Excess pilots in VF-42

[richlove]

See image. VF-42 resized (?) to 51 pilots somehow. Not exactly sure what happened.

I have save game files and the various .txt files if that helps. None of the .txt files seem to call out that anything was supposed to happen to the group.

[HansBolter]

All squadrons allow the player to bring in excess pilots.

Not sure of the formula or percentage of overage allowed.

I know that when American AAF squadrons are sized at 25 the player can bring in 33 pilots as an example.

Your example of a squadron sized at 27 with 51 pilots does seem excessive and could be a bug. Perhaps 51 is the correct maximum number of pilots for the squadron once it resizes to 36 planes.

[Lokasenna]

Normally you are only allowed 1/3 extra pilots, or if the group is resizing in the near future you are allowed to have a special number based on the new size (it might just be the new size, or the new size + 1/3).

Even still, a size 36 unit would only have 48 max. Something looks fishy here.

[geofflambert]

richlove, did you order too many after the pilot resize? Make a math error? Happens to me. You might also have ordered some vets, then clicked on get replacement pilots. The computer will let you do that until enough arrive to complete your quota. I frequently do it on purpose and leave the extra in group reserve. If it's a front line unit I get rid of the replacement pilots as the vets arrive.

[richlove]

Ah, geofflambert might have it. Several times in the last few game days I've noticed airgroups that need pilots, have grabbed what I hope is that number from the reserve, and noticed that the 'pilots needed' # hasn't changed. I wonder how many other groups are overstuffed?

... and VF-2 has 56 pilots, according to Tracker. Maybe this should be fixed, as I bet this could be exploited to boost your training squadron sizes?

[jcjordan]

It could have been a bunch of named pilots in the db coming into the group due to it was their date of entry. You probably did pull too many but over the next few days the pilots should go back into the pilot pool & the unit return to the normal of 36 max pilots at least until the resize to 36 when you will go up to 48 max. At least the automatic return of pilot overages has happened in my game.

[wdolson]

Some carrier units show up with extra pilots.

Bill

[richlove]

Closing the loop here, it appears as though the pilot count will bleed down to the correct size eventually (see image below). I guess it's not an issue?

[blueatoll]

Is there an advantage to having extra pilots in combat squadrons? Specifically, is there an advantage to having 4-5 replacement pilots in the squadron (with say 20% training), so that these replacements get up to speed faster.

It's June 1943 in my first game (Allies) and I have obviously done something very wrong in terms of pilot training. I have very few reserves, my stateside pilot groups are struggling to hit 50 Exp (even with TRACOM trainers) with 100% training/0 range, and my replacement pilots are all coming in with under 30 training. While I know it's a game, I feel bad for the pilots with literally 300+ missions still on the front lines.

Advice?

[richlove]

I am by no means an expert on pilot training but:

- Pilot reserve depth is a function of how many training squadrons you have and how much combat your front line squadrons are facing. In my GC, the USAAF in 5/42 has 18 squadrons in CONUS dedicated to training. Is that too many? Probably, but I have no idea.

- You won't go beyond 50XP / 70 skill via training missions, so get those pilots to a combat zone (or a combat-esque zone, like flying CAP on a safe-ish base).

- You should check the morale of your training groups to see if they're maxed out.

To answer your first question, I max out all my training squadrons (up to 33% of their size). I don't do 20% training anywhere.

Edit: look at your leaders as well. I'm not sure if AV support or damage to airbase matter for training.

[btd64]

I get this overage sometimes and just transfer them to the reserve pool.[:)]
Cheers

[Bullwinkle58]

TRACOM only speeds up the pipeline a bit. It doesn't help train pilots in active units. It's not that useful for the Allies as a training tool. Many players use it as a stash for high aces to use later when the airplanes are better.

Look at the COs in the low trainers. A lot of pre-war air COs are in the 20s and 30s on Air skill. Upgrade them.

Extra pilots in the front-line units help with fatigue accumulation. They swap in.

[richlove]

Bullwinkle58, air skill? Over here Gräfin Zeppelin states (asserts?) that air skill doesn't matter. Is that new info?

[DaveConn]

I think I remember reading at some point that additional pilots can be drawn into a unit that is going to resize "X" days before the resize is to occur. This is to allow pilots to train before the new planes arrive. I can't remember what "X" was supposed to be, but I notice that the unit will resize in about six weeks. And that the number of pilots is the resized unit (36) plus 1/3 (15).

[wdolson]

I believe Inspiration is the most important trait for training, but I've found leaders with good Air and Leadership values train faster too.

If you can afford it, keep your front line squadrons maxed out for pilots. Move the pilots with exp around 50 in training into the pool, then draw those pilots into combat squadrons. Flying combat with experienced pilots will bring up their levels fairly quickly. If a squadron is maxed out for pilots, fatigue will become less of an issue as the game engine will tend to fly pilots with the lowest fatigue levels. As long as they aren't on reserve (when you transfer pilots from the reserve pool they will be on reserve for a few days as they travel to their new post). Fatigue is a killer, literally. High fatigue pilots are more likely to get killed in combat or in an accident.

As said elsewhere, don't expect your training pilots to get much over 50 in overall experience. About 60 in a specific skill is about the best you can expect unless you want them to train for a year or more. (The chances of adding to a skill go down as the overall skill level goes up.)

Bill

[Lokasenna]

I look for Leadership in my training units. Nothing else. Observed rate of skill increase seems to confirm the importance of this.