Who here....

[mattr]

Who here had flown previous to your flight training?

Did it help at all?

 

[Eagle32]

The "no's" are rocking the vote!

I am sure it would help, but there is a civilian way to instruct and a Navy way. If you are really used to civilian flying it will be a whole new learning process towards military flying. Granted, you will be more experienced and comfortable in an airplane. Go for it if you can afford it. The Navy will train you the same, pretty much, HA HA HA!

 

[bunk22]

I had about 30 hours when I started back in 94. It helped me through about FAM-4. Obviously no where near enough hours to have done me any good. A good friend of mine had about 2000 flt hours and smoked the program. I think anyone with a couple hundred hours and above shouldn't have a problem. I don't buy that a person couldn't learn to fly the navy way even with a many flight hours. If that person couldn't fly the navy way with hundreds of hours, then that person wasn't going to fly the navy way regardless.

 

[bch]

I had ~100 hrs coming in, helped me through fams, then everyone else was about the same level after that... save your money or go huge and get an instrument rating.

 

[Bevo16]

I don't know of anyone who has said that prior hours were the reason that they made it through flight school. I have heard of people who had prior hours and it was the reason that they failed out of flight school. Granted, those people were so hard headed that they probably would not have made it anyway, but there is really no benifit to getting civilian training. The Navy's program is designed to take a guy off the street with zero hours and make him into a combat pilot. Civilian flight training has the goal of trying to teach weekend pilots enough so they don't kill themselves or become a menace in the air.

Whoever designed the IFS program did a good job of judging the right amount of time to put future military pilots in a civilian type program. It is just long enough to weed out guys who really don't have what it takes or for whatever reason just don't like flying. It is a good exposure, but not enough to pollute the mind with bad flying habits.

 

[webmaster]

Good poll!! No flight hours here prior to primary.

 

[Rainman]

This one gets debated every couple months. I wouldn't save your money. I'd get a bunch of hours if you can afford it. .It's a good time and it can't hurt you. I agree with bunk. I'd say there for every guy with a ton of hours that bit the program there are a hudred that used the experience to their benefit. Is their civilian training full of bad habits that they just couldn't shake? I don't think so.

That being said, obviously you can smoke the program with no hours. I got some hours, loved doing it, and think that it helped me. Good luck.

 

[A4sForever]

F(light) I(ndoctrination) P(rogram) a.k.a. FIP

Ever hear of it? It was a good deal --- the Navy paid for our private rating while we were still in college using a reputable, proven local FBO. Thus, we reported to Pensacola with a private pilot license in our sweaty hands. And EXPERIENCE, too --- right? WRONG !!

We were suppose to accelerate in the program prior to VT-1 solo (@ NAS Saufley Field for you "newbies") by about 4 hops. At least that was the plan .........

Did it do me any good? Not a bit. In fact, it almost screwed me. I was not doing as well as I should have prior to PS-4 or 5; so I requested the "regular" pre-solo syllabus. Everyone's idea was to "get jets" as that was the name of the game at that time -- Vietnam, remember?

There was no way my grades were going to put me in the top 5% unless something changed. My decision to drop back into the "regular" syllabus saved me as I "learned" in the cockpit after about 8-9 hops and smoked the rest of the program. As a result, I "got jets" when only 2-3 guys per class out of 30 (another of the periodic Vietnam bombing halts) were getting jets.

 

[skidkid]

13 hours in a Cesna with a weird crazy dude as an instructor it might have helped in fam 1 or 2 but not much. I am actually glad I didnt fly more with that guy might have picked up some dumb habits. There is little to no standardization on the civilian side in fact at an FBO "I'm a flight instructor" is Latin for "Im unemployed"
If you had lessons from a prior military pilot that might help or if you had insturment time that would help but a private will help you through ealry FAMs and that is about it

 

[A4sForever]

There's an old saying that goes something to the effect of "There are four ways to fly... the right way, the wrong way, the company way........., AND THE CAPTAIN's WAY ..... You figure out which it is."

STOP !! You're cracking me up!! I haven't heard that for years. Have you been talking to some of my F/O's or S/O's ???

Actually, my present aviation incarnation is pretty much standardized -- you have to be SOP to cover your "6" these days. And some disgruntled individual will rat you out somewhere along the line if you try to be too much of a "cowboy". Having said that, it always amazes me how some guys can fly the plane --- while some can fly the plane WELL --- all the while following the same procedures and having similar hand-to-eye motor skills. Some guys just make the whole package "fit" together better than the next guy while droning along from " A to B".

Maybe the ''brain" has to fit in somewhere as well .... ?

 

[Dunedan]

My previous flight time (70 hours, PPL) helped me on my first few FAMs...but that's about it. I knew how to sound cool on the radios, though...

 

[Fly Navy]

58 hours with a Private license. Helped me through FAMs and BIs.