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Prior Flighttime
- Thread starter Bighead
- Start date
I wonder the same thing. I know someone will come on and say it doesn't matter because the navy will teach you to do things their way and it will be different, but won't just being comfortable in the air and competant in an airplane have some value early on? I would think you would have a slight advantage over those without any flight time for a while until they catch up and get their "airlegs". Can anyone verify/dispell this?
Quick answer. No.Bighead said:
The only thing you're gonna get from prior flight training is learning the monkey skills and maybe even get comfortable on the radio. Two things with this. One, even a monkey can learn monkey skills. Two, even though talking on the radio is easier with experience, there are still certain key words and tricky phrases you'll need to learn in the Navy's version of flight training.
I guess I'll chime in. It all depends on how flexible you are. I had a guy in my class who was a CFII and he got the highest NSS out of Intermediate than any FO in something like 5 years. There was another guy in my class who had his license and he washed out. It just all depends on how flexible you are. You will definitely be ahead of the game in instruments if you have gone that far. The radios will be a bit easier. However, the non-experienced guys will not have learned any bad habits or habits in general that could get you into trouble for not doing it according to the FTI. So, the bottom line is, yes, I think prior flight training is good. However, be ready to chuck all that crap out the window if it doesn't fit into what they teach you. You are in the Navy, you best do it their way.
I've heard that having some instrument training under your belt can help you in primary. This makes sense because instrument training is really the only true precision flying that takes place during most civilian flight training programs.....i.e, developing your instrument scan, maintaing precise heading and altitude while navigating and communicating, and really putting some work into your flight planning. For those who are there/have been there, do you think that there is any truth to this?
Bighead said:
I don’t know about SNFOs but for SNAs it will absolutely help you in primary, especially if you can get some instrument work prior to showing up. Eventually the guys without prior flight time will catch up but you will definitely be better prepared. Your situational awareness will be that much better and that will allow you to perfect things rather than wondering what’s going on around you. I think the Navy had a program a few years ago that would actually give you private pilot training prior to API. If I had to do it over again I would have gotten at least my private pilot prior to API. Good luck.
midhusker
Discovering my inner nerd-ness
I can actually give you two examples of how it helps. I got my private pilot prior to flight school and it helped me earlier on with my comfort in the plane and the sight picture for landings. Other than that not much. My buddy on the other hand went through with his Instrument rating and ended up validating most of the RI syllabus. He did two flights and two sims and he was done with RI's. This in turn brought his TGI (total graded items) number down a whole bunch and shot his NSS through the roof. He ended up with an absurd NSS and is in Meridian right now. I did not have enough prior time to validate anything, but if you have the hours and the ratings, make sure you tell them when you get to your primary squadron and they should work with you.
Ok, I'm confused about the grading. I thought certain items were supposed to be graded on every flight, but now I've been hearing that if you meet mif early enough, you don't have to do it over again, and if your instructor grades you again and you do better than before, your NSS goes down because you have more graded items. I have no idea what is going on. Can an IP tank my NSS by making me do extra maneuvers I don't need to, even if I do them well?
I would say yes. Just being comfortable with basic flying skills and talking on the radio makes concentrating on the harder stuff easier. Having some knowledge of instrument training will help as well....the more basic stuff you learn and get comfortable with the more SA you will have to work on the hard stuff (catch my drift?). That being said flying skills deteriorate faster than T-shirts at a wet T-shirt contest. The basic knowledge you retain will be more important than the skills....be prepared to adapt and relearn to the Navy way and they will (re)teach you the skills.
midhusker
Discovering my inner nerd-ness
there is a list of stuff that has to be graded on every flight. But if you are on the accelerated program (i.e. prior flight time) you only have to meet mif once and then you move on. It is all up to your Ops O and the training dept. But if you don't ever tell them, they will never know.
IMO, it depends. I believe a significant amount of flight time is going to help. At least in the Primary/Intermediate phases. Things like CQ and the advanced strike syllabus might change things. If a guy with 1000 flight hours can't make it through the flight program, he wasn't going to make it through regardless. Primary, especially, isn't rocket science and isn't that difficult. Flying is flying, talking on the radio is talking on the radio, navigating is navigatin, etc. Not that tough and the more experience in flying you've got, the easier it's going to be, at least initially.
Exactly. It will help you initially, but that’s when you select what you’re going to fly for the rest of your career. Certainly the other guys will catch up, but the grades that you get in your first few months are the most important when it comes to slection. Unless you want to fly helos or P3s than it doesn’t matter, but if you want to fly jets prior flight time is definitely going to help.