ORIGINAL: Steve Sv
To summarize my very limited understanding of pilot training and the approach I am planning to use as Japan ...
1) Transfer several experience pilots to Tracom early in the war. These pilots will enhance the skills of pilots graduating from the 12-month training program. An additional benefit to this transfer may be that the experienced pilots will be available to transfer back to the combat units later in the war when Japan is in desperate need of high-qulity pilots.
2) When the first class of pilot graduates arrive, I will assign them to training groups based in Japan. These groups will fly training missions until the pilots have reached a level of experience I deem sufficient at which time I will transfer them to the reserve pool to eventually be assigned to combat units. New graduates from the basic-training program will then be assigned to the training groups.
Questions abound:
Is the outlined approach reasonable? Are there step(s) that should be added? Will it help the graduate pilots in the advanced training program to learn more quickly if I include experienced pilots in the training group? What kind of air groups should I use as training groups? For instance, if I wish to train bomber pilots can I do so with obsolete planes and will these pilots still be qualified to fly the more advanced bombers they will fly once they are transferred to combat units? I am considering transferring 10 army and 10 navy pilots to Tracom. Is this a reasonable number?
The manual indicates that some air groups are defined (as the manual puts it) as training groups that can only be used for training - no combat missions possible for these groups. I have the impression that this information is obsolete and that there are no such groups in the game and it is not possible to create them. Is this impression correct?
I am not sure at all how carrier training works. I am guessing that I can use one or both of the carriers that start the game in Japan for training carrier pilots. I have noticed that all or almost all of the carrier-capable aircraft that start the game at a land base are not designated as carrier trained. If I transfer one or more of these groups to a "designated training carrier" and assign the group to training missions will the group eventually be upgraded from carrier capable to carrier trained? If not will at least the pilots become carrier trained? Is there a way to tell which pilots in the reserve pools are carrier trained? If using one of Japanese carriers to train carrier pilots is the way to go should I take it out to sail around a bit as the pilots are trained or is it sufficient to have the training done in Tokyo Harbor, for instance.
Thank you very much for any and all answers that more experienced players can provide
Hmn, seems like a bit of muddled thinking underlines the questions.[:)]
1. The dedicated training groups mentioned in the manual were removed in an early patch.
2. Unlike real life AE pilots are not trained to fly particular types/models of aircraft. They are trained in various skills, many of which can be used by quite different types of aircraft.
3. Pilots transferring to a different model do not need retraining, they transfer with the skills and experience they had with the previous aircraft model provided they remain within the same type of aircraft. Basically there are four types of aircraft:
- fighter
- bomber
- patrol
- transport
Thus transferring a pilot from a Zero equipped group to a George equipped group entails no decrease in experience. Transferring from a Zero to a Mavis does result in a skill reduction.
4. There is no such thing as a carrier trained pilot. In AE only a few nationalities get to fly off and land on carriers. Any pilot from these nationalities, irrespective of what type of aircraft they trained on or what skills they possess, can be sent to a carrier trained unit staffed by pilots of that nationality.
5. Groups convert from carrier capable to carrier trained after spending sufficient time on board a carrier. Carriers need to be at sea, not docked. At sea can be 39 nm from a port.[:)]
6. Individual pilots within an airgroup do not impact on speed of learning. Unit leaders alone have some impact upon the operations of the unit. In the case of pilot training there is much to be said for Mynok's KISS and therefore to not be too concerned about worrying about who is the leader.
7. TRACOM does not enhance the quality of graduating students. It does two things:
- can accelerate some pilots getting through the training pipeline, but any such accelerated graduates are not replacred by additional inductees
- helps to limit pilots graduating below their national average, but it will not assist in pilots graduating above their national average
The optimal number of pilots to send to TRACOM will not be revealed by the devs but it has been hinted that multiples of 10 per nationality is a good idea. Hence don't bother having less than 10 in TRACOM unless you are merely using TRACOM as a depository for highly trained pilots for later use when better airframs become available.
Alfred