§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many successful applicants for RAF pilot officer have been unable to secure a flying training position in each of the past three years. [54885]
§ Mr. IngramPilot Officer is a rank and it covers all RAF officer branches not just pilots and navigators. Potential pilots and navigators are selected for the General Duties Branch and applicants are recruited as either a Pilot Officer, Flying Officer or exceptionally as a Flight Lieutenant.
Usually all pilot or navigator applicants that have been successful at Initial Officer Training are offered a flying training place. On rare occasions there may be exceptions. Withdrawal could be for a range of reasons, such as personal, medical or issues of conduct. We do not keep a specific count of these instances because they are infrequent. A trawl of our records for the last three years identified only one officer that was unable to take up flying training. All other officers in the period would have been offered or are in the process of being offered a flying training place.