72 Sqn 'The Ghosts' - [Recruitment Paused]

[Sharpe]

Hi there,
72 Sqn ‘The Ghosts’ (not to be confused with our friends at the 72nd VFW) are currently not recruiting owing to a sudden influx of pilots post 4.37’s release. We hope to be able to take new pilots again later this year (perhaps in the summer), but please feel free to join our public chat and put your name at the front of the ‘waiting list’ - sorry for any inconvenience.

Join our Discord HERE (open community even if you dont wish to join 72 Sqn

We are are happy to accept any level of experience providing you have a working set up for Falcon 4.36 as well as basic familiarity with the F16 systems and principals of flight.

We are looking for pilots (over 18 please) who can fly in the UTC 0 / GMT 0 / (London) time zone. 72 Sqn regularly fly on Tuesday and Thursday nights at 1900uk.

Who are 72 Sqn?
By a happy coincidence, 72 Sqn ‘The Ghosts’ formed on Halloween 2020, We are flight sim enthusiasts from across Europe who enjoy flying the F16 in Falcon BMS. We strike a balance between ‘as real as it gets’ and ‘grip it and rip it’ flying, leaning more towards ‘as real as it gets’, whilst remembering this is still a hobby and that real life comes first!

We have created a bespoke training course called ‘Viper School’ to help pilots who are new to the sim, new to multiplayer flying or just new to working as a unit. Viper School is available to all new recruits regardless of experience, but for those that are already comfortable with the content covered in Viper School, we offer a fast track course through Viper School if you prefer. More advanced training & courses are open to all members once Viper School has been completed (at which point you are considered a full member of 72 Sqn).

We fly twice a week (Tuesday training nights and Thursday mission nights) and we are looking forward to flying alongside other BMS Squadrons and Wings in the near future, as well as our friends at Falcon Events.

What does 72 Sqn do?
We fly the F16 in BMS
72 Sqn is a multi role F16 Sqn. We pride ourselves on providing a bespoke training program to support new pilots who are perhaps new or less experienced in multi player online flying called; Viper School.

However, when we are not progressing pilots through Viper School we combine dynamic campaign missions with TEs as well as further training and practicing those ‘perishable’ skills (like IFR, AAR and so on).

We also fly with our friends at Falcon Events for missions and training. In the near future we hope to conduct joint missions with other BMS squadrons and wings from across the community.

Ok, I am still reading, and I might even be interested, what next?
Simple - Message Sharpe via the BMS forums and we will help you.

The process will be:

1. DM Sharpe
2. You will be invited to join our Discord Channel for a conversation with Sharpe (and perhaps other members of 72 Sqn) where you can ask any questions you have about 72 Sqn and Viper School and we can gain an idea of your current level of experience.
3. If you wish to proceed, you will join 72 Sqn as a Student Pilot (SP) and register to our website. From this point you will proceed through Viper School (or a truncated/bespoke version of it for more experienced pilots who would prefer not to go through all of Viper School).
4. On completion of Viper School, Student Pilots become full members.

What is this ‘Viper School’ you keep talking about?
Ok, if you are still with me here then well done. You dont need to read this next section, as it provides information on 72 Sqns training program ‘Viper School’, for those that are interested or wish to know more.

Viper School is the name given to the training programme provided by 72 Sqn. The training is specific to the F16 and to the way that 72 Sqn operates during casual flights, training flights and missions in BMS.

Viper School provides a number of training flights in order to ensure pilots have a grasp of:

• The SOPs used by 72 Sqn Sqn to enable effective teamwork in the BMS simulator and for effective and efficient briefings and de-briefings.
• The Comms Standards and Operational Brevity used by 72 Sqn, what they mean, why, how and when they are used.
• The required minimum standard of flying skills and F16 system knowledge to enable pilots to fly effectively together at the same level.

It takes many years and over 400 flying hours to train an RAF fighter pilot to get to the point they have completed the Operational Conversion Unit course for the aircraft they will operate. 72 Sqn recognises that it is impossible to ask virtual pilots to commit such hours to this sim, especially as some pilots may not fly 400 hours over the course of four years, and no one wants a game to become a second job.

In order to ensure 72 Sqn virtual pilots have the same fundamental grasp of how to fly and operate the F16 as well as how to operate as an effective unit in the BMS simulator Viper School was created. Viper School is broken down into several phases that place an emphasis on building up pilots’ knowledge and capability. As we don’t have 4+ years and 400 hours of your time available to dedicate to this training, Viper School attempts to provide the core foundations throughout a course of 25 flights totalling about 35 flying hours.

