Enlisted pilots

A plowback tour was the career kiss of death for a naval aviator. Does
anyone know a naval aviator who had a plowback instructor tour and later
screened for command? Practically 100% resigned as Lieutenants or LCDR
selectees.

The apparent solution was to use civil-service basic instructors. Oops, too
expensive.

The LDO Aviator program was created to make hot-to-fly enlisted personnel
LDO's, use them for slave labor instructors, then give them the sea duty
billets that young aviators normally failed at. Oops, most Charlie
Whitehats smart enough for the program were smart enough for other programs
with a future.

Rick


--
My real e-mail address is:




"Don" wrote in message
...
I'm coming in to this kind of late. I do vaguely remember hearing about
the
Enlisted Naval Aviator Program when I was in the VP community.

You say the program "flopped?" Why did it flop? The limited number of
personnel
selected didn't make the program cost-effective? Or was it more of a
political
decision? I know some enlisted guys that are pretty good sticks in
single-engine GA planes. I'm assuming they were instructing in T-34s?
Just curious.


Please reply to
Don McIntyre
Lancaster, PA