execute the high altitude ISR mission.

Notice the trainees need airmanship skills for flying anything in the USAF inventory. A DA-20 is a two seat manned trainer aircraft.

Now as some of you know, the Global Hawk is a flying robot. (hmmm, like Iris, X8 and SOLO) You use a computer-hosted GCS to command it to flight, execute mission, take pictures etc and return home. It takes-off and lands nearly autonomously. "Pilots" just monitor and execute contingency commands etc.

So just to qual as a GH pilot, FAA requires airmanship skills and knowledge of how to operate in the national airspace.

Sound familiar?

And btw, an instrument rating is 40 hours beyond Private Pilot Certification, so not too bad a deal for these enlisted folk.

 

[LAK-USA]

Here's an interesting development announced, in typical Govt fashion on a Friday:

USAF selects first enlisted airmen for Global Hawk pilot training.
http://www.af.mil/News/ArticleDisplay/tabid/223/Article/828066/af-selects-first-enlisted-airmen-for-global-hawk-pilot-training.aspx

NOTE THE FOLLOWING ITEM in the article! (RPA= remotely piloted aircraft)

The new enlisted pilots will begin their Undergraduate RPA Training with the RPA Initial Flight Training where they will learn to fly a DA-20 Falcon. From there they will attend RPA Instrument Qualification and Fundamentals Courses before finishing with Global Hawk Basic Qualification Training. At the conclusion of this training they will be rated, instrument qualified pilots who are Federal Aviation Administration certified to fly the RQ-4 in national and international airspace and mission qualified to execute the high altitude ISR mission.

Notice the trainees need airmanship skills for flying anything in the USAF inventory. A DA-20 is a two seat manned trainer aircraft.

Now as some of you know, the Global Hawk is a flying robot. (hmmm, like Iris, X8 and SOLO) You use a computer-hosted GCS to command it to flight, execute mission, take pictures etc and return home. It takes-off and lands nearly autonomously. "Pilots" just monitor and execute contingency commands etc.

So just to qual as a GH pilot, FAA requires airmanship skills and knowledge of how to operate in the national airspace.

Sound familiar?

And btw, an instrument rating is 40 hours beyond Private Pilot Certification, so not too bad a deal for these enlisted folk.

This was just a small part of an ongoing, long term initiative within the USAF. Great opportunities for qualified personnel!

 

[Dave Folts]

The point though is the qualification standard includes learning to fly a manned aircraft. What I foresee is inability to retain the enlisted pilots who will form a cadre at Northrop or LM, and then be bid as operators on the contract to outsource GH ops. So, why couldn't the space ops career field have been used to get Officer and enlisted candidate for the GH piloting program?

 

[LAK-USA]

So, why couldn't the space ops career field have been used to get Officer and enlisted candidate for the GH piloting program?

Differing areas of responsibility.

 

[Dave Folts]

Ops is ops LAK. Well, when I was a Space Operator in the USAF and GH was in Spiral 1-4, and the Predator was in early ops integration, many of us glass ceiling'd space ops guys requested to be considered for the UAV career fields. Bureaucracy moves slow.

 

[Perry Aston]

Actually the air force flys RPAs stick and rudder. the Army, does not

 

[Dave Folts]

Rather broad brush statement. The USAF flies more than one platform and the RQ4 is primarily ground station software controlled as opposed to the Predator/Reaper from GA that is stick and rudder and autopilot