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Thinking of DORing

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Hi there, I'm currently thinking about ringing that bell to DOR and I could use some advice.

Right now I'm headed into my C4200 block in Primary after a week of being in the chair. Being airsick sucks, but it's not the whole story. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure flying is for me. IFS kinda sucked for me (enjoyment wise) and I did fine on my C4100 block, got pretty good grades despite the airsickness, but at no point was I ever having fun or really enjoying myself (even the parts of the flight I wasn't dealing with airsickness). At this point, the AMSO has pretty much explained to me (based on my profile in the chair relative to other students) that the T-6 may suck due to airsickness, but I'll be able to manage and get through to hopefully fly big wing or helos. I don't know if it's going to be worth it and I want to go through that if I'm on the fence anyways.

In my mind, in order to be successful as a naval aviator, you have to be fully committed and part of that is having some passion for naval aviation to drive that commitment... this is where I think I'm lacking. I don't ever see myself flying after my naval career nor would I even want to stay in the military longer than my 10-11 year commitment. My goal in life is to get out and pursue my real passion, which is tech. I love computers, I love programming, and I love anything and everything related.

So why did I choose to become a naval aviator? Well I got some bad gouge at the Naval Academy from an instructor who pretty much told me I wasn't qualified to go crypto or IP (by the time selection came around it turns out I would have easily gotten it) and I figured my second choice would be to go fly as I could always come back to tech later and it will be a fun and unique experience. Well now I'm debating how much I really want to fly after doing a few flights and if I would be better off DORing and hoping to get IP or crypto. Worst case for re-des would be SWO, which I would just put my head down and do 5 and dive (does my current time served count?). Worst case after that would be to get separated entirely which I could still land on my feet no problem, but I'm trying to avoid that also.

I know it's a bit early to tell, and I'm still planning on flying at least the C4200 block before making any decisions, but I worry things may not change from how they are now.
 
Last edited:

RobLyman

- hawk Pilot
pilot
None
....

In my mind, in order to be successful as a naval aviator, you have to be fully committed and part of that is having some passion for naval aviation to drive that commitment... this is where I think I'm lacking. I don't ever see myself flying after my naval career nor would I even want to stay in the military longer than my 10-11 year commitment. My goal in life is to get out and pursue my real passion, which is tech. I love computers, I love programming, and I love anything and everything related.

...
I felt the same way. Did my time in the Navy. Got out. Did programming for about 10 years. Then went back into the military.
 

Meyerkord

Well-Known Member
pilot
Have you flown again since the chair? I was in your shoes about a month ago. Got airsick all throughout the fam block into 4201 and got sent to the chair for a week. The chair was fucking awful, but it helped a lot in my case. I only got airsick one more time on an aerobatic flight. Ultimately, if it didn’t end up helping me, I probably would have been looking for other options as well, but it seemed to (relatively) clear up and I really enjoyed both my solos.

Now I just want to DOR because I’m in Instruments :D
 

Mos

Well-Known Member
None
There's another thread with a similar discussion about airsickness that is probably worth your time: https://www.airwarriors.com/community/threads/dor-outcome-question.45699/

Regarding your thoughts on career choice, I'll just say this: there's a lot about flying in general and naval aviation in particular that I find unenjoyable. Yet I've been doing it for over ten years. Our jobs don't always align with all of our hopes and dreams, but we can still make the best of it and by doing so we might find that we enjoy it more than we expect. I'm sure that there's a point where having no fun is a sign that you should do something else. But I'd recommend thinking of job satisfaction as much more than what you enjoy, and includes things like accomplishment and persistence in the face of adversity.
 
Have you flown again since the chair? I was in your shoes about a month ago. Got airsick all throughout the fam block into 4201 and got sent to the chair for a week. The chair was fucking awful, but it helped a lot in my case. I only got airsick one more time on an aerobatic flight. Ultimately, if it didn’t end up helping me, I probably would have been looking for other options as well, but it seemed to (relatively) clear up and I really enjoyed both my solos.

Not yet which is why I'm not planning on making any decisions yet, but airsickness isn't really the major reason here.

Real advice, get through Primary, then make your decision. You are in the least fun portion of your aviation training, don’t make career decisions in the middle of that.

If/When you push through and complete, make an informed decision.

