Originally Posted by
kingsnake2
You could also offload more of the initial flight training portion, allowing civilian contractors to provide more advanced training than the 18 hour IFT program.
For example, students could undergo IFT and then specialization (either ME or High Performance/Aerobatic training) in significantly cheaper aircraft before moving to Air Force owned T-X.
No, you can't offload more onto IFT. Navy has a fair amount of data to support this after washing out a ton of CFI/CFII/MEI from the FRS. Bottom, line, CIV flight time in no way shape or form = MIL flight time after a certain point in the training, somewhere about mid stage in Primary(navy). If that was the case we'd be flying C-172s in primary flight training rather than T-6s (formerly T-34/T-37). At some point as we have transitioned to more complex and capable aircraft we have to accept the fact that training to fly those aircraft are going to require more complex and capable trainers. The more we sit back and say "well, back when I taught in the T-38 or T-2 we did this and the new trainer is way too much airplane" we ought to check our history/ego at the door and find ways to train our next generation of Military aviators to do what they are expected and asked to do.