• Please take a moment and update your account profile. If you have an updated account profile with basic information on why you are on Air Warriors it will help other people respond to your posts. How do you update your profile you ask?

    Go here:

    Edit Account Details and Profile

Flight School backed up

Gatordev

Well-Known Member
pilot
Site Admin
Contributor
Assigned to Milton for Primary: July 2022 - October 2022.
Started Primary at Milton November 2022. Solo T6 April 2023.
Primary completer at Milton - July 2023. Primary time: 1 year.

A small but important point of order...your Primary time wasn't a year, it was 8 months, which isn't that bad. Your pool time plus Primary is a year.

I make the distinction because if people are trying to figure out the wait, they have to look at the whole picture. If Primary is taking a year because they ran out of ball bearings for the T-6, then pool time will also go up. But a shorter Primary time (8 months vs a year) also means a shorter (or no) pool time.
 

johnboyA6E

Well-Known Member
None
I have a NAVCAD buddy who hit his fleet hornet squadron as an ENS when he was 22 years old.

It's a lot easier to hit the fleet as an ENS when you don't commission till you get your wings.

NAVCADs went to AOCS with minimum of 60 college credits, remained a NAVCAD through flight training, and commissioned upon winging.. So it wasn't that unusual for 20 year olds to start AOCS and hit the fleet as an O-1 at 22 or 23

We had a few in my AOCS class in '89. That program ended around '92 or '93 I think

In that period, I commissioned in June '89, and winged April '90, just under 11 months total - granted as an NFO.
 

Swanee

Cereal Killer
pilot
None
Contributor
Just flew with an AF T-6 instructor. He said they are being winged after T-6 primary then get specialized T-6 syllabus training before going to follow on pipeline training. That is how they get winged in a year.
I am not fully versed on the latest in USAF flight training but I think that might be the case with 'big wing' folks and not fighter/bomber folks, yet.

It was 13 years ago, but my brother's class got through the T-6 and the T-1/T-38 courses in 53 weeks.


But, this is what they're doing as they phase out the T-1, but the Fighter/Bomber/Attack guys still go to T-38s and wing after T-38s but before IFF. My brother, and E-3 pilot and FTU IP, says the quality of pilot that comes to them is definitely not what it used to be. A lot of folks who came up with the idea of not replacing the T-1 say that it works for the airlines. While that may be true, military flying and airline flying are not the same.
 

ChuckMK23

FERS and TSP contributor!
pilot
On the subject of IFT-R, The Fort Worth program contractor has posted a social media update of the initial class:
Note that the new CNATRA name for the program is COPT-R and the previous title of "IFT-R" has been dispensed with.

We’ve entered Week 5 of the Navy’s COPT-R initial pilot training program for rotary aircraft. Happy to report all training events have occured on time and on schedule. We did have two weather days last week however, we were a bit ahead on scheduled training, so no harm.
24 Student Naval Aviators (SNA’s) are on-site now with four (4) Bell 206B helicopters working flawlessly. The next group of 8 SNA’s will arrive in two weeks. We will have a total of 48 SNA’s on-site concurrently receiving pilot training at our facility by the end of November supported by a fleet of 6 aircraft.
We did get the new Bell 206B flight training device onsite provided by Precision Flight Controls in California. Out with the old…in with the new!
I’ve added a few pictures of the on-site action. The systems training hangar has proven to be quite valuable with having an aircraft in front of the students while teaching systems.
Thank you to our staff, partners, and vendors for the support to maintain a safe training program on schedule and on budget!

1698792953541.png



1698793242801.png
 

hscs

Registered User
pilot
On the subject of IFT-R, The Fort Worth program contractor has posted a social media update of the initial class:
Note that the new CNATRA name for the program is COPT-R and the previous title of "IFT-R" has been dispensed with.

