Ultra Posted April 7, 2015 Posted April 7, 2015 This thread is mostly for fun ;), but I'm almost finished with my Junior year of college and I'm starting to seriously consider joining an Officer Training program for a branch of the US Military. My goal being to become a pilot. I've been thinking about which branch I would possibly join and what I would want to do (or fly) most if I succeeded. I haven't done much hardcore research yet, but I know there are a lot of smart people on this forum that could enlighten me more. Does anyone have advice or wisdom on the subject they would like to share with me? :pilotfly:
Buzzles Posted April 7, 2015 Posted April 7, 2015 There's a couple of people who've posted on the forums about it. Start with reading this: http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=95563 Fancy trying Star Citizen? Click here!
Ultra Posted April 7, 2015 Author Posted April 7, 2015 There's a couple of people who've posted on the forums about it. Start with reading this: Thanks Buzzles, I figured there were posts like this out there, but there's so many threads to look through and so little time. :D Very interesting stuff!
blackbelter Posted April 8, 2015 Posted April 8, 2015 (edited) Advice? Play more DCS, because that does not hurt anyone, including yourself. Edited April 8, 2015 by blackbelter
Vampyre Posted April 8, 2015 Posted April 8, 2015 (edited) This thread is mostly for fun ;), but I'm almost finished with my Junior year of college and I'm starting to seriously consider joining an Officer Training program for a branch of the US Military. My goal being to become a pilot. I've been thinking about which branch I would possibly join and what I would want to do (or fly) most if I succeeded. I haven't done much hardcore research yet, but I know there are a lot of smart people on this forum that could enlighten me more. Does anyone have advice or wisdom on the subject they would like to share with me? :pilotfly: Where do your interests lay? Do you want to fly fighters? Do you want to fly helicopters? How about transports or bombers? The main question is what do you want most? Have you done any ROTC in college or high school? Not everyone can adapt to service life well. Remember, as an officer you are a leader first and you will be a pilot second. There is a lot of extra duties and responsibilities associated with being an officer other than just being a pilot. The exception to that (I believe) is the Army Flight Warrant Officers. Warrant Officers are technical experts who specialize in what their MOS is and are not burdened by everything an unrestricted line officer has to deal with. If you just want to fly I bet that would be a good path to take. In the Air Force only about 4% of officers are pilots. All pilot positions are highly sought after so competition is fierce. You will have to do everything necessary to ensure you are the candidate that your chosen branch will want to put in the pilots seat. I suggest doing a little research into what it is you truly want to do. Here's some links to get you started: Army: http://www.usarec.army.mil/hq/warrant/ http://www.armyocs.com/ Air Force: http://www.airforce.com/joining-the-air-force/officer-training/ Navy: http://www.ocs.navy.mil/ocs.asp http://www.usnavyocs.com/portal/index.php Marine Corp: http://www.marines.com/officer http://www.usmcofficer.com/ Coast Guard: http://www.gocoastguard.com/active-duty-careers/officer-opportunities/programs/officer-candidate-school-ocs Edited April 9, 2015 by Vampyre Truly superior pilots are those that use their superior judgment to avoid those situations where they might have to use their superior skills. If you ever find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck! "If at first you don't succeed, Carrier Landings are not for you!"
Rangi Posted April 8, 2015 Posted April 8, 2015 Don't tell them you play lots of Dcs, they tend to want a clean slate to mould to their will. At least that's how it is in Australia. PC: 6600K @ 4.5 GHz, 12GB RAM, GTX 970, 32" 2K monitor.
Suchacz Posted April 8, 2015 Posted April 8, 2015 Don't tell them you play lots of Dcs, they tend to want a clean slate to mould to their will. At least that's how it is in Australia. Very true! It is very hard or almost imposible to get rid of your bad habits from DCS times :D Per aspera ad astra! Crucial reading about DCS: Black Shark - Black Shark and Coaxial Rotor Aerodynamics, Black Shark and the Trimmer, Black Shark – Autopilot: Part 1, Black Shark – Autopilot: Part 2
NeilWillis Posted April 8, 2015 Posted April 8, 2015 And of course, there is no Esc key in real world aircraft, and I'd find that very difficult to cope with! Good luck with your chosen career. I wish you every success.
StandingCow Posted April 8, 2015 Posted April 8, 2015 And of course, there is no Esc key in real world aircraft, and I'd find that very difficult to cope with! Good luck with your chosen career. I wish you every success. Sure there are... but they renamed it eject for some reason. :joystick: 5900X - 32 GB 3600 RAM - 1080TI My Twitch Channel ~Moo
Ultra Posted April 8, 2015 Author Posted April 8, 2015 Where do your interests lie? Do you want to fly fighters? Do you want to fly helicopters? How about transports or bombers? The main question is what do you want most? Have you done any ROTC in college or high school? Not everyone can adapt to service life well. Remember, as an officer you are a leader first and you will be a pilot second. There is a lot of extra duties and responsibilities associated with being an officer other than just being a pilot. The exception to that (I believe) is the Army Flight Warrant Officers. Warrant Officers are technical experts who specialize in what their MOS is and are not burdened by everything an unrestricted line officer has to deal with. If you just want to fly I bet that would be a good path to take. In the Air Force only about 4% of officers are pilots. All pilot positions are highly sought after so competition is fierce. You will have to do everything necessary to ensure you are the candidate that your chosen branch will want to put in the pilots seat. I suggest doing a little research into what it is you truly want to do. Thanks for the links Vampyre, I think I would be happy flying jets or helicopters, but combat platforms definitely interest me more. I'll have to research more to pick a #1 choice. I chose not to do ROTC as I am pursuing an Engineering degree and I didn't want to pile too much work on. I don't think I'll have a problem with service life, but I guess it's hard to know until you're in it. I'm not just in it for the potential flying, I've been interested in the military my whole life so I don't think the duties of being an officer would bother me. The thing I'm most worried about is the competition. I guess in the end somebody is going to get cut from what they most want to do, I just don't want it to be me! :joystick:
Ultra Posted April 8, 2015 Author Posted April 8, 2015 Don't tell them you play lots of Dcs, they tend to want a clean slate to mould to their will. At least that's how it is in Australia. That's pretty funny, I guess I'll have to keep it a secret, lol. And of course, there is no Esc key in real world aircraft, and I'd find that very difficult to cope with! Good luck with your chosen career. I wish you every success. Thanks NeilWillis!
