§ 111. Wing Commander Bullusasked the Under-Secretary of State for Air if he will give details showing how he arrives at the figure of£25,000 for the cost of training individual bomber pilots.
Mr. WardThis figure represents the average cost of training pilots for jet or piston engined bombers up to the time they join a squadron.
The training is divided into four stages: Initial Training School, Flying Training School, Advanced Flying School, and Operational Conversion 67W Unit. The second of these stages includes 200 hours flying on preliminary types of aircraft, the third stage 50 to 60 hours on advanced types, and the fourth stage from 60 to 85 hours on the operational type the pilot is to fly when he joins a squadron. The training, therefore, requires from 310 to 345 hours flying, much of which is on heavy types of aircraft, and more than half the total cost is accounted for by the capital and direct operating costs of the aircraft.
The approximate cost of each of the stages is as follows:
£ Initial Training School … 300 Flying Training School … 8,500 Advanced Flying School … 8,500 Operational Conversion Unit … 8,000 These figures are arrived at by apportioning the total cost of the schools between the successful pupils, so that they include an element to cover the nugatory expenditure on the unsuccessful pupils.