workload of flight training

[devildog5901]

Hey everyone. I was just wondering about the amount of work that goes into flight training. How many hours are spent studying, how much time is spent in the classroom and how much in the air? I am a marine reservist so I'm not concerned with OCS or TBS. I'm just worried about having the attention span to make it through flight school.

Thanks

 

[bch]

It really depends on a lot of things. Such as, (for API) how good you are at memorizing and vomitting information back out. For some it takes countless hours of studying, for others, simply a once through of the book after the class.

As far as primary goes. It is all front loaded. You really have to make flying your #1 priority for a few months. There were times where I woke up, flew, then came home and studied until it was time for bed. Then the entire process repeated the next day. Then there are times where I sit for a week with nothing to do. Once you solo, things start to calm down and the studying decreases slightly. It also depends on what you want to fly. Again it comes down to how your mind works and adapts to being force fed info from a fire hose. It is a lot of work, but a lot of fun too (at least I am enjoying it).

I can't speak as to what advanced is like, seeing as how I am not there yet.

 

[reapergm]

Honestly.. what does it take to get the 18?

 

[wildflyin69]

I just plan on being top of the class and never really knowing what score everybody else had to get. lol

 

[BigWorm]

The statement about front loaded training is true. Week 1-4 of API is an academic Haz-X, week 5-6=Disneyland. Fam 1-5 I did Monday through Friday; it was the longest week of my life and that’s even comparing against OCS and TBS. At OCS and TBS, I was never afraid of attrition, where as here it is a driving factor.
It’s not that it is hard, it is just fast. You’ve got a stack of books, and come Monday you have to know everything. Unlike college, you can’t skate by with a C and then make it up on the final, you got to memorize a lot of ****.
As far as what it takes to get the F-18 - simply stated you have to have jet grades to select out of primary. They raise and lower the standard based on the needs of the military. After that, your requests, your grades, recommendations, etc all go into the magic box. They’ll raise or lower your grades based off instructors, squadrons, etc… Basically solid performance, and then luck.
With the attention span, mine has always been low. I would always fuk off while receiving the order to attack the Montoyan forces in the TBS highlands. Once I got here, I didn’t have the attention span problems. It’s a lot more exciting, and means more, which I suppose it what makes it easier to follow the material.

 

[bch]

Something very important to point out. Just becuase you might have jet grades and are "god's gift to aviation", does not always garuantee that you will get 18's (if that is what you are wanting). Needs of the service will always come first. There have been weeks where guys went to select and there was were no jet slots awarded.

I am no saying this to discourage anyone, however you need to go into it, knowing that there is a good chance that you might not get your first choice and end up flying something that you thought that you didn't want to.

 

[airwinger]

In flight school, I think the phrase "I'd rather be lucky than good is very applicable." As pointed out above, there are people that didn't get their first choice despite(or in a couble of cases because of) superb performance. I know of several guys that got a 65 and wound up with helos and some that got a 50.* that wound up in jets(one wanted them, the other did everything he could not to, but got em anyway.)