Trainer aircraft
A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristics and a simplified cockpit arrangement—allows pilots-in-training to safely advance their skills in a more forgiving aircraft.
Civilian pilots are normally trained in a light aircraft, with two or more seats to allow for a student and instructor.
Tandem and side by side
The two seating configurations for trainer aircraft are: pilot and instructor side by side, or in tandem, usually with the pilot in front and the instructor behind. The side-by-side seating configuration has the advantage that the pilot and instructor can see each other's actions, allowing the pilot to learn from the instructor and the instructor to correct the student pilot. The tandem configuration has the advantage of being closer to the normal working environment that a fast jet pilot is likely to encounter.It is now the norm for pilots to begin their flight training in an aircraft with side-by-side seating and to progress to aircraft with tandem seating. This, however, has not always been the case. For example, it was usual to find tandem seating in biplane basic trainers such as the Tiger Moth and the Jungmann, and the British used side-by-side seating in the operational conversion of some of its fast jets such as the English Electric Lightning.
Phases
Given the expense of military pilot training, air forces typically conduct training in phases to eliminate unsuitable candidates. The cost to those air forces that do not follow a graduated training regimen is not just monetary but also in lives. For example, for many years, the Indian Air Force operated without a suitable advanced training aircraft, leading to a high casualty rate as pilots moved to high-performance MiG-21 aircraft without suitable assessment of their aptitude for supersonic flight.There are two main areas for instruction: flight training and operational training. In flight training, a candidate seeks to develop their flying skills. In operational training, the candidate learns to use their flying skills through simulated combat, attack, and fighter techniques.
Ab initio
Typically, contemporary military pilots learn initial flying skills in a light aircraft not too dissimilar from civilian training aircraft; ab initio meaning “from the beginning” in Latin. In this phase, pilot candidates are screened for mental and physical attributes. Aircraft used for this purpose include the Slingsby Firefly, as at one time used by the United States Air Force Academy, and the Scottish Aviation Bulldogs of the RAF. The U.S. replaced the Firefly and the Enhanced Flight Screen Program with the Diamond DA20 and the Initial Flight Training program. At the end of this stage, pilot trainees are assessed, and those who pass advance to the full pilot training program. Those who are judged unsuitable for a pilot commission, but show other attributes, may be offered the chance to qualify as navigators and weapons officers. Smaller and more financially restricted air forces may use ultra-light aircraft, gliders, and motor gliders for this role. The USAF Academy uses light piston-powered aircraft such as the Cirrus SR20 for basic cadet flight training.Basic training
After the ab-initio phase, a candidate may progress to basic, or primary, trainers. These are usually turboprop trainers, like the Pilatus PC-9 and Embraer Tucano. Modern turboprop trainers can replicate the handling characteristics of jet aircraft as well as having sufficient performance to assess a candidate's technical ability at an aircraft's controls, reaction speed, and the ability to anticipate events. Prior to the availability of high-performance turboprops, basic training was conducted with jet aircraft such as the BAC Jet Provost, T-37 Tweet, and Fouga Magister. Those candidates who are not suitable to continue training as fast jet pilots may be offered flying commissions and be trained to fly multi-engined aircraft.Advanced training
Those that progress to training for fast jet flying will then progress to an advanced trainer, typically capable of high subsonic speeds, high-energy manoeuvers, and equipped with systems that simulate modern weapons and surveillance. Examples of such jet trainer aircraft include the supersonic Northrop T-38 Talon, Boeing–Saab T-7 Red Hawk, the BAE Hawk, the Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet, the Aero L-39 and Aero L-159, the Alenia Aermacchi M-346 Master, the KAI T-50 Golden Eagle, the Guizhou JL-9, the Pilatus PC-21 and the Yakovlev Yak-130.Effective combat aircraft are a function now of electronics as much as, if not more so than, the aerobatic ability or speed of an aircraft. It is at this stage that a pilot begins to learn to operate radar systems and electronics. Modern advanced trainers feature programmable multi-function displays which can be programmed to simulate different electronic systems and scenarios. Most advanced trainers do not have radar systems of their own, but onboard systems can be programmed to simulate radar contacts. With datalinks and GPS, virtual radar systems can be created with similarly equipped aircraft relaying to each other their positions in real time and onboard computers creating a radar display based on this information. The aim of programmable displays is to speed pilot training by replicating as far as possible the systems a pilot will find in an operational aircraft.
Lead-in fighter training
Lead-in fighter training utilises advanced jet trainer aircraft with avionics and stores-management capability that emulate operational fighter planes, to provide efficient training in combat scenarios with reduced training costs compared to moving straight to operational conversion. The on-board avionics system may be linked to ground-based systems, and together they can simulate situations such as infrared or radar guided missile, interceptors, air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles, anti-aircraft batteries, radars, chaff and flare countermeasures and collision warnings, in low or dense electronic warfare environments. Systems may also be able to re-enact true-to-life combat situations.Operational conversion
Most military jet-powered combat aircraft have two-seat trainer versions. These are combat capable operational conversion aircraft types to provide on the job training to pilots who have graduated to this level, and are usually available with little conversion in times of emergency to a reconnaissance or combat role. Most operational conversion aircraft retain the full functionality of the operational version with slight degradations to performance due to increased weight and drag, and possibly reduced range due to a reduced internal fuel load.In some two-seat fighter aircraft such as the Panavia Tornado, the operational conversion unit aircraft can be created by duplicating flight controls in the rear cockpit. In a normally single-seat aircraft, a second cockpit can be built behind the original cockpit or the cockpit can be extended to place the instructor in a second seat behind the pilot. Once they are qualified to fly a specific type of aircraft, pilots will continue with regular training exercises to maintain qualifications on that aircraft and to improve their skills, for example the USAF's Red Flag exercises. Deployments of small flights of aircraft together with support staff and equipment to exercises conducted by other nations can be used to develop fighting skills and interservice and inter unit competitions in bombing and gunnery between units can also be used to develop those skills.
The two-seat aircraft may itself become the basis of an operational aircraft, the second seat being used to create a weapons officer or navigators station in aircraft with originally only a pilot, for example the F-15E Strike Eagle is a development of the F-15D which is a two-seat training version of the F-15 Eagle.
In some air forces that have a mix of high- and low-performance aircraft, pilots can be first be assigned to aircraft with a lower level of performance before moving on to the most demanding aircraft. For example, in the Italian Air Force a pilot may begin their service career on the AMX attack aircraft, and as their experience grows, progress to more capable aircraft such as the Tornado IDS. Other air forces, such as Canada, do not do this, and assign first-tour pilots to aircraft such as the CF-18 Hornet.