How many pilots in the Star wolves Series?

[RT2]

How many usable pilots have there been in the star wolves series?

I have a crazy Idea that I can use the auto pilot setup like in the mission where you get the Mastif in SW3CW. To be able to have escorts for your mothership.

In theory instead of dismissing pilots you could retire them between escorts and hopefully be able to rehire them to the mothership by retiring other pilots to escorts.

I can get the cash legit by Grinding Kruger.
Ground Kruger around 1,000 times to get lots of cash and equip for the mothership mod.
I use the mothership mod to get it all working smoothly.

But the escort"autopilot" and pilot hiring and retiring I am focusing on.

How to get the escort?
Instead of just buying a new mothership and the old one sitting there waiting to disappear. It would in theory become your escort, which I would hope you could retire pilots in and hire them out of through the Maintenance stations.

The number of Pilots available in the series would determine how many escorts would be needed.

My idea is based around having to grind to skill out all your pilots and then when skilled out they are assigned to an escort.
Escorts are your previous mothership when buying a new one, so they are equipped as you would desire.

Also having throughts of being able to use escorts of a non carrier type like the Stone Arrow.

Has this already been done?
I am a noob to this area and even though I have played for a long time.
I am not affluently engaged in the community.

Be safe.