NATO pilots trained to fly MiGs, learning to fly the F-35 'is far too much to grasp,'

[Boom]

https://www.businessinsider.com/lear...rce=reddit.com

In an interview with the Aviationist, Flynn explained how Polish pilots will struggled to move between those different aircraft.

"There's very much the Russian, Eastern Bloc mentality [vs.] the Western F-16 cadre" in the Polish Air Force, and the pilots in each cadre do not cross between them, Flynn said.

Flynn said any pilot would face a "leap" in transitioning to the F-35, one of only four fifth-generation jets in operation around the world.

F-16 pilots, or the Western cadre, in the Polish Air Force would be able to transition to the newer jet, as many pilots in other air forces with the F-35 have done, but the Polish Air Force's "Eastern Bloc" of pilots won't be as fortunate, Flynn added.

Asking even a very capable MiG-29 pilot "to transition to this cosmic spaceship is far too much to grasp," Flynn said, referring to the F-35.

[HCM]

https://www.businessinsider.com/lear...rce=reddit.com

In an interview with the Aviationist, Flynn explained how Polish pilots will struggled to move between those different aircraft.

"There's very much the Russian, Eastern Bloc mentality [vs.] the Western F-16 cadre" in the Polish Air Force, and the pilots in each cadre do not cross between them, Flynn said.

Flynn said any pilot would face a "leap" in transitioning to the F-35, one of only four fifth-generation jets in operation around the world.

F-16 pilots, or the Western cadre, in the Polish Air Force would be able to transition to the newer jet, as many pilots in other air forces with the F-35 have done, but the Polish Air Force's "Eastern Bloc" of pilots won't be as fortunate, Flynn added.

Asking even a very capable MiG-29 pilot "to transition to this cosmic spaceship is far too much to grasp," Flynn said, referring to the F-35.

If I recall correctly, the polls operate both MiG 29’s and F-16s. I wonder if those with more capacity we’re transition to the F-16 while the remainder stayed with the Mig 29?

[Suvorov]

If I recall correctly, the polls operate both MiG 29’s and F-16s. I wonder if those with more capacity we’re transition to the F-16 while the remainder stayed with the Mig 29?

Perhaps. I suspect there is a high degree of skill and aptitude on both sides of the divide. I suspect it just comes down to philosophy of design between the Western and Soviet airplanes. It really is the same thing as an AK vs AR. I know that one of the thing Aeroflot did back when it operated a mixed fleet of Soviet and Boeing aircraft and were trying to get their safety standards up was to have two cadres of pilots much like the Pol’s seem to be doing. It was their experience that the way you had to “think” to safely operate the aircraft were very different between the two fleets and it was not safe to have pilots going from one group of aircraft to the other and back again. From everything I have read on the MiG-29 and SU-27 families, while they have cutting edge aerodynamic performance, the cockpit is a busy busy place, little is automated, and there are 1000 switches for everything. Compare and contrast to a modern Western aircraft where the goal is a cockpit void of anything that can be accidentally pressed. I’ve heard many stories of “seasoned” pilots at American having a hell of a time (and often going to another airplane) when American switched from the DC-10 to the MD-11 due to all the automation. I can only imagine the learning curve from MiG-29 (or even MiG-21 for some NATO countries) to F-35.

[entropy]

Kinda like the Boeing vs Airbus....

Lol

Couldn’t resist!

[JRB]

I'm very keen to hear what our resident Viper Drivers have to say about this!

[Suvorov]

Kinda like the Boeing vs Airbus....

Lol

Couldn’t resist!

Yeah, I settled for AK vs AR analogy since this is a gun board.

I've often though I would like to have some pilot time in an Airbus, but then I realized that riding in the back of one is essentially the same thing.

[Oldherkpilot]

Yeah, I settled for AK vs AR analogy since this is a gun board.

I've often though I would like to have some pilot time in an Airbus, but then I realized that riding in the back of one is essentially the same thing.

Screw that idea. I don't like "riding" in any plane but certainly not one with HAL 9000 running things!😁

[entropy]

Yeah, I settled for AK vs AR analogy since this is a gun board.

I've often though I would like to have some pilot time in an Airbus, but then I realized that riding in the back of one is essentially the same thing.

“Two coffees please. One black, one with 1 cream and 1 sugar. Yeah, no problem. You’re welcome to sit and take a breather up here for a bit.”

I have no problem with the above. 😁

[shootist26]

Here's the link to the actual interview cited in that Business INsider article. Much more interesting and comprehensive reading
https://theaviationist.com/2022/04/0...-billie-flynn/

[JSGlock34]

So I thought this interview was absolutely fascinating in terms of how the F35 is perhaps changing what we need fighter pilots to do and how they are trained and recruited...sacred cows lining up for slaughter throughout the interview but especially around the 1:07 mark...


The interview is full of gems, but to offer one example...late in the interview, there is a comment that the F35 pilot is not as dependent on the AWACS for situational awareness anymore because the F35 pilot has more information available than the AWACS does. Managing the F35 is about much more than flying the aircraft.