Forum: Future F-16 crew

Hello,

I am a fresh high school graduate and am curious as to what degree plan I should go with to be a fighter pilot or any pilot in the air force. I am looking at aerospace engineering right now. Would you suggest any others? Thank you so much for your time.

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Last edited by apags27 on May 23, 2006 - 11:40 PM; edited 1 time in total

Hey osubuckeyes,

The consensus around here seems to be that you can take any major you want as long as you get good grades in it, even if its underwater basketweaving. So take something your interested in. Also if you decide to get an engineering degree the Air Force might be looking for engineers so you can have a 4.0 gpa and a 99 for your pilot and nav AFOQT score and end up being an engineer in the Air Force. Also although majors should have no affect on whether you get a pilot slot or not, what classes you take could help you on the BAT or AFOQT. But I think the advice that most people will tell you is take somehting you want to do, there is no right answer for this. Best of luck to you!

Also take a look at the Future F-16 Crew section in the forums you will find alot of helpful information there.

Ok. That kinda sucks. lol. I just wasn't sure if there was another degree plan that would maybe help me more to be a pilot. So the air force just places you somewhere, engineering etc. I have no way of picking what I would like to do at all? Is there anything I should start doing now to help me on my way to being a pilot?

Well its not that you have no say in where you want to go or what you want to do in the Air Force. For the most part they will try to help you out as much as possible and try and get you to do what you want. But what is most important at the time is the needs of the Air Force. And because you are getting an engineering degree doesn't necessarily mean you will have to be an engineer, it just won't guarantee you a pilot slot. So don't be an engineer because it will help you become a pilot but instead pick something you like and will get better grades in.

The best thing you can do now is to just make sure you're in shape, get your grades up, and make friends with the staff in AF ROTC, because from what I understand they do have the biggest impact on whether you get a slot or not.

So I should be in AFROTC? I was considering doing that for my second two years at Ohio State. Does Eagle Scout help with this? I am to get that in the next month.

Well pilot slots are given out about halfway through your junior year. So if you join AFROTC your junior year the staff will only have about half a year to get to know you. Now I don't know if this is an advantage or a disadvantage but for most people i would think it would be a disadvantage. You would miss the first two years of AFROTC and two years of seeing if the Air Force is really what you want to do. You have to ask yourself if you don't get a pilot slot is the Air Force still something you want to be a part of.

I would say that being an Eagle Scout shows that you have dedication and commitment. This looks great on a resume but unless your applying for an ROTC scholarship will it help you much? I don't think so but then again I don't really know the answer to that.

But if you want your best shot to become a pilot I would recommend going through all four year of AFROTC.

If I have gotten any facts wrong someone please correct me.

OSU,
First off the AF's standards for pilots fluctuate somewhat with the times. When there's a pilot shortage they open up and vise versa. Any degree that qualifies you get a commission qualifies you to be a pilot. I have worked with fighter pilots who had Phys Ed degrees. That said engineering and math degrees are tie breakers when slots are few.

The real question and single largest filter of pilot wannabe's is medical. Get the medical qualifications from a recruiter and get examined. If you have ANY color vision or depth perception or hearing limitations you're out. No second chances, no waivers, no letters from your Congressman. If you've ever had major surgery, except for tonsils or appendicitis, you're chances are slim. Back or major knee injury...Buh Bye.

Next, to be an Officer of the United States one must be of good character. If you've ever been arrested or to Juvy court you're going to need a stack of references willing to testify that you suffered from a tragic and momentary lapse of judgement and have spent your life since that event making up for it.

Be warned!!! Even if you are an absolute specimen of American male physicality and moral recititude right now...if in the course of your college career you get hurt or in trouble you are seriously jeopardizing your chances of wearing a green speed bag.

back to school choices for a moment: Although it varies from year to year pilot training slots are allocated to the primary commissioning sources as follows: 50-55% go to AF academy grads, 30-35% go to AFROTC grads and the rest go to AF OTS grads and other academy/ROTC grads. SO...if OSU has an AF ROTC program, then joining as a freshman and DOING WELL greatly increases your chances. You could also wait a year and apply for the AF Academy (you have until age 23). Inquire as to how many pilot slots a particular ROTC program gets and compare that number to the average number of ROTC cadets per class and you have an idea of how well you have to do.

OK lets say you go to OSU, join AFROTC, graduate #1 in your class and get a pilot slot. First you get commissioned as a second lieutenant. Next you report to your UPT base. Basic pilot training in the USAF is called UPT--Undergraduate Pilot Training. You will go to either Sheppard AFB, Laughlin AFB, Columbus AFB, or Vance AFB. You will start out as 1 of 90 to 110(or so). Only 30 to 40 (or less) will graduate and of those no more than 10 will get a fighter. Again...you must graduate at or near the top of your class. UPT is 51 weeks long. About half way your class will be split into fighter and heavy/helo tracks. This split is not numerically even and WILL be based on YOUR PERFORMANCE, both flying and academic.

