First Air Force potential screening requirement…see if they get sick. So, buy a composite aerobatic trainer and have them flown by instructors who fly C-17’s. And buy a 100+ airplanes in this new venture. That number probably was determined by the number of C-17 aircraft in inventory then. Only $32 mil of our taxpayer money.
Second pilot screening/training process after the Firefly fiasco, is buy a fleet of DA-20’s. The Diamond DA20 two-seat aircraft was flown in the USAFA Introductory Flight Training program from 2002-2007. A fleet of Diamond DA20 trainer aircraft is used for the U.S. Air Force Initial Flight Screening Program in nearby Pueblo, Colo. DA20s were once used at the U.S. Air Force Academy. A fleet of 20 Diamond DA40 piston-engine aircraft is currently flown in the U.S. Air Force Academy Powered Flight Program
Third screening and training process went to Cirrus when Cirrus was awarded a $6.9 million contract for 25 SR-20’s by the Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base on March 8, 2011…with Diamond protesting.
After investing and crushing the Firefly, the USAF may or may not be using the Diamond DA20, DA40, and Cirrus SR-20’s for screening and initial training, wanting to save costs by investing in the electric Pipistrel Alpha.
And we wonder why the USAF has a pilot shortage? They can’t even make up their mind on initial screening and primary flight training aircraft. No surprise that they had their instructors come from the heavies to induce vomiting during stall/spin/aerobatic introduction flights in the Fireflys.
Now that the Firefly is only a vague memory, I guess the training modus operandi for the SR-20 students is pull the chute during for spin recovery. I don’t know what they are teaching the poor student assigned a DA20 or DA40…bail out for stall/spin recovery? At least there will be no need to crush perfectly good airplanes. Eventually, they will be all wrecked.
What’s next for the USAF prospective flight screening trainee, a Belite Ultra-Cub ultralight with a ballistic chute, being flown remotely by a non-flying pilot/instructor, in a dark room wearing sunglasses, from some underground bunker/command center? I guess the USAF can save on cleaning costs as the only one getting sick is the Ultra-Cub driver.