June 27, 2024: The practice of commercial firms hiring former military pilots to train new pilots began before World War II. Since then it has become an increasingly common practice. Working for these training companies is a lucrative job for former military pilots, as well as flight engineers and air operations personnel. Some countries arrange for their pilot trainees to obtain their initial training from these firms before entering the military pilot training program.

Flight engineers are personnel who, in larger aircraft, or as the second man in two-seat fighters, monitor flight operations so the pilot can concentrate on flying the plane. U.S. B-52 bombers have a flight engineer. In more modern bombers like the B-1 and B-21, the flight engineer is replaced by an automated system that one of the two pilots can monitor. The B-21 bomber, which is still in development, can use a crew of two pilots, or even substitute automation for pilots and be sent on missions without any people on board. The U.S. Air Force is planning to purchase a hundred B-21s. Air operations personnel handle the planning, logistics and aircraft maintenance aspects of airbases. These are important aspects of effectively running an air force.

A recent development involving Chinese pilot training programs outside China has met resistance from western countries in North America and Europe. This was deemed unacceptable by the U.S. government and former U.S. pilots seeking work in this area were warned to avoid any firms secretly controlled by the Chinese. In response the Chinese has sought to hide their involvement in these flight training programs. That will be difficult because the trainees are Chinese. Despite this resistance the Chinese are offering much higher salaries than earlier programs. While American pilots are discouraged by their government from participating, European pilots face less resistance and take these jobs.