Lets say 2LT Buckeye makes the fighter track cut...as UPT progresses you will fill out a Dream Sheet--you will rank order the available jets in your order of preference. At graduation the top student get his or her choice of any airframe in the AF inventory. The remaining slots are awarded by class ranking until they're gone.

Lets say your class gets 12 fighter slots and you graduate #13, you're screwed right? Not necessarily here's how it works. 12 slots total--say 6ea F-16/F-117, 4ea F-15, and 2ea A-10. Grads #2, 4, 5 and 6 take the F-15 slots because they know they will eventually transition to the F-22. Grad 7's dad was a Hog driver so he takes the A-10. #3 and 8-11 take the Viper. #12 had the 15 first, Hog second, and Viper third so he gets an A-10 as well.

That leaves you and Mr. #1 and today's your lucky day. #1 surprised EVERYBODY and chose a KC-10 because his long term plan is to fly for the airlines.(Its more common than you'd think) That leaves 1 remaining slot for the F-16 and since you're next in line and it was your #1 choice you get it. IF YOU ARE FIGHTER QUAL'D BUT DO NOT
GET A SLOT YOU WILL MOST LIKELY BECOME A PILOT TRAINING INSTRUCTOR PILOT. You still have a chance to transition to a fighter after your first assignment.

Next you go to F-16 FTU Fighter Training Unit. Most likely at Luke AFB. It's a 36(ish) week course--flying the F-16 soup to nuts. From there you will go to your first operational unit where you will spend the next few months going through a series of mission upgrades to become MR or Mission Ready. You fly for grade and pass ALL the mission profiles for your particular squadron. At this point......CONGRATULATIONS!! You're now a fully fledged Viper Driver however nobody's going to take you seriously until you make Captain.

I was arrested once for a misdemeanor. Will this count me out? You could look at my grades before the offense, and after the offense are greatly changed in a good way. There is no way I could go through 4 years of afrotc, I am going to the community college for two years, after that I plan to go to afrotc. Any other suggestions of what I should do to prepare myself?

I dont know a reputable community college in the state of Ohio that doesnt have a cross town agreement with AFROTC. Look into it. What college are you going to? Owens? BGSU. Sinclaire? Wright State. They almost all have corresponding AFROTC schools. Find a near by school and ask. Chances are you can cross town to lead labs and pt if you have a reliable means of transportation.

-Aaron

Something you may want to consider is, is it possible to do a crosstown AFROTC program with a University nearby? Being arrested for a misdemeanor doesn't count you out, just makes the next step harder. And by reading how difficult it really is by to post from Arctus you don't want it much harder. Also think about what other jobs you may want to do as an officer in the Air Force besides fly. If there isn't anything else then you may want to ask yourself if it really is for you.

Remember there are other roads to become a pilot then just through ROTC. You can join the Reserves or Guard now and try to work your way up to getting an interview for a pilot slot. Also there as Arctus mention there is OTS (Officer Training School) which you can enroll in after you graduate from college but like Arctus also mentioned this makes it more difficult to get a slot as less are given out.

Can't do much to prepare yourself other then stay in shape and keep up your grades, and stay out of jail and court.

Look around this site and you'll find all the answers your looking for.

Sorry TenguNoHi, you answered before me about crosstown.

Well I am going to central texas college. After that I will try to go to ohio state. I will look into some sort of afrotc there.

Best of luck osubuckeyes!

Major doesnt matter. Try hard. Get good grades. Have a good attitude. I wouldnt be concerned about you major as long as you enjoy it and are doing well with it. If you're life long dream is to be an aeronautical engineer, then go for it, but most importantly choose something you want to do.

A reply to your second post: Say you get a degree in AE, and don't win a slot, it doesn't mean you are forced into being an engineer in the AF. The air force won't just place you somewhere, you will get to fill out a career sheet your sr year in AFROTC, which will help the air force place you somewhere where you can be the happiest. Something thing to do now that may help you get a pilots slot? If you got a some cash, and some time, maybe start working towards your Private's Pilots license.

The whole thing is kind of a gamble, but you'll put yourself in the best position by working hard, and having a good attitude. Good luck dude.

Find a major you enjoy, if GPA is all that matters, find what you enjoy so that if the excriment hits the fan, you can still do something you enjoy with your degree. Aero is hard, trust me from the inside. It's not the easiet major, but if you're going to enjoy it and work you butt off, then go for it.

BTFU

osubuckeyes wrote:

Hello,

I am a fresh high school graduate and am curious as to what degree plan I should go with to be a fighter pilot or any pilot in the air force. I am looking at aerospace engineering right now. Would you suggest any others? Thank you so much for your time.

Get any degree you want to, and then go Guard.

Forum: Future F-16 crew

What college degree should I take?