We’ve entered Week 5 of the Navy’s COPT-R initial pilot training program for rotary aircraft. Happy to report all training events have occured on time and on schedule. We did have two weather days last week however, we were a bit ahead on scheduled training, so no harm.
24 Student Naval Aviators (SNA’s) are on-site now with four (4) Bell 206B helicopters working flawlessly. The next group of 8 SNA’s will arrive in two weeks. We will have a total of 48 SNA’s on-site concurrently receiving pilot training at our facility by the end of November supported by a fleet of 6 aircraft.
We did get the new Bell 206B flight training device onsite provided by Precision Flight Controls in California. Out with the old…in with the new!
I’ve added a few pictures of the on-site action. The systems training hangar has proven to be quite valuable with having an aircraft in front of the students while teaching systems.
Thank you to our staff, partners, and vendors for the support to maintain a safe training program on schedule and on budget!

View attachment 39148



View attachment 39149
When does Kelly McGillis walk down the aisle to teach? Who teaches academics in a hangar?
 

mad dog

the 🪨 🗒️ ✂️ champion
pilot
Contributor
On the subject of IFT-R, The Fort Worth program contractor has posted a social media update of the initial class:
Note that the new CNATRA name for the program is COPT-R and the previous title of "IFT-R" has been dispensed with.

We’ve entered Week 5 of the Navy’s COPT-R initial pilot training program for rotary aircraft. Happy to report all training events have occured on time and on schedule. We did have two weather days last week however, we were a bit ahead on scheduled training, so no harm.
24 Student Naval Aviators (SNA’s) are on-site now with four (4) Bell 206B helicopters working flawlessly. The next group of 8 SNA’s will arrive in two weeks. We will have a total of 48 SNA’s on-site concurrently receiving pilot training at our facility by the end of November supported by a fleet of 6 aircraft.
We did get the new Bell 206B flight training device onsite provided by Precision Flight Controls in California. Out with the old…in with the new!
I’ve added a few pictures of the on-site action. The systems training hangar has proven to be quite valuable with having an aircraft in front of the students while teaching systems.
Thank you to our staff, partners, and vendors for the support to maintain a safe training program on schedule and on budget!

View attachment 39148



View attachment 39149

OK…I guessed I missed something somewhere. So what is this program???
 

Gatordev

Well-Known Member
pilot
Site Admin
Contributor
Happy to report all training events have occured on time and on schedule.

"...for any COPT-R program managers reading..."

24 Student Naval Aviators (SNA’s) are on-site now with four (4) Bell 206B helicopters working flawlessly. The next group of 8 SNA’s will arrive in two weeks. We will have a total of 48 SNA’s on-site concurrently receiving pilot training at our facility by the end of November supported by a fleet of 6 aircraft.

48 students with 4 aircraft is tough. I can see why they need to get the extra 2 in there. It would be interesting to know what the actual requirement might be, per whatever Gonkulator that exists to predict that. Some here might be surprised that programs similar to this don't even bother computing the actual hardware requirement and just go with, "that sounds about right."

Who teaches academics in a hangar?

And in Texas.

OK…I guessed I missed something somewhere. So what is this program???

I believe the TH-73 thread has a bunch about it.
 

ChuckMK23

FERS and TSP contributor!
pilot
COPT-R : The official program name translates to Contractor Only Pilot Training – Rotary

The program leadership is SkyWarriors - which I believe started with being the primary provider of airplane category training / experience building for a number of regional airlines who offered "RTP" rotary to airline transition programs. This gets more interesting.
 
This is the new 'straight to helo' SNA pipeline; bypassing VT's and traditional selection. Very likely the future norm IMHO. AF is pursuing a similar strategy.
In your opinion is this something you'd have to volunteer for or could you get selected right to helos. Beggars can't be choosers and I'll be grateful to fly anything, but helos are my last choice.
 

ChuckMK23

FERS and TSP contributor!
pilot
In your opinion is this something you'd have to volunteer for or could you get selected right to helos. Beggars can't be choosers and I'll be grateful to fly anything, but helos are my last choice.
Sounds like you answered your own question. The value of the experience flying the T-6 in Primary/UPT cannot be over emphasized. The effort will be the same regardless of pipeline IMHO.
 
Top