I've got 2 words for you all: Warrant Officers! That is their sole job, to be the experts in the cockpit. They make up the majority of the pilots. They are the MTPs, IPs, safety, standardization... If you want to be a commander, go commissioned. If you want to fly, be a warrant. It's really not that difficult to solve. Cheap labor, maybe but if you only want to fly... and not go to year long schools only to realize you don't want a command, then it's simple.