Staying Sharp

Today's Air Force Times has an interesting read on one of the biggest problems created by the F-15 stand down--keeping those grounded Eagle pilots sharp.

With more than 400 air superiority F-15s grounded by safety concerns--for the third time in two months--hundreds of Eagle drivers are losing currency in the cockpit. Full-motion/high-fidelity simulators (available at active duty F-15 bases) can provide some training, but it's not substitute for actually flying the jet.

As the Times notes, the first qualification that pilots stand to lose is one of the most basic--landing the F-15. Air Force regulations require that "inexperienced pilots" (defined as those with less than 500 hours in the jet) fly and land an F-15 at least once every 30 days to remain qualified. While most pilots were able to log sorties between stand downs in November, the 30-day limit is now fast approaching for many inexperienced Eagle pilots.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Every day that the F-15s remain on the ramp creates an even bigger backlog of overdue check rides, incomplete upgrades, and delayed training classes. Before the Eagles return to the skies, unit commanders, instructor pilots, training program managers and scheduling officers must find some way to straighten out the mess, and prioritize training for all those F-15 pilots.

Officially, there's no word on when the stand down might end, but most F-15 units are assuming that they'll be cleared to resume flight operations next month. Work on revised training programs and flight schedules is already underway; in fact, it never stops. Still, we wouldn't want to be a training manager or "scheduler" in an F-15 squadron over the next couple of months. Those folks will certainly earn their paychecks.

In the interim, the new commander of Air Combat Command, General John Corley, is urging F-15 pilots to remain patient, and do what they can to "stay sharp." The (polite) response to that message goes something like this: "Yeah...right" and "How?" The impolite response can be viewed in "Doofer" books in every fighter squadron.

On a more serious note, we're wondering how the F-15 training/currency dilemma will impact unit readiness, or C-ratings. Since training is one of three major categories covered by C-ratings, a prolonged F-15 stand down would affect readiness scores in that area, and for the unit as a whole. C Ratings range from C-1 (fully mission ready) to C-4 (least prepared). The system covers three areas, training, personnel and equipment. A unit's overall score is dictated by its readiness in those categories.

However, as we've noted before, the C-rating system allows commanders to "adjust" their scores higher or lower, based on their assessment of the situation. It would be interesting to know how the commanders of F-15 units currently view their training situation and overall unit readiness. In most wings and squadrons, there are probably enough qualified (and current) pilots to support at least a C-2 or C-3 rating for a couple of months. Beyond that, a prolonged stand down will push the training grade to C-4, with a corresponding impact on overall readiness.

In that kind of environment, it's going to be awfully tough to "stay sharp."

For Those Keeping Score at Home

...The Air Force's fleet of F-15 air superiority fighters has been grounded for a third time.

The most recent stand down went into effect Monday evening, just hours after some of the jets had been cleared to resume flying. Over 400 F-15 B,C and D models were originally grounded in early November, after a Missouri National Guard jet began breaking up in flight. The pilot ejected safely, but the subsequent crash investigation revealed serious structural fatigue in that aircraft that caused the mishap.

As a result of that accident, scores of F-15s were grounded until late November, when safety checks were completed. The fighters were grounded a second time on 29 November, after the Missouri crash investigation uncovered potential problems with the aircraft's longerons, which are essential for its structural integrity.

The F-15 that crashed in Missouri entered the Air Force in 1980. Most of the Eagles affected by the stand-down are at least 25 years old. The grounding does not affect twin-seat F-15E Strike Eagle variants that were built in the mid-to-late 1980s.

According to Air Force Times, there is no word on how long the latest stand-down will last. A spokesman for Air Combat Command, which operates most of the service's F-15s, suggested that commanders want a "comprehensive overview" of the Eagles' problems, and plan to keep the jets parked until it is complete.

That suggests that the current grounding may last well past the holidays--and it's probably a good thing. Flying activity is normally minimal between Christmas and New Year's, giving the service time to resolve the problems once and for all, and prevent additional (and embarrassing) stand-downs of the F-15 fleet.

As we noted in a previous post, the no-fly order only affects air-to-air versions of the F-15. Consequently, the stand down will have a minimal impact on combat ops in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, the grounding will create major headaches in aircrew training, continental air defense, and other missions that rely on the "light gray" Eagles.