Arrowhead Posted April 19, 2015 Posted April 19, 2015 (edited) Join the Air Cadets if you're not too old, play sports/be fit, get good grades and apply for military college. If you're lucky, you'll then be put on the path of being a fighter jock. :joystick: Edited April 19, 2015 by Arrowhead Intel i9 12900K ROG Ryujin II Hydro Cooler PNY GeForce RTX 5090 OC EpicX 64GB RAM DDR5-6000
Ultra Posted April 19, 2015 Author Posted April 19, 2015 Join the Air Cadets if you're not too old, play sports/be fit, get good grades and apply for military college. If you're lucky, you'll then be put on the path of being a fighter jock. :joystick: Well, I'm almost finished with my Junior year of college so I'm too old for that, but I hope to go through OTS after I've graduated. 8)
xgibbousx Posted April 21, 2015 Posted April 21, 2015 (edited) A good friend of mine flies Vipers. We went to elementary school, high school, and college together. He was a business major (because it was relatively easy), partied like crazy (you don't even want to know), disliked the ROTC crowd, and did a lot of flying and skydiving. In other words, not your prototypical candidate. The bottom line: Find a healthy balance in life (e.g. don't get addicted to drugs) and after school, just sign up and do it. If it's meant to be, you'll fly Vipers, if not, where do you think the control tower guys come from? Side Note: This guy was the best pilot I've ever met. He was gutsy and brave (low level through canyons, hammerheads in a Cessna, etc.). He also achieved his Private, Instrument, Multi-Engine, Commercial, CFI, and CFII licenses in the course of his college career. <- I'm 100% sure that this is how he got his flight slot in the end (probably > 1000 hours of flight time). Edited April 21, 2015 by xgibbousx
Ultra Posted April 21, 2015 Author Posted April 21, 2015 Thanks xgibbousx, that's very reassuring. If he can do it in that way, I think I won't have that much trouble. I don't have any flight time yet, but I should have some by the time I'm out of school. I wonder how much flight time I would need for it to look good on an application, without being to much overkill? I don't have the money for hundreds and hundreds of hours...
SimFreak Posted April 21, 2015 Posted April 21, 2015 Thanks xgibbousx, that's very reassuring. If he can do it in that way, I think I won't have that much trouble. I don't have any flight time yet, but I should have some by the time I'm out of school. I wonder how much flight time I would need for it to look good on an application, without being to much overkill? I don't have the money for hundreds and hundreds of hours... err...I would go and get at least an intro flight. Your mind may want to get into air, but body can disagree...and violently. I don't know if TBAS is still a thing, but having about 10 hours helps. Having PPL is a plus, but not a must. You need very glorious recommendation letters so I would start on that now....showing that you give back to community and such. You need to be in shape. Round is not a shape btw. Check out local guard units. They are hidden wonders that many do not know about. Meaning you don't need to be active duty to fly. What's the final goal? Do full 20 and jump into airlines? Also never fully trust a recruiter. They lie. You can usually tell when their mouth is moving.
Ultra Posted April 22, 2015 Author Posted April 22, 2015 err...I would go and get at least an intro flight. Your mind may want to get into air, but body can disagree...and violently. I don't know if TBAS is still a thing, but having about 10 hours helps. Having PPL is a plus, but not a must. You need very glorious recommendation letters so I would start on that now....showing that you give back to community and such. You need to be in shape. Round is not a shape btw. Check out local guard units. They are hidden wonders that many do not know about. Meaning you don't need to be active duty to fly. What's the final goal? Do full 20 and jump into airlines? Also never fully trust a recruiter. They lie. You can usually tell when their mouth is moving. I'm not too worried about flying, I've always liked rollercoasters a lot. I didn't know you need recommendation letters for OTS. So they are more community based recommendations that are needed? I'm closer to underweight than overweight :D, I'm working on it. Final goal? Hmm, I don't know yet how long I'd want to be in the service. Afterwards I'd probably try to use my engineering degree to do something technical in the aeronautical field. I kind of assumed that about recruiters, lol. Thanks for the response.
SimFreak Posted April 22, 2015 Posted April 22, 2015 I'm not too worried about flying, I've always liked rollercoasters a lot. I didn't know you need recommendation letters for OTS. So they are more community based recommendations that are needed? I'm closer to underweight than overweight :D, I'm working on it. Final goal? Hmm, I don't know yet how long I'd want to be in the service. Afterwards I'd probably try to use my engineering degree to do something technical in the aeronautical field. I kind of assumed that about recruiters, lol. Thanks for the response. When you finish pilot training, USAF owns you for 10 years. This is not a light decision.... Here's a good place to chat to folks about OTS. http://www.airforceots.com/portal/index.php
Ultra Posted April 23, 2015 Author Posted April 23, 2015 When you finish pilot training, USAF owns you for 10 years. This is not a light decision.... Here's a good place to chat to folks about OTS. http://www.airforceots.com/portal/index.php Yeah I have to do some more deep thinking about it before I'm dead set on pursuing it, It's nice I still have some time. Thanks for the link.
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