ttaylor0024 Posted February 18, 2015 Posted February 18, 2015 Not a rant or anything, but a reminder to everyone that this doesn't simply need to be a hobby, but you can actually turn this into a career. I first picked up DCS A-10C my junior year of high-school; when I wanted to be a computer engineer. I thought it was so cool (because it is/was), but still thought it was impossible to become a pilot, had absolutely no clue how to get the ball rolling in that direction, and was too scared to ask questions. It wasn't until I got the scared feeling you get your last semester of your senior year about what you would pursue as a career that I decided I'd rather have fun with my job. March of my Sr. year I visited a collegiate flight school, 3 months later I was starting my flight training. Originally my goal was to become an airline pilot, so I worked really hard towards that. Got all my flight ratings and graduated in 2.5 years with a B.S. in Aeronautical Technologies. My goal of becoming an airline pilot had changed though when I talked to a good friend applying to the Navy OCS program. After some research during my last year of college and an internship instructing at the Naval Academy I thought it was a good fit. A year after I started the application process I'm accepted as a student naval aviator in the U.S. Navy. Moral of the story- This doesn't just have to be a hobby for you. I thought about what I would want to do if money wasn't an object, and flying was it for me, then the ball just kept rolling. Success is no accident, but a result of hard work. Find something you love and go all in, otherwise you will always wonder, "What If"
Rykane Posted February 18, 2015 Posted February 18, 2015 Congratulations ttaylor. I'm glad one of us were able to actually try and is succeeding in becoming the real deal. Unfortunately I'm colourblind so I would pretty much be unsuccessful in becoming a pilot but I can still dream :D I wish you luck and when you finish as a naval aviator, keep us updated :)
badaboom Posted February 18, 2015 Posted February 18, 2015 Congrats,Great inspirational story.Thanks for sharing this with us. [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]
OnlyforDCS Posted February 18, 2015 Posted February 18, 2015 Yeah congrats. Piloting WAS my dream job. WAS, because I am now in my thirties and because during my teens my vision went to crap. I can see fine with my glasses but no airforce will take a nearsighted cadet, a civilian pilot career was out of the question. It was simply too expensive for my family. Current specs: Windows 10 Home 64bit, i5-9600K @ 3.7 Ghz, 32GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB Samsung EVO 860 M.2 SSD, GAINWARD RTX2060 6GB, Oculus Rift S, MS FFB2 Sidewinder + Warthog Throttle Quadrant, Saitek Pro rudder pedals.
Koekemoeroetoe Posted February 18, 2015 Posted February 18, 2015 Yeah congrats. Piloting WAS my dream job. WAS, because I am now in my thirties and because during my teens my vision went to crap. I can see fine with my glasses but no airforce will take a nearsighted cadet, a civilian pilot career was out of the question. It was simply too expensive for my family. Jup, same here. Really wanted to fly an F-16 or Apache in my country (Netherlands), but my vision is too bad for that unfortunately. As an commercial airline pilot you have about zero chance to get a job here, plus the study is extremely expensive. But it's good to hear some of u manage to reacht their dream, congrats to them! :thumbup::) Intel i9 10850k | Noctua NH-U12A | Gigabyte Z490 Aorus Elite AC | Patriot Viper Steel 64gb @3600MT/s | ASUS TUF RX 7900 XTX OC | Samsung 970 EVO 1TB NVMe | HP Reverb G2
WinterH Posted February 18, 2015 Posted February 18, 2015 32 already here :). But the way blocked for me back in my day due to my branch at high school (silly laws here... they now have changed I guess, back then high schools that specialize in a profession, computer/software in my case, weren't eligible for military academies). Pretty happy it turned out that way though, contrary to what I was trying to get myself believe then, a life of military certainly isn't my cup of tea, for a multitude of reasons, and it wouldn't worth for only being able to fly cool aircraft :). Sincere congrats for the folks who want and get it though :). Wishlist: F-4E Block 53 +, MiG-27K, Su-17M3 or M4, AH-1F or W circa 80s or early 90s, J35 Draken, Kfir C7, Mirage III/V DCS-Dismounts Script
wavn Posted February 18, 2015 Posted February 18, 2015 (edited) Offcourse it's very nice if you can manage and can do the real thing but for those who are not that lucky: My neighbour has done it all: fighterpilot (F104 and others) and captain (767 and others) and now he is retired but ................ loves it to flightsim and esspecially with carriers because he did never do that in his active job. Morale: a pity, that we cannot all do the real thing, but, when even a guy who has flown the real, loves to flightsim, it's not that bad after all.......... and: we are very fortunate that there is such a nice flightsim as DCS!! Edited February 18, 2015 by wavn Best regards, Willem
OnlyforDCS Posted February 18, 2015 Posted February 18, 2015 Ttaylor, one quick question if you don't mind. Why Naval Aviator, why not Air Force? (Don't feel pressured to answer if it's too personal) Current specs: Windows 10 Home 64bit, i5-9600K @ 3.7 Ghz, 32GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB Samsung EVO 860 M.2 SSD, GAINWARD RTX2060 6GB, Oculus Rift S, MS FFB2 Sidewinder + Warthog Throttle Quadrant, Saitek Pro rudder pedals.
