Question about family life . . .

[SkidGear]

Hey guys, I have not even been accepted yet, but I just have a couple of questions about the process of becoming a Naval Aviator.

First of just to give you an idea of where I am coming from. I am 25 turning 26 in August. I am married and we are having our first child together in October. I am applying for OCS as a SNA on the August board. So saying I get accepted I go to OCS and graduate the following happens: API @Whiting field (6 weeks) ?? then primary at either Whiting or Corpus ? ? Then advanced in your field. My question is what is the usual timeframe from graduating OCS and getting through API, Primary, Advanced to Fleet? Is it 12 months or more??

The main reason for this post is, if i can get Helos which is what I want, what is the possibility of doing all of my training at Whiting Field? I would want to move my family there with me and complete my training without being away for my training. Does the Navy take into consideration during training, as far as where you train, whether or not you have a family that is willing to move? The reason that I want Helos is because it is what I know. I have about 900 PIC in helos and I would love to stay in the same type. I understand it all comes down to the needs of the Navy, but if I can get Helos, would it be possible to do API through Advanced @ Whiting ? ? ?

 

[Morgan81]

First off API is in NAS Pensacola, close to Whiting, but about 40-50 minutes away (never driven it so it's in the ballpark). All of the married guys in my OCS class had follow on orders to Whiting (saves big Navy some cash in your moving expenses so it makes sense) but there are some married guys here in Corpus so it can happen. If you do get orders to NASW and get helos then yeah, you'll be in Whiting from Primary to Wings but if you get any other platform or if there aren't spots available in primary you'll be anywhere from South Texas to Oklahoma to Mississippi.
Total time varies considerably because of an almost infinite number of variables for flight school but rest assured you'll be at it for well more then a year. This says 18-24 months plus 9-12 for the rag but of course YMMV.

 

[Flash]

Hey guys, I have not even been accepted yet, but I just have a couple of questions about the process of becoming a Naval Aviator.

First of just to give you an idea of where I am coming from. I am 25 turning 26 in August. I am married and we are having our first child together in October. I am applying for OCS as a SNA on the August board. So saying I get accepted I go to OCS and graduate the following happens: API @Whiting field (6 weeks) ?? then primary at either Whiting or Corpus ? ? Then advanced in your field. My question is what is the usual timeframe from graduating OCS and getting through API, Primary, Advanced to Fleet? Is it 12 months or more??

The main reason for this post is, if i can get Helos which is what I want, what is the possibility of doing all of my training at Whiting Field? I would want to move my family there with me and complete my training without being away for my training. Does the Navy take into consideration during training, as far as where you train, whether or not you have a family that is willing to move? The reason that I want Helos is because it is what I know. I have about 900 PIC in helos and I would love to stay in the same type. I understand it all comes down to the needs of the Navy, but if I can get Helos, would it be possible to do API through Advanced @ Whiting ? ? ?

I know you are just asking about the possibility, but you are asking something that probably can't be answered. If you start one week you could go helos and spend all of your time in Whiting, the next week you could get E-2/C-2 and bounce from Pensacola to Corpus Christi to Kingsville in less than a year. This could be with all the factors being the same; grades, instructors, weather, etc. There are a myriad of possibilities, those are just two.

One thing that you need to realize is that Navy life is often not predictable at all, no matter how long you are in. One moment you could be getting ready to retire and the next you are off to War College, and in for another 5 years (I know someone this recently happened to). Unpredictability is a fact of life in the Navy , you ought to get used to it now.

If you start stressing what you might end up doing and where you end up going this early, you are going to lose all of you hair and end up with ulcers in no time, and you don't want to end up like me.

 

[SkidGear]

thanks guys, I know that it is a very open ended question, but I was just looking to see if it was even a possiblilty. I know that just because something is possible does not make it probable. thanks again

 

[MIDNJAC]

How well do you fly fixed wing? That will be what determines your NSS for pipeline selection out of Primary. No matter how many odd hours you have in helos, your choice will come down to how you did in Primary. Now of course there will be some carry-over from your 900 hours, regardless of category. That said, I'm impressed you amassed that much helo time as a civilian....that must have been some serious $$$, even if you were doing it for pay later on!

 

[SkidGear]

I'm impressed you amassed that much helo time as a civilian....that must have been some serious $$$, even if you were doing it for pay later on!

Thanks for that but I paid around 30-40K for the first 200 hours "private/instrument/comm" , that is about the "norm" for civilian professional flight school. I have been flying sightseeing tours in florida for the past 2 years. we fly about 350 hours a year. the pay is not that great but you get free flight time. Most people instruct till you hit 1000 hours but i did not want to teach so i went a different route. I have 0 time fixed wing only rotor wing

 

[LivinMyDream]

Skid,

If accepted, you can try and get follow on orders to Whiting Field as stated above. You can live in the University area (UNF) and live half way between NAS Pensacola and NAS Whiting Field, thus keeping the family in one place for all of your training. If you have 900+ hours, I think you'll be light years ahead of most STUDS in the beginning phases of flying (esp. instruments). This should help your NSS, and thus facilitate your getting Helos. At the end of the day, though, you'll have a ton of fun flying whatever you get--good luck!

 

[D_Rob]

Skid,
You can live in the University area (UWF) and live half way between NAS Pensacola and NAS Whiting Field,

Fixed it for you, though University of Northern Florida does make sense.

 

[Heloanjin]

I thought I would throw this out there, just so you know. It is rare for someone to put down helos as their first chioce of pipeline and not get helos.

Of course, there are no guarantees. Sometimes up is down and in is out in the universe, and that's when a first choice of helos is not met.

 

[phrogpilot73]

I knew a guy who put down C-130's, Helos, Jets. He got jets (but ended up in helos after all).

 

[Swanee]

A sailing buddy of mine put down helos as #1 and got CODs.

 

[MIDNJAC]

I thought I would throw this out there, just so you know. It is rare for someone to put down helos as their first chioce of pipeline and not get helos.

Of course, there are no guarantees. Sometimes up is down and in is out in the universe, and that's when a first choice of helos is not met.

I hope there are more guys like him selecting my week

 

[ArkhamAsylum]

I only knew one guy who put helos first, jets last, and got jets. It pays to have sub-jet grades, I guess.