Pickle

What makes Primary the least fun? What can I expect to be different afterwards?
 

Staceydemick

New Member
Hi there, I'm currently thinking about ringing that bell to DOR and I could use some advice.

Right now I'm headed into my C4200 block in Primary after a week of being in the chair. Being airsick sucks, but it's not the whole story. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure flying is for me. IFS kinda sucked for me (enjoyment wise) and I did fine on my C4100 block, got pretty good grades despite the airsickness, but at no point was I ever having fun or really enjoying myself (even the parts of the flight I wasn't dealing with airsickness). At this point, the AMSO has pretty much explained to me (based on my profile in the chair relative to other students) that the T-6 may suck due to airsickness, but I'll be able to manage and get through to hopefully fly big wing or helos. I don't know if it's going to be worth it and I want to go through that if I'm on the fence anyways.

In my mind, in order to be successful as a naval aviator, you have to be fully committed and part of that is having some passion for naval aviation to drive that commitment... this is where I think I'm lacking. I don't ever see myself flying after my naval career nor would I even want to stay in the military longer than my 10-11 year commitment. My goal in life is to get out and pursue my real passion, which is tech. I love computers, I love programming, and I love anything and everything related.

So why did I choose to become a naval aviator? Well I got some bad gouge at the Naval Academy from an instructor who pretty much told me I wasn't qualified to go crypto or IP (by the time selection came around it turns out I would have easily gotten it) and I figured my second choice would be to go fly as I could always come back to tech later and it will be a fun and unique experience. Well now I'm debating how much I really want to fly after doing a few flights and if I would be better off DORing and hoping to get IP or crypto. Worst case for re-des would be SWO, which I would just put my head down and do 5 and dive (does my current time served count?). Worst case after that would be to get separated entirely which I could still land on my feet no problem, but I'm trying to avoid that also.

I know it's a bit early to tell, and I'm still planning on flying at least the C4200 block before making any decisions, but I worry things may not change from how they are now.
I value your honesty. I’m a Commander IP who flew for about a year. I’m going to assume you want advice. I’m not sure if you care to know or hear from someone who has flown and been an IP for 14 years, and so, feel welcome to contact me on LinkedIn or other social media platforms as you deem it useful. I have a passion for flying and tech. I too had struggles in flight training but every bit was worth the challenge. Please stick with being a little uncomfortable ? and remember it gets better and better. I’m at a good place now working CIO for HR (geek issues) for the CNP, and although I have zero experience in T-6 as you have, please consider finishing what you have already started! It will help you gain valuable experience and promotion opportunities for the future.
 

FinkUFreaky

Well-Known Member
pilot
@Pags mentioned their first fun flight was their solo, and I'd echo that. Being beat up in early contacts because you suck, sucks. It gets better. Way better. Can't speak too much on the airsickness bit, just that for most people it does get better. If you haven't yet, before you DOR, TALK TO YOUR CLASS ADVISOR!

I will say that if you DOR your chances of getting anything like IP are about zero. If you med attrite, or airsickness attrite, and sometimes if you normal attrite, you often have a wide spectrum of options. Highly recommend you continue, keep trying, at the very least complete primary before making a decision like this. There are a lot of people that aviation isn't for, but I bet there are more that regret dropping too early. I don't know a single winged aviator that wishes they had DOR'd when things got tough in training.
 

Pags

N/A
pilot
@Pags mentioned their first fun flight was their solo, and I'd echo that. Being beat up in early contacts because you suck, sucks. It gets better. Way better. Can't speak too much on the airsickness bit, just that for most people it does get better. If you haven't yet, before you DOR, TALK TO YOUR CLASS ADVISOR!

I will say that if you DOR your chances of getting anything like IP are about zero. If you med attrite, or airsickness attrite, and sometimes if you normal attrite, you often have a wide spectrum of options. Highly recommend you continue, keep trying, at the very least complete primary before making a decision like this. There are a lot of people that aviation isn't for, but I bet there are more that regret dropping too early. I don't know a single winged aviator that wishes they had DOR'd when things got tough in training.
Yeah, keep in mind OP that even at its best flight school is a challenging training program so "fun" is a relative term. Flight school is meant to be hard and to push you. Everyone struggles at one point or another.
 
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