dodge said:
Once in the fleet how long does it take in going from copilot to HAC, and what does this involve?
As far as crews go do you typically fly with the same people or is it just a matter of scheduling?
Thanks.
1. The time that it takes to go from PQM (Pilot Qualified in Model) to H2P, to HAC is different for every community. The time lines are even different from squadron to squadron in the same communities.
I am an HS guy, and our standard is that you
have to be a HAC in 2 years. About 18-20 months is when most guys pick it up in my squadron. Most Sierra pilots make HAC a lot faster, but they don't have as many mission areas to focus on as HS and HSL guys do. A lot of it also has to do with when you show up to your squadron. I checked in the day that my squadron went on deployment, so there were not a lot of opportunities for ULT (Unit Level Training is when you do your syllabus flights) until a few months after we got back from the gulf. If you check in right before workups, you can get a card done on every flight and it would be possible to be a HAC in about 14 months.
When you check in, your training officer will hand you your PQS, and he should be able to give you some kind of feedback on what your timeline is.
2. We fly with everyone in the squadron while we are in early stages of training. When we get closer to deployment, we set up "Combat Crews". Each pilot has an aircrewmen assigned to them, and they always fly together. We also split the sqadron into Blue/Gold teams, so when we are in the Gulf we send the HH's to the beach, one team (7-8 pilots and 7-8 AWs) will go for 2 week stretches. It is a really good system that keeps everyone fresh and the teamwork works really well. You get used to your aircrewman's voice, so you know that he is on the gun behind you, it really ramps up the crew coordination.
The HSL dets that are going with us on next cruise are taking 6 pilots and 3 AW's on their det. They do not use the "Combat Crew" concept, but with such limited numbers, it would really be impossible.