Chances of becoming a fighter pilot?

[thumper]

Forget the CAP. Go to band camp. That'll make a real man outta ya.

Just look what it did to me.

 

[thumper]

What the hell is CAP? I probably shouldn't make fun of it without even knowing what it is, but it is so easy.

 

[American_Ace]

Flute toting band geek.........that's what you'd become. I WILL SAY, I can respect someone who joins CAP for the sole purpose that, if you asked them why they do it, they say "it's a resume booster," I can respect that.

That's why I joined. That and once I get 200 flight hours (almost halfway there) I get to be a mission pilot = lots of free flight hours on the government's dime.

But there is a lot of leadership in CAP. CAP has the cadet program and the senior program (over 21). The seniors primarily worry about SAR, and the cadets worry about preparing to be officers (for the most part). BTW, the cadets are in charge of other cadets. They have a full chain of command, completely made up of cadets. If you're a lowly grunt you report to your flight chief and/or officer, if you're a flight officer/chief, you report to the 1st SGT or cadet commander, and on up the chain. The seniors have their own chain of command but they usually don't interfere with the cadets if they can help it.

 

[thumper]

Again. What exactly is CAP? Are they Official or wanna-bes? Do military members have to salute them?

 

[American_Ace]

Civil Air Patrol is 'an official auxiliary of the Air Force,' (it is funded by the AF) with three missions; cadet programs (encampment, aero education academy, etc. http://level2.cap.gov/index.cfm?nodeID=5597), emergency services (hence the name), and aerospace education. It's sort of like JROTC, except you don't have to go to school dressed up like a nerd, you can do more stuff, and there are more leadership opportunities than in JROTC. If you join a cadet squadron (there are 3 types of squadrons, cadets, seniors, and composite, which are both cadets and seniors), you can be certain you'll report to a cadet, who reports to another cadet, etc.,etc. Every squadron is a bit different, some are made up of gung-ho marine sniper wanna-bes, whereas others are laid back SAR seniors who are in CAP because they want an excuse to fly their planes.

And no, military memebers don't have to salute CAP officers, but CAP members usually salute military.

 

[46Driver]

That's why I joined. That and once I get 200 flight hours (almost halfway there)

If you want to be a Fighter Pilot,or any other pilot, you have to be able to perform at flight school. Period. I agree with Bunk 22. All of your college grades and sports you played are nice - and mean absolutely nothing. The only common denominator I have seen is prior flight time usually leads to better grades.

Finally, weight standards for airline pilots went out a few years ago (and unfortunately, they went away for stewardess as well)

 

[vegita1220]

Finally, weight standards for airline pilots went out a few years ago (and unfortunately, they went away for stewardess as well)

lol, you know there are certain airlines where I swear that looks are part of the selection process for stewardesses.

 

[46Driver]

And those airlines are predominately foreign where discrimination is still legal. KLM (Holland), Czech Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Singapore, and any airline owned by Sir Richard Branson are all famous for hiring young, gorgeous girls. And then you see who works Delta, American, United - you can't even say stewardess - its all "Flight Attendants".

Trust me, if you are buying a ticket overseas, you are better off booking it on a foreign carrier if you want eye candy.

 

[thumper]

Singapore Airlines is the best for candy. IMO.

 

[airwinger]

46Driver- Amen to that, whenever I fly most US carriers I feel like the 'flight attendants' are either Mrs Grumpy, my old fat crabby 3rd grade teacher, or 'Bobo'(or whatever the hell those guys from queer eye are called)

The moment you step into a foriegn carrier it's hello Ms Universe contestants.

We do have some pretty heft students out here, and a fair sprinkling of guys who were already out of college, working at some profession then decided they might as well go to the Marine or Navy flight program and wound up here with little or no preparation.

 

[46Driver]

46Driver- Amen to that, whenever I fly most US carriers I feel like the 'flight attendants' are either Mrs Grumpy, my old fat crabby 3rd grade teacher, or 'Bobo'(or whatever the hell those guys from queer eye are called)

The moment you step into a foriegn carrier it's hello Ms Universe contestants.

