RETIRED MAJ. GEORGE JOHNSON
Navigator Development Group Inc.,
Concepts, Experiments and Analysis Directorate
U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence
Fort Rucker, Alabama

We’ve all heard it, and most of us have either done it or suggested it. “That pilot in command can’t fly with that pilot; he/she doesn’t have the experience!” Or, “We’ll sign this guy off as a PC. If we don’t, it’ll ruin his/her career!” These are conversations we shouldn’t have to have.

Don’t get me wrong. The first time you go out flying as a newly minted pilot in command, your learning curve is steep. In fact, you’ll learn more — about yourself, your techniques and how you teach your pilots — in those first few flights than in the 50 before them. The idea that any PC in your unit cannot fly with any Readiness Level 1 PI should be absurd. That is what your unit’s training program should be minimally geared toward. Long term, you should be focused on making every pilot you have into a PC. Imagine the flexibility that level of proficiency gives a commander!

When I was a MEDEVAC detachment commander, I sat down with my standardization instructor pilot and laid out my vision for how we should focus our efforts. (Notice I said our efforts, not just his or mine.) Training Circular 3-04.11 states the PC is:

   • The unit’s first-level trainer.

   • Proficient in the aircraft and all aspects of the unit METL.

   • Responsible for safe operation of the aircraft, the safety of all occupants, and the conduct of all operational and training aspects of a specific mission.

If there are PCs in your organization that do not meet those criteria, they should not be PCs. If you have pilots you wouldn’t trust with your most junior PC, they shouldn’t be RL1.

Most commanders are not instructor pilots; therefore, they do not get to fly with personnel before they are signed off RL1. They look to the IPs and SIPs to hold people to the standard and do not bring records to be signed off until they are ready. This is a two-way street between the commander and standards personnel.

How ridiculous does it sound when people say, “That guy was a PC, Chalk 3, with a high-time PI or another PC in the seat next to him.” Does that PC sound like the guy you want to lead the team when it all comes apart and he is suddenly the air mission commander? Or, is that the pilot you report to higher on your readiness report, then have to explain to your boss how you really can’t use him as a PC?

In the aviation world, you’re either a PC or you’re not. Too many decisions have to be made and lives are on the line. Commanders, SIPs, IPs, PCs and PIs all have a responsibility to bring to light anyone who is a danger to themselves or others in the aircraft. Integrity and personal courage play a role in ensuring personnel stay safe and the mission is accomplished.