It wont matter in the end for fighter skill since there is a point where fighter skill
wont improve even with more vets. What does matter is the bomber ability you lose. More
bomber true ability = more AAW resistance. More AAW resistance means you dont have to
think twice about chasing those pesky sea level bombers coming from the CV you are camping.

"I don't get it. I can't see why fighter pilots shouldn't be classed to SQ. Leaders at 75."

Because promoting to higher tiers of pilot means you lose crew growth. FP/TB/DB get +5
crew per level. Aces get +4 crew per level. SQLs get +3. Having the extra crew growth from
FP/Ace is MUCH, MUCH better than having +2 extra growth in nominal ability, due to how the
math works. The REAL ability of your pilots benefits far more from having the extra crew.
Cracko did an excellent analysis of this a few years back, I think it's in Tips and Tactics.

There's no reason to class to SQL, ever, no matter what nation you are. You will ALWAYS
wind up with pilots that are not as good in the end as they could have been. Whether or
not you should class to Ace or leave them as regular FP/TB/DB depends on how you plan on
vetting your pilots, but classing up to SQL is bad. Don't do it.

--Helms

i've also read that keeping them as ROOKIES .. and CLASSING as fighters LATER ...
allows for more growth in the BOMBER stat part .... which is your DEFENSE stat ....

fighter stat = offensive power = how well you shoot other planes down
bomber stat = defensive power = how well you resist being shot down
aircraft stat = currently turned off and not active n game .. (same for AAW stat)

a high bomber stat also allows scouts to resist being shot down a little better

Mac, it's the lvl pilot+t1 planes and not Tier pilot ;)

The benefit of not classing is more overall crew and better base for bomber. However, it's
can be annoying to not class since T1 with 80s+ equals ban. Lol.

Lol Richard, My current officer spot is causing me enough headaches :P
So i'll pass on being president for now.

LordREVAN for president!!!!!!

On a side note, I really really really regret classing my 6 squad leaders. Fighter or ace
only are the possible solution.

Low ammount of vets ---> fighter
Spending cash for vets---> Ace
Spending extras extras cash-> fighter

Fighter only and ACE are fairly close, but SQ leader actually hurts your ability growth
quite a bit. As I do not know any exact cap it's hard to say if it will matter in the end.
But yes, your fighters will suffer in both fighter and bomber ability compared to the
other 2 paths.
Assuming equal vets/experts of course.