Viper School will help pilots understand SOPs as well as improve fundamental core skills, unit tactics and F16 module awareness. This is so we can all enjoy the BMS simulator at a higher level of immersion that goes a little way towards how the military operate their aircraft in missions.

Viper School assumes pilots are ‘brand new’ to virtual flying as part of a group and is designed specifically to help these pilots ease into combat flight simulator flying as part of a group. If you are not new to virtual flying as part of an organised group and/or BMS do not worry, you will not be expected to ‘hoop jump’ through Viper School just for the sake of it. Bespoke ‘fast track routes’ are available which may result in more capable and experienced pilots flying less a fifth of the missions on the course.

Viper School is broken down into the following sections and flights:
Elementary Flight Training (EFT)
X3 1-hour flights:
Flt 1: Start-up, taxi, take-off, basic flight and landings.
Flt 2: Navigation and introduction to formation flying.
Flt 3: Aerobatics and Horn Awareness Recovery Training (HART).

Basic Fast Jet Training (BFJT)
X6 1h30m flights, including air to air refuelling in each flight.
Flt 1: Formation flying (announced tac-turns).
Flt 2: Formation flying (‘silent’ tac-turns).
Flt 3: Formation flying & Time on Target (ToT).
Flt 4: Low altitude formation flying & ToT.
Flt 5: Night formation flying at hi/lo alt & ToT.
Flt 6: Instrument flying (SIDS & STARS).

Advanced Fast Jet Training (AFJT)
X4 1h30m flights.
Flt 1: Beyond Visual Range (BVR) Combat; 1v1, 1v2).
Flt 2: BVR Air Combat Manoeuvring (ACM); 2v1, 2v2.
Flt 3: Within Visual Range (WVR) Basic Fighter Manoeuvres (BFM) (dogfighting); 1v1, 1v2.
Flt 4: WVR ACM; 2v1, 2v2.

Tactical Weapons Course (TWC)
X6 1h30m flights.
Flt 1: Missile evasion.
Flt 2: Range operations (BDU33 and guns).
Flt 3: Cluster bombs & BLU107.
Flt 4: JSOW & SDB.
Flt 5: JDAMs & LGBs.
Flt 6: HARMs & Mavericks.

Operational Conversion Unit (OCU)
X6 1h30m ‘Simulated Attack Profiles’ (SAP). Lower risk TE’s to help build Student Pilot mission ready confience. During OCU Student Pilots will at least once take a seat as Element Lead and/or Flight lead. The Student pilot will also have a go at planning and briefing mission from the 2d screen.
Flt 1: SAP 1 (Sweep).
Flt 2: SAP 2 (CAP).
Flt 3: SAP 3 (Strike).
Flt 4: SAP 4 (Runway denial).
Flt 5: SAP 5 (SEAD).
Flt 6: SAP 6 (Pre-planned CAS).
NB: Depending on how well the Student Pilot is progressing, OCU may be conducted in a Dynamic Campaign mission (Student Pilots choice).

All pilots that wish to fly F16s with 72 Sqn Sqn must commit to either the full Viper School course or (where agreed) a fast-tracked version of it.

[Micro_440th]

@Sharpe Good stuff man!

For all guys who search a home: Sharpe and his guys are one of the finest and most professional guys out there. Highly recommended to check them out!

[Zeus]

Hi @Sharpe, looking good! Glad to see you are still active, best of luck with the recruiting. Maybe the 440thvfw and “The Ghosts” can get together for a joint mission some time.

[Sharpe]

@Micro_440th Thanks for the very kind words- do I owe you some money for them?

@Zeus Hi great to hear from you. Yes some collaborative operations would be great. I will DM you.

For those reading and wondering;

@Micro_440th runs the arguably unique Falcon Events open community group. FE is a fantastic place to meet people from all over the BMS community and do missions and training. Because FE is a community, it is also Sqn/VFW agnostic and brings together the best parts and knowledge from accross the BMS community. Whether you are a lone pilot or a committed Sqn/VFW member you should check them out to see what Falcon Events can offer you as a pilot or your VFW/Sqn: https://www.falcon-events.de/about

@Zeus runs the 440th which is a great VFW with pilots from all over the world (perhaps leaning towards US East Coast - but with pilots from Europe through to Isreal). The 440th is a great wealth of expertise and knowledge and is a really friendly group with great pilots and a dedicated and active membership base. Check them out here: http://www.440thvfw.com/

[Sharpe]

Update: 72 Sqn Discord channel open invite now added:

Join Our Discord HERE