Can a flight sergeant be a pilot?

Answer 1

As a retired usaf officer and pilot i have never heard of the term flight sergeant used in the flying community. Perhaps you might be referring to a usaf flight, which similar to an army squad? If a usaf sergeant were to get a college degree and be commissioned in the usaf as an officer, he/she could then apply for pilot training, and if accepted, could then become a usaf pilot. No usaf sergeants are pilots, and all usaf pilots are officers. Hope this helps, and good luck!

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At one time, the military forces in the US and in other countries DID have enlisted men that were pilots. That stopped about 60 years ago. Pilots today are officers, and many Army helicopter pilots are Warrant Officers (slightly different from Commissioned Officers).

Answer

A flight sergeant is an RAF NCO rank, between sergeant and warrant officer. A flight sergeant's rank insignia consisted of three stripes, surmounted by a crown, worn on each upper arm. During world war two, it was quite common for sergeants, flight sergeants, and warrant officers in British and Commonwealth squadrons to be pilots. It would not be unusual for the captain of a bomber crew to be an NCO pilot, even if other members (e.g. a navigator) were officers. This was also the case, incidentally, in the Luftwaffe, which also employed NCOs as pilots.

Additional note:

Although all RAF (and Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm) pilots are officers these days, the Army Air Corps still has NCO pilots - it's not unusual for Lynx and Apache pilots to be senior sergeants; who have undertaken and passed exactly the same aircrew selection and training as officers.