Airforces

inevitably mean

the instructors will

have their eye on a

young pilot, it’s more

desirable to give them

more practice in the

trouble area than to ‘chop’

them from the course.

“We lost a few people

right at the end of [the

course at] Valley,” says

Craig. “But that was when

they just couldn’t grasp a particular

element. Once you get here, almost

everyone will find something they don’t

get first time, but once it clicks you

need to keep it as a learned skill.”

A new approach

Alongside the air-to-air

elements of the OCU

course, air-to-

ground

features equally prominently today.

Operation Ellamy over Libya in 2011 put

the RAF Typhoon community under the

spotlight when it became clear that multi-

role had withered due to a lack of funding.

Amid low flight-hour funding, even the small

cadre of air-to-surface-trained pilots had lost

their currency in this role. When the Typhoon

Force was called into action it had just a week

to get those qualified back up to speed and out

onto operations. It was a huge turning point

for the RAF and the ripple effect is still being

felt today. It was decided that the situation

should never be repeated and that the core

training for the full remit of Typhoon missions

should start at grass-roots level – the OCU.

“When I came through this course in 2012

we flew a very short syllabus that was

designed to meet the immediate needs of

the service,” says Wg Cdr Andy Chisholm,

Officer Commanding No 29 Squadron. “It

was much more basic and we coined the

term ‘air-to-air chipolatas’ for the ‘sausage

machine’ here that was turning out new pilots.”

This term accurately describes the

Concluding a two-part feature,

Jamie Hunter returns to No 29

Squadron at RAF Coningsby,

Lincolnshire, to learn how Royal

Air Force Ty p ho on pilot training

has evolved in recent years.

Training a

Typhoonyphoon

PART TWO

Above: Turning fi nals

in single-seat ‘fi ghter’

Typhoon FGR4 ZK306 ‘BT’. In

the past, some students fl ew the entire

OCU course in two-seat versions. The

current ethos stresses the importance

of creating a single-seat pilot ready

for the frontline Typhoon and Lighting

Forces. All photos Jamie Hunter

http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #362 MAY 2018 // 79