NATO guidance recommends that helicopter aircrew undertake 15 hours flying training per month in order to maintain competency. While this is an accepted guideline across the MOD it is not interpreted as an absolute requirement for Army and RAF helicopter pilots.
Information on individual flying training hours for Army and RAF helicopters is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
However, Royal Navy regulations require that Royal Navy helicopter pilots undertake 15 hours flying training per month. Figures for the number and proportion of Royal Navy pilots who did not complete 15 hours training per month in the last year are shown in the following table.
Merlin force SK5 SK7 Lynx force 2008 Number Percentage Number Percentage Number Percentage Number Percentage January 14 31 17 65 2 16 10 20 February 14 32 3 12 0 0 7 14 March 13 30 14 50 3 24 7 14 April 11 24 1 3 3 24 11 22 May 14 31 5 17 2 16 8 16 June 14 30 3 10 3 24 4 8 July 14 30 2 7 2 16 7 14 August 28 61 6 23 9 72 23 47 September 5 11 1 4 4 21 3 6 October 11 24 2 7 1 7 5 10 November 7 15 4 15 6 42 5 10 December 18 40 6 21 5 35 11 22 Note: These figures only represent the data requested in the question and do not reflect the number of aircrew in current flying practice and therefore ready for duty. Three month rolling currency requirement and currency checks ensure the number of aircrew ready for duty is maximised.