HC Deb 07 July 1998 vol 315 cc448-9W
Mr. Menzies Campbell

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the average number of annual flying hours undertaken by RAF pilots in each of the last 10 years. [44129]

Mr. Field

The information requested is given in the table and has been broken down by aircraft type. Figures are available only from 1991. Information prior to this date can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Average annual flying hours per pilot1 by aircraft type 1991–97
Aircraft type 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997
BAe 125 436 365 328 317 349 353 310
BAe 146 — — — — — 283 256
Canberra 199 189 190 167 177 304 334
Chinook 491 309 266 261 315 303 271
Harrier 151 206 214 227 207 201 163
Hercules 573 479 447 421 410 471 503
Jaguar 203 213 191 207 195 189 204
Nimrod 408 407 448 471 459 400 442
Puma 384 255 276 294 282 314 310
Sea King 358 388 378 363 402 381 385
Sentry 718 720 916 840 829 577 493
Tornado F3 215 227 231 218 216 193 209
Tornado GR1/A/B 207 217 223 216 199 210 208
Tristar 652 584 586 439 471 643 642
VC10 456 464 422 369 367 363 409
Wessex 452 359 313 295 318 371 369
1Pilots are interpreted as fully trained operational pilots

Note:

These figures do not include pilots on Staff/Ground Tours