We do have some pretty heft students out here, and a fair sprinkling of guys who were already out of college, working at some profession then decided they might as well go to the Marine or Navy flight program and wound up here with little or no preparation.

Y'all really need to get over to Eastern Europe. Prague and Budapest have spectacular "scenery". I hear Bratislava is good too - I hope to check that out in a few weeks.

 

[Flash]

Singapore Airlines is the best for candy. IMO.

They actually require the "Singapore Girls" to fit into their form fitting outfits, if they don't they are not hired or fired if they already are one. Some of the other really good ones are the Middle Eastern airlines, especially Emirates which is awesome not only for the scenery but great service too. The reason the Middle Eastern airlines are so good is they only hire foreigners, and they definitely have a cutoff for looks. Gulf Air had a big base in Bahrain and we called all the stews running around GAG's, for Gulf Air girls. That was before the island was flooded with more Americans and the novelty of having a Yank disappeared .

 

[bunk22]

Err, are you serious? You don't think you need good grades or you need to be in shape to be a pilot? I see what you're doing, you're making me clarify so that kid will understand my post a little more. Good idea.

OK, let me put this in perspective; to be a pilot you first need to be an officer, and to be an officer you have to meet certain PT scores and weight restrictions. Even airline pilots have to stay within certain weight restrictions, blood pressure, etc. Being a pilot and staying in shape (especially in the military), goes hand and hand. Also, you need good grades to get accepted to OCS or the Academy. You can join ROTC without a scholarship, but it's been proven that kids who don't do well in high school don't do well in college, and when the military considers candidates for pilot training grades and PT are pretty important.

Also, I recommended joining CAP because they have a program called 'encampment' which is modeled after AF OCS. If you can't stand encampment, chances are you aren't going to do well in real OCS, the Academy, or ROTC. My dad went through OCS, my mom went through ROTC, and a few of my friends there had parents who went through the academy, and they all said it was 'just like *insert officer program*.'

I recommended team sports (soccer, football, etc) because they teach invauable lessons about selflessness, teamwork, leadership, followership, etc. which are all core values for combat pilots, or any officer for that matter. You could tell instantly which kids were in sports, and I know sports gave me a huge leg up. The more competitive the sport or the league, the better. I played soccer for competitive travel teams since I was 11 and I played high school soccer, and I can tell you from experience that it gave me a huge leg up on everything that builds an officer. I also do track and field, and, whereas it's a great sport, it's not quite a team sport and it doesn't quite build the leadership that other sports do.

Are you serious? Are you attempting to explain to me how to be a military pilot? Might want to think that one through turbo. The best advice comes from those who have been there done that.

 

[bunk22]

Bunk.... for the prior flight time thing I've seen it go both ways. I've seen prior NFO's that couldn't fly their way out of a paper bag, and guys that have smoked the program.

For civilian time... two Embry-Riddle graduates. One with a Commercial/Multi/Instrument etc and about 500 hours total time... the other w/ CFII/MEI and about 1200 total time. Stud "A" barely made it through primary with a 37 NSS (35 is minimum). Stud "B" finishes #1 and gets his first choice (NSS dosen't matter here ) So it can go both ways... thats the thing with civilian flying, you can be a total dumbass and get a licence. Mainly because your brain never has to exceed about 120 kts. in training and because as long as you've got the cash you can keep plugging away.

Like I said earlier, if you have plenty of civilian flight time and can't hack the program, I doubt that person would have cut it regardless. Flight time in capable hands is going to be a huge benefit. Flight time with weak dicks won't matter. I was probably a bit better than average without prior flight time but I can tell you I would have cleaned up with just a few hundered flight hours.

 

[thumper]

You know whats funny? When a high schooler gets on here and tells one of the silverbacks (o-3s and o-4s, IPs, etc.) how things really are. I love that.