OCS Grad looking for advice on prepping for flight school

[BlazeUSMC]

I recently graduated from OCS Class 198 over the summer. I have an air contract and I am in awe everytime I see a naval aircraft. I remember distinctively the first time I saw an F/A-18 in flight and it was a life altering experience. I will be graduating from college in May and will be commissioned soon after. However, I need to be up to speed with aviation and pretty much all that entails it because as of right now, the only familiarity I have with planes is taking the ASTB, which allowed me to have a flight contract. Any help, pointers, or guidance, recommended readings, etc..would be a tremendous help in getting me ready. I appreciate anyone's input. Semper Fidelis.

 

[FLYTPAY]

I recently graduated from OCS Class 198 over the summer. I have an air contract and I am in awe everytime I see a naval aircraft. I remember distinctively the first time I saw an F/A-18 in flight and it was a life altering experience. I will be graduating from college in May and will be commissioned soon after. However, I need to be up to speed with aviation and pretty much all that entails it because as of right now, the only familiarity I have with planes is taking the ASTB, which allowed me to have a flight contract. Any help, pointers, or guidance, recommended readings, etc..would be a tremendous help in getting me ready. I appreciate anyone's input. Semper Fidelis.

Keep your nose to the grindstone, finish up college strong, kick ass at TBS, study hard the materials issued to you for IFS. IFS flying is easy but you will feel overwhelmed at first. Chairfly. Study your ass off as if your career depends upon it in API. Do the same in Primary and Advanced. Yep, that pretty much sums it up.

 

[HeyJoe]

Keep your nost to the grindstone, finish up college strong, kick ass at TBS, study hard the materials issued to you for IFS. IFS flying is easy but you will feel overwhelmed at first. Chairfly. Study your ass off as if your career depends upon it in API. Do the same in Primary and Advanced. Yep, that pretty much sums it up.

In your spare time, simply puruse the threads in the forum. You'll find it like a virtual Ready Room chock full of stories from Naval Aviation and embued with the humor and lessons learned. That said, you can show up at Pensacola with nothing but your motivation and do fine. Th eprogramis designed to take you from zero to sixty (or higher) step by step. You just have to want it to happen for yourself.

 

[phrogpilot73]

^^ What they said. For what it's worth, one of the best pilots in my squadron didn't know shit about aviation (or naval aviation for that matter) before he started flight school. He still didn't know much during flight school, he didn't know the difference between a Phrog and a Chinook. And yet he turned out to be one of the best Phrog pilots in the squadron.

 

[Uncle Fester]

^^^ What they all said. My philosophy with API studs is, I don't care if you can tell the pointy end of an airplane from the back end when you get here. As long as you're willing to study real damn hard and learn what you're taught, you'll do fine. Some folks just don't have the skills, which is why there's a screening element to IFS and API, but most who fail do so for reasons of attitude, not aptitude.

 

[HeyJoe]

Since pretty much everyone in the Marine Corps wants to become a pilot, i would imagine not all of them have the opportunity to.

Not true. Marine Aviation is ALL about supporting the Marine on the ground and they run the Marine Corps. That fact will become very evident at The Basic School, if not sooner...depending on your commissioning source. The best you can do as an aviator is rise to number 2 spot in Marine Corps hierarchy. Number one spot has never been an aviator and probably never will be whereas Navy rotates number one spot between aviators, and ship/sub drivers. Air Force number one spot is always a pilot. Just wanted to make sure you understood where Marine Aviation fits in the big picture. That said, Marine Aviators are very closely tied/bonded to their ground counterparts and a Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) works so well because of that. Plenty of threads here that reveal what that might mean to you and your commitment to the Marine Corps.

 

[usmarinemike]

Wow, where did that quote come from HJ? You let him down way easier than most would.

 

[Birdog8585]

From the butter bar in primary - everything that the aviators said above, agree completely. Additionally, if you can get your hands on any of the Naval Aviation magazines: The Hook, Naval Aviation News, The Yellow Sheet, aviation section of the Gazette, are all great resources to kind of get you in the mindset a little bit and get a feel for the jargon of the community. I think Approach is another great one too; that will keep your head on a swivel when you finally do get in the cockpit.

Bottom line, soak up as much as you can in your time off. It is a profession and you are expected to be a professional. If you want to stay alive in this business, you cant just pull over and call triple A, you gotta figure it out or it's your a$$ - ejection seat or not you're going to be standing tall in front of somebody (or a few inches shorter for you jet types).

Congrats on OCS and Best of luck in TBS.

 

[Postal]

Only aviation experience prior to API: Flew on Eastern Airlines to Disney World as a kid. Had no idea what an aileron was, let alone yaw. Just work hard and it will all fall into place. Don't forget to play hard also, just know your limits.

 

[pjxc415]

Dude literally the only thing I knew about Marine air when getting to flight school was that the harrier can hover - and its because I saw Arnold do it in True Lies. Now i'm in jets advanced at Meridian. Bust your ass when you have to (generally beginning of each phase - IFS, API, primary) and have fun whenever possible.

I liked Flyboys and Faith of my Fathers by John McCain - classic aviation stories. Study before API if you think you have to (you don't, and no one at primary cares if you got the academic award), and study with other people when you get to flight school. If you study with your buddies you will be successful, if you don't, it will be a lot harder. Chairflying is good ... visualizing works best for me.

Most importantly - get ridiculously good at racquetball. The quick thinking and hand/eye coordination required is money for when you're in the cockpit.

 

[Birdog8585]

most importantly - get ridiculously good at racquetball. The quick thinking and hand/eye coordination required is money for when you're in the cockpit.

+1

 

[KnightNArmor]

I've only seen one person say it so far. I may get picked on for this but do take the time to cut loose and party. Yes, this is a profession that is built on studying as much as you can and learning every possible detail about your aircraft and how to employ it. However, I would argue that you also have to know how to let go and walk away from the job even for just a few hours. If you're married, enjoy the time you'll have with your spouse. Get her to help you study. You'll find out that the spouses leaving P'cola know just about as much about the aircraft as the students do.

Definitely talk to people who are ahead of you in the programs. They know what you're getting ready to do and they can help give you the gouge on what to expect. Once you have the gouge, go right back to the books and study like there's no tomorrow. Gouge will change and you don't want to be studying the wrong thing. But the gouge (even if it's old) can help point you in the right direction if you don't know what book to look in.

Most important thing to me is to have fun no matter what. It's going to be hard to do sometimes I'll admit. I can honestly say that some of my flights haven't been that fun, but I love getting in the cockpit to fly and those are some of the flights that make for the best stories.

 

[HeyJoe]

Wow, where did that quote come from HJ? You let him down way easier than most would.

That was his first post. Appears he went back and deleted it, then rewrote the thought in his own thread:

hey guys I'm almost 19 and i desperately want to become a Marine Helicopter aviator. I know a little bit about the process to become a pilot, and I cant wait to start the long, challenging journey. hopefully I go to MEPS to start Marines Reserve next week. Please share with me your stories of how you were able to get your guaranteed flight contracts. as a newbie I find it hard to believe that with soooo many people in the Marine Corps wanting to become pilots, that it can be so guaranteed to become one. I originally wanted to fly army helos but i saw the journey being more rewarding in the Marine Corps. I appreciate your input. B)

Oh well...

I think Approach is another great one too; that will keep your head on a swivel when you finally do get in the cockpit.

+1 for that...when I didn't see it at first, my finger was itching for the -1 trigger!