Divergent Stability

This study analyzes the United States Air Force's potential to establish a long-range, strategic game plan for its rated pilot force. Specifically, it addresses the problems of continual fluctuations in the USAF's pilot inventory and searches for possible solutions within available resources. The study draws relevance from the simple need for pilots in a variety of duties. The USAF's attempts to manage the pilot inventory are analogous to pilot induced oscillations (PIOs), where a pilot's attempts to correct pitch or altitude deviations results in over-compensation and deviations in the opposite direction. This study shows that the USAF pilot inventory has deviated frequently from stated requirements, and a reliance on traditional measures to correct shortages or surpluses has usually resulted in "personnel induced oscillations." The author argues that the USAF's efforts to stabilize the inventory have in some cases caused greater deviations downstream.

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