HEY FRUMBY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[topdog31]

Hi Frumby, I want to thank you for your infomation that you posted on my other post, but I have another one. Since you are a Helo pilot I thought you might be the best to answer my next question. About a week ago I was more set on flying a jet than a helo and not to long ago I talked to a Army vet. about getting into a helo. Within a couple of seconds he had me thinking about flying helo's because he brought up some good points.
Now here's one of my questions, what are the steps you need to take to become a helo pilot? is it the same as going into jets? As a Marine how tough is it to become a helo pilot? Do I have a better chance in being a helo pilot in the Army? What type of missions do they go one? Can I be a helo pilot with an A.A. degree or is that only Army who does that? Is the school the same and do you also train with the Navy as a helo pilot? Do you go on a ship time to time? when you fly into combat is it more of a risk of getting shot down.
Sorry for so many questions, but I thought you were the best guy to answer my questions and if there are anybody else who has info on being a helo pilot please feel free to jump in. Thank you and don't worry about answering every question, I know it's a lot. Oh, and I have one more big question, I want to go into the Marines really bad as an officer and I have to wait about three year to be comissioned, but I was wondering if it's a good idea to go reserves for about three years until I get my degree or just stick it out in the PLC program. The only really bad thing I can think of is that I may get suck in that unit or not finish as fast as I would have if I was in the PLC program. Tell me what do you think about that.
Thanks again
Deric

 

[Raptor2216]

Topdog

Don't take my word for this but I think you would have a good chance at getting helos in the Marines since the majority of the pilots in the marines are helo pilots. One thing i know fo sure is that you must have a 4 year degree in order to be comissioned. i believe that is a requirement for all Naval/Marine officers. That's all i can help you with, I hope it helps.

 

[topdog31]

Hey thanks for the info Raptor, any info is good for me. But I wonder why do the Army have warrant officers flying there helo's and to be a w.o. all you have to do is have an 2 year degree. Makes you wonder.
thanks again
Deric

 

[Gator]

topdog
raptor is right.In order to be an officer and fly in the both the Corps and Navy you must have a BA or BS degree. I think that one of the reasons that the Army doesn't require a degree is do to the overall size of the Army. In order to fill as many spots as they have for helo pilots they might have to lower the minimum requirements to ensure that the slots stay filled. Just a guess though. I went into the reseves when I cam off active duty, but only remained with the unit for about a year. I was in a good unit, but I had to drive two hours to get there and the way our drills were scheduled it started to interfere with school. PLC is a good program and worth doing if you are going to go into the Corps. In the long run I think that you would benefit from getting you degree and then going in fly whatever you want. However, if you want to fly helos right now you can go into the Army and work on finishing your degree while your in. It will take you twice as long, but you'll be flying while your doing it. Also about the reserves, check to see what units are nearby. The units in your area might not allow you to do something that you want. I had to change my MOS and go to another school to join my unit. I also could of gone to one closer to my house, but I didn't want to go into that MOS. Whatever you do think it all through before you act!

 

[O-man]

O.K. now I dont know about the Army, but there aint no way in hell your gonna be a W.O in the Corps with that litle effort. you need to be an E-5 before they even consider you for W.O. programs. Thats at least four years in the Corps if your doggone supperman. most make Sgt. in 5-6 years. Gator is right, PLC is the way to go. You in college yet?

 

[Frumby]

Hey TopDog,
Great questions, all. First, let me clarify, I am not a USMC helo pilot rather a jet pilot. I'm just learning to fly helo's now at somebody else's expense.
90% of Marine aviators are in fact helo pilots and all are commissioned officers with 4 year degrees. You go to primary training with the Navy and depending on your selection you go to Whiting to fly helo's. Most of the instructors at Whiting are Marines. If you want helos, chances are you will get them unless your grades are so good that the needs of the service "forces" you into jets.
Helo's are usually the platform that the officers who didn't fare as well in primary go. It's not to say they can't fly but they are probably more suited with a second pilot for redundancy. In helo's, you will live on board ship, constantly. You will probably deploy more and live in the field more because helo guys work directly with the grunts. If you decide to get out, it is much harder to find a flying job that will pay you a good living. If you want to fly for the airlines, you will have to spend your time in the commuters building time to apply for the big jets. Depending on what you want out of life, either jets or helos, will be a challenge. All I cared about was that it said "Marines" on the side of the fuselage and I was happy.
Stay in the PLC program. No one messes with you and the school year belongs to you. All you do is report to OCS in the summer for 6 weeks. That 6 weeks of active service qualifies you as a "satisfactory" year as a Marine reservist. What I mean is, for example, my career is approaching 16 years as a Marine reservist but only 131/2 if I was still on active duty. I signed my PLC paper work Jan 29,1986 or my pay entry base date (PEBD). I went to OCS the summer of 86, 87 and was commissioned July 88. At TBS, I was getting paid as an O-1 over 2 years because of my PEBD. Academy grads, ROTC and OCC were getting paid as O-1's with no years. About a $300 a month pay difference. After almost 12 years of active duty July 88-March 2000, I decide to get out and fly for the airlines. I immediately join the reserves and find out that I'm over 14 1/2 with the reserves for retirement because of PLC. You need to be in the reserves for at least 6 years to retire and PLC already finished off two of those years. I will retire at 41 years of age which is nearly two years before active duty. I will not get paid a pension until age 60 but I will have full medical and all base privileges granted to a retiree. Stay PLC, it is a good deal. I know I was long winded but it was the only way to explain. Good luck Deric. SF, Frumby

