Will I fit into jets or other carrier planes? What are the other communities like?

[Big-Z]

I am new to posts on here. I'm a MIDN at Purdue University and will receive my commission here 14 May. I have been selected for SNA and am very happy about that but I do have a question. I, just like almost everybody who goes to Navy Flight School, want to be flying jets off of a carrier.

I know that it'll be difficult to get a slot and not to be narrow minded, a naval aviator is better than anything, but I just want to know if I'll fit into jets. I'm 76" tall. I've looked at other posts about anthropometrics but am still a little confused. When I was at PAX River this past winter I got into several different cockpits (i.e. T-45A and an F/A-18F Sim). I was worried about how cramped it was. The only cockpit that felt great was the F-14s but I know they're going away. I know that I'm big for the T-45 but will that keep me out of the jet community? I also didn't fit perfectly into the F/A-18F sim but how accurate are they in layout? I've heard that there is the possibility of waivers? Any info would be helpful.

Also, I was wondering what the general feeling is about those out there that desperately wanted jets but got helos or props, like a hawkeye. How much fun is everyone having in the different type of aircraft with their different missions?

Thanks again...Hooyah Navy!!!

 

[bch]

I do not know the anthro specs so I am not going to BS you... that being said... If you already know you cannot fit into the T-45, then you can't fly jets. It is the ONLY advanced trainer used by the navy to train pilots for jets now. There are a few dudes still flying the T-2 but that is going away and no one new is going into it.

Oh and Helos ROCK!!!

 

[Agent00JP]

No matter what anyone says on here, you will not know what platforms you are excluded from until you get a NACES(?)(pronounced naycees) report from your NAMI flight physical. Period. Your comfort, or lack there of, in the jet doesn't necessarily mean they will DQ you from it. Good luck.

 

[American_Ace]

Your sitting height matters more than your standing height because if you ever have to eject and your canopy doesn't come off then you'll break the plexi-glass with your head instead of your chair.

 

[kmac]

A quick unoffical way to tell if you're too big is to sit as far back in the T-45 seat (with the back pad all the way aft) and see if your knees would clear the dash if you were to punch out. The Navy doesn't like to put people in a plane that will cause you to lose your legs upon ejection. That being said, they love to put ME in a plane that doesn't have any parachutes!

 

[EODDave]

We have guys taller than you here flying the T-45. A buddy of mine is in Kingville and is 6'3 or 4 and a good 240. There are guys here in Meridian that are atleast that big. You will only know when you get your anthro measurements at NAMI. Like some of the above post said. Its not your overall height. Its all the other measurements.

Dave

 

[Pete]

Its difficult to tell if you fit for jets or any other aircraft by sitting in the cockpit. I'm sure if you talk to most people the first time sitting in the T-45 they probably felt fairly cramped, but eventually you adjust. As for the anthro, being eliminated from most of the trainers is not too common. I know guys who are 6' 6" and are headed to the Hornet RAG, so you shouldn't have too much to worry about. As for the 'clear the dash' test, you can't tell by just sitting in the cockpit... trust me on that one, otherwise I wouldn't have fit in the T-45. The most common restriction for ejection seat in jets is probably the Prowler -- you'll see that most guys over 6' are restricted from that because of their sitting height. In the end, that's probably clear as mud, but it is not something to sweat AT ALL. Good luck.

 

[kmac]

Pete are you saying that your legs would have been cut off in the T-45? I just know of a guy who had to attrite from jets because of that cause (it wasn't until he was already flying that an instructor saw his size and figured it out).

 

[HooverPilot]

KMAC- Are you being a little loose with your terminology? I can't believe that we would attrite someone for not fitting in the t-45. I would think that they would just be NPQ'ed from that platform and offered another route, I.E. Helo's or Maritime.

 

[cindy]

In the not too distant past, if you were too tall, you could get a waiver. If you were too big for Strike Fighter you could get P3, or something else.

No more. No more waivers and no more single pipeline. Loads of folk here at API that NAMI NPQ'd are being sent home, even USNA grads, even after they were intially told they were qualified. Unfair, but hey!

Not a problem for NFO though!

 

[grose3]

Bad Gouge Cindy. My pre-commissioning physical stated NPQ for jet pipeline (JUL 2003), and my NAMI NACES report also stated NPQ for jet pipeline. I am too big for the T-45. I just finished API 3 weeks ago, and now am in primary. My choices are Maritime or Helo's.

 

[cindy]

Thanks grose3. Would seem like uneven treatment. I know personally 3 folk NPQ'd for SNA (offered SNFO) and have heard of several more. Will pass that on.

They were told: No more single pipeline and no more waivers.

Good Luck!

 

[EODDave]

There is a difference between single pipeline and just being NPQ'd for one of the 3.

Dave

 

[cindy]

Sorry Dave, I misspoke. At least one was told; NPQ for any pipeline for height was NPQ for all. Told "new policy". No waivers, at all. Period. That is obviously not true.

 

[kmac]

Yeah sorry about the terminology... maybe someone in Kingsville knows what I'm talking about. Fortunately he was able to transfer to Helo's back in Pensacola. I ran into him on an air nav cross country back in September. It's still a crappy situation for him.