rrohde Posted February 18, 2015 Posted February 18, 2015 Good for you, man! :) I noticed that flightsimming (here: FSX) has helped me a lot in order to get the lingo and basic concepts down for the (albeit civilian) side of air traffic training I happen to work with. PC: AMD Ryzen 9 5950X | MSI Suprim GeForce 3090 TI | ASUS Prime X570-P | 128GB DDR4 3600 RAM | 2TB Samsung 870 EVO SSD | Win10 Pro 64bit Gear: HP Reverb G2 | JetPad FSE | VKB Gunfighter Pro Mk.III w/ MCG Ultimate VKBcontrollers.com
jcbak Posted February 18, 2015 Posted February 18, 2015 Congrats and thank you for your service. [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]WIN 10, i7 10700, 32GB DDR4, RTX 2080 Super, Crucial 1TB SSD, Samsung EVO 850 500GB SSD, TM Warthog with 10cm extension, TIR5, MFG Crosswind Pedals, Wheelstand Pro, LG 40" 4K TV, Razer Black Widow Ultimate KB[/size]
ttaylor0024 Posted February 19, 2015 Author Posted February 19, 2015 Ttaylor, one quick question if you don't mind. Why Naval Aviator, why not Air Force? (Don't feel pressured to answer if it's too personal) Couple different factors. One part was that I got to flight instruct at the naval academy last summer, and talked to fleet pilots for about 2 months straight. I have always gravitated to doing the most difficult thing I could, to be at the top, and nothing is more difficult than being the go everywhere, do anything, then land on a boat when it's all said and done. Lastly, it was a gut feeling, and set into me at a young age when I first set foot on the USS Kittyhawk.
Cali Posted February 19, 2015 Posted February 19, 2015 Congrats and good luck! i7-4820k @ 3.7, Windows 7 64-bit, 16GB 1866mhz EVGA GTX 970 2GB, 256GB SSD, 500GB WD, TM Warthog, TM Cougar MFD's, Saitek Combat Pedals, TrackIR 5, G15 keyboard, 55" 4K LED
Mtnbiker1998 Posted February 20, 2015 Posted February 20, 2015 As someone who is currently a junior in highschool, this story certainly got me thinking. Thanks! Come fly with me, lets fly, lets fly away! -Sinatra [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] My Specs: Lenovo Y50 with GTX 860m (2GB), i7 4700HQ 2.4GHz, 8GB Ram. Corsair K70(MX Blues are awesome!), Benq GW2760HS monitor, Steelseries V3 Prism headset, TM Warthog Hotas, Sidewinder FFB2 W/ FLCS grip, CH Pro pedals, TrackIR5, KW-908 Jetseat
aaron886 Posted February 20, 2015 Posted February 20, 2015 accepted as a student naval aviator in the U.S. Navy. Congrats!
ttaylor0024 Posted February 20, 2015 Author Posted February 20, 2015 As someone who is currently a junior in highschool, this story certainly got me thinking. Thanks! No problem, the sooner you guys think about this the better. GPA is a big part of the selection, and the sooner you work hard on keeping your GPA the better. I went into college and got a B in my very first class, worked my butt off so it wouldn't happen again (but it did two more times, unfortunately). Aim for a 4.0, and definitely keep it above 3.75 for scholarships.
slowhand Posted February 20, 2015 Posted February 20, 2015 Congrats and All the best of luck to you, Anchor's Away:thumbup::pilotfly: [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] SMOKE'M:smoke: IF YA GOT'M!:gun_rifle: H2o Cooler I7 9700k GA 390x MB Win 10 pro Evga RTX 2070 8Gig DD5 32 Gig Corsair Vengence, 2T SSD. TM.Warthog:joystick: :punk:, CV-1:matrix:,3x23" monitors, Tm MFD's, Saitek pro rudders wrapped up in 2 sheets of plywood:megalol:
Ktulu2 Posted February 20, 2015 Posted February 20, 2015 I wish I had the eyesight for it :( I do DCS videos on youtube : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAs8VxtXRJHZLnKS4mKunnQ?view_as=public
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