Attack Pilot
Major USMC

 

[Gator]

O-man is right on the mark about making it for WO in the Corps. I was stationed with some great Marines who had applied for WO selection multiple items and were never selected.

 

[airwinger]

Major Frumby,
Maybe I'm just slow, but does the PEBD take into account time as a reservist. I've 4 years in right now, and my OSO said I'd start as an O-1 with 4 years(but not O-1E)
Thanks,
kwame

 

[topdog31]

Thanks for anwsering all my questions. So let me get something straight, you are telling me if I start the PLC program as a freshman til I graduate in four years I will have four years of active duty in the Marines?
That is hard to believe that it will be harder to find a job after the Marines as a pilot. I heard the money is good out in the world after the Marines. So it's easier to become a helo pilot than a jet pilot huh.
I never thought that the helo pilots spend more time on ships, I always believed that they spend most of there time on land. I can see why it's hard to hold a marriage.
To give a little profile about myself, I'm 21 and been going in and out of college since I was 18 and I would still call myself a freshman, but now that I'm get into the PLC program I will be going to school full-time. I take my SAT on Dec. 1 so I can get into the program so wish me luck. What's the best book out there for SAT's? I was never good at test taking because I always have brain freeze.
Thanks again to everybody and I will keep you posted.
Deric

 

[slivur]

Major Frumby,

I am currently in the application process for OCC. I graduate this May (finally!!) with my B.S. in petroleum engineering and if all goes well I will go through OCS this summer and finish TBS by March of 2003. I will have a slot in flight school, so I will be heading there next. I want to fly jets; that's why I'm joining. I'm wondering what I should expect. I've read many posts here about it and everyone says it is very competitive, but at the same time everyone around me says that I'll do great. I have a feeling they're just trying to be supportive. So what I'm getting at is how hard will it be to get into the jet pipline? How many do they usually take and are they usually the top few in the class? Any information you can give I would really appreciate, not that anything you say has a even a chance of changing my mind. The only people who can stop me now are the members of the selection committee.

Thank You,
Michael

 

[O-man]

Hey I think I'll be in you OCC series. Starting in early June? Your package in yet? I just got my test back so I'm all good to go before the board as well. Going for jets is maybe harder in the corps because we fly less of them. And from what I understand the top few from the top, middle and bottom third get there choice, so that the talent is not all in the jet side. Thats just what I heat though. having a Maj. like your sure aint gonna hurt though. Samper Fi... PFC O-Man USMCR

 

[topdog31]

Can anyone answer this question for me?
I know being in the PLC program the Marines pay for 25 hours flight time at a local flight school if you were going for jets, but do they also do that for helo's also do you get to fly a helo at that school?
Thanks
Deric

 

[slivur]

O-man,

Thanks for the info. I'm pretty sure it will be early June. I'm turning in all the paper work tomorrow when I go down to have my eyes dilated. I'm scheduled to see the flight surgeon in mid December. If that goes well, the Captain says I'm good to go. (crossing fingers!) Good luck, I'll see you in OCS.

 

[O-man]

Your seeing the flight sergeon at a diferent time from the dialation? Anyone know if thats normal? I got both done at the same time, unless I'm missing somthing. But I did see a flight sergeon- He said I was good to go. - all I need is a PFT and then everything goes to to the Board. Hmmm. Makes me wonder. Well, good luck- your ass is gonna be blind for half the day. I went out to eat after the eye thing and could not see my food real well, let alone order off the menu. It was fun though. Dont plan on driving the rest of the day- 8 hours later when I had to drive home I could see outside the car fine, but could not focus on anything inside it. Antway good luck- Samper Fi O-man

 

[Phiman]

I had my eyes dialated by the optometrist and then saw the flight surgeon in the same day, so I don't know if seeing them on different days is normal, but I certainly saw them on the same day. As for the dialation, my ride home didn't bother to get a gate pass for NAS Jax, so I had to walk the couple miles from the base clinic to the main gate with the sun shining off the bright sidewalk the whole way, and it damn near killed me the whole time (The glare was rediculous). My advice is when they tell you to bring sunglasses DON'T blow it off, it will save you a lot of pain and anguish after the tests. But good luck to you with all of the eye test, Lord knows it's those that'll get me.