Understanding air unit reserves:

[Tanaka]

Especially when you have more pilots than planes? Why are they not used? What is the point?

[GetAssista]

Why do reserves exist in general when you can use them right away? To be ready to be used when urgent need arises unexpectedly, duh. Like a plane breaks down or is damaged/shot down

Edit: also, planes are shift into reserves when you don't have enough av support or supply in the base

[Leandros]

This was a system used in all air forces. Air units were planned and established to be a certain force factor - and a squadron was supposed to be used in a certain manner as to numbers and effect. It would be trained that way, too.

Behind the unit reserves were those stored centrally which would be supplied according to need and demand.

Reserves were to ascertain that the unit could operate according to this. Reserves, anyway, were even then often not enough to compensate for operational damages and regular maintenance.

As such the WitP game is quite realistic.

Fred

[HansBolter]

Life doesn't Min/Max.

Only wargames do.

[fcooke]

reserves are also spare aircraft. At least in the USN spare aircraft would be hung from the ceiling of the hanger deck and would take time to get down and be ready for action.

[BBfanboy]

IRL it takes something like 100 base personnel to support each aircraft flying. That would include cooks and transport drivers, etc. But that means that operating more aircraft is going to require a lot more support. So the ability to support aircraft is a limiting factor in how many are operated by the unit.

As others have said, if one of the operational aircraft has to be pulled off-line for repairs or maintenance, a reserve aircraft can replace it. This is not really necessary for units doing training in backwater places, only for units that need a high degree of operational readiness.

[Tanaka]

Thanks guys makes sense now!

[geofflambert]

Reserve aircraft may fit on CVs for no cost, but you have to be careful about it. If they come out of reserve and that overloads the CV, you're sunk. Just make sure that regardless of what the screen says is the capacity used, that all your planes including reserves do not exceed 115% of capacity.

[Tanaka]

ORIGINAL: geofflambert

Reserve aircraft may fit on CVs for no cost, but you have to be careful about it. If they come out of reserve and that overloads the CV, you're sunk. Just make sure that regardless of what the screen says is the capacity used, that all your planes including reserves do not exceed 115% of capacity.

Thanks for the tip!

[Ian R]

You can use the low av-sup/low supply effect to put a level 1 airbase on the channel islands and recover some decent aircraft from permanent withdraw squadrons as they are put into reserve.

[Moltrey]

Somewhat related Tanaka - at least as Allies, check your squadrons Pilot roster out at the start of a game.
For whatever reason, the game will start you with a few P-40 squadrons in the Philippines where they lack a full complement of aircraft, yet the best pilots are in reserve! (greyed out on the list).
It is up to you to decide whether to make them Active, or hold them back... or transferring the better Pilots to reserve pools, etc is the right move or not. But just know there are some that need adjusting.

This game is chocked full of little surprises.

[Sardaukar]

Yes, check the pilots.

As said, best pilots might be in reserve.

[Tanaka]

ORIGINAL: Moltrey

Somewhat related Tanaka - at least as Allies, check your squadrons Pilot roster out at the start of a game.
For whatever reason, the game will start you with a few P-40 squadrons in the Philippines where they lack a full complement of aircraft, yet the best pilots are in reserve! (greyed out on the list).
It is up to you to decide whether to make them Active, or hold them back... or transferring the better Pilots to reserve pools, etc is the right move or not. But just know there are some that need adjusting.

This game is chocked full of little surprises.

I am talking about the reserve in the air unit itself. Are you talking about the pilot pool? Activating from the pool or from the unit reserve? I thought the pilots in the unit reserve were already activated?

[RangerJoe]

No, you have to activate the pilots. If the pilot is tired and you want the pilot to entertain the nurses while doing I & I, then you can put the pilot into Group Reserve.

[Tanaka]

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

No, you have to activate the pilots. If the pilot is tired and you want the pilot to entertain the nurses while doing I & I, then you can put the pilot into Group Reserve.

How do you activate them? Or put them in reserve?

[RangerJoe]

Open up the air unit, click on the Pilots on the lower left. You will have three status choices for the pilots to click through: Group, Reserve, and Active. If you put them into Group, they are still in the unit but not active. If you send them to Reserve, then they are in the overall Reserve, although this make take sometime for them to get there. This Reserve is where your veteran pilots are located. This is what you do when you take pilots out of your Operation Training Units (OTU) for use in more active air units. If you put them to Active, then they will fly missions.

[HansBolter]

Left and right clicking on the pilots name will also activate the transfer to reserve/make active functions.

[Tanaka]

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

Open up the air unit, click on the Pilots on the lower left. You will have three status choices for the pilots to click through: Group, Reserve, and Active. If you put them into Group, they are still in the unit but not active. If you send them to Reserve, then they are in the overall Reserve, although this make take sometime for them to get there. This Reserve is where your veteran pilots are located. This is what you do when you take pilots out of your Operation Training Units (OTU) for use in more active air units. If you put them to Active, then they will fly missions.

Damn I missed this whole aspect of the game. What is the difference between group and reserve? I thought reserve was in the group but not active? Why would you pick one over the other and not just make them all active?

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: Tanaka

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

Open up the air unit, click on the Pilots on the lower left. You will have three status choices for the pilots to click through: Group, Reserve, and Active. If you put them into Group, they are still in the unit but not active. If you send them to Reserve, then they are in the overall Reserve, although this make take sometime for them to get there. This Reserve is where your veteran pilots are located. This is what you do when you take pilots out of your Operation Training Units (OTU) for use in more active air units. If you put them to Active, then they will fly missions.

Damn I missed this whole aspect of the game. What is the difference between group and reserve? I thought reserve was in the group but not active? Why would you pick one over the other and not just make them all active?

Group reserve is already assigned to the group, usually resting on site with it but could be in transit between General Reserve and Group Reserve.
The General Reserve is rear area- the national pool of already trained pilots.

[HansBolter]

ORIGINAL: BBfanboy

ORIGINAL: Tanaka

ORIGINAL: RangerJoe

Open up the air unit, click on the Pilots on the lower left. You will have three status choices for the pilots to click through: Group, Reserve, and Active. If you put them into Group, they are still in the unit but not active. If you send them to Reserve, then they are in the overall Reserve, although this make take sometime for them to get there. This Reserve is where your veteran pilots are located. This is what you do when you take pilots out of your Operation Training Units (OTU) for use in more active air units. If you put them to Active, then they will fly missions.

Damn I missed this whole aspect of the game. What is the difference between group and reserve? I thought reserve was in the group but not active? Why would you pick one over the other and not just make them all active?

Group reserve is already assigned to the group, usually resting on site with it but could be in transit between General Reserve and Group Reserve.
The General Reserve is rear area- the national pool of already trained pilots.

As a further clarification, pilots transferred to (Group) Reserve remain in the squadron, but are greyed out. Pilots transferred to General (Reserve) leave the squadron and go to the pool.

Transferring to General (Reserve) is what is used to save the pilots from squadrons that are withdrawing or disbanding.