How To Become A Fighter Pilot - Part One (Definitions) 

Ha, I was just thinking the same thing. If this was only available 30 years ago

20 years ago this guy was in the same position as you...

No 1000 hours on DCS iam the qualified one

@@InhaleMyAcid And I have several hours on rortos flight simulator

Lol. War thunder, cute

@@MagikMako omg revived my 3 yr old comment lol, its 3000 hours now, gonna become red baron of the government drone program soon

Gonna be trickshotting Su-57s IRL sooner or later

Michael R. Did he make it?

Michael R. Did he make it

and...what happened?

@@everettprefontaine9390 Well, the airforce has made changes to the vision requirements...my son has been in contact with MEPs and they classify him MSDC30..(stable) (waiver ok)unrestricted. so this should hit all of the armed forces..he can now fly for the airforce.. ...No surgery needed...but now he is saying he will continue working on his commercial ratings (he has a faa class1)and look into a guard unit.just turned 25..He is a aerospace engineer for Boeing..Never give up !!!

@@michaelr.7054 Is he in? Did he make it to that Guard squadron? What does he fly?

Thanks for the updated info!

Best of luck man! Praying that you get where you want

why would you get a private pilot license if you're going to have to relearn all that? (actually a question not trying to degrade you)

@@liltez5786 I like to fly as a hobby and it's good to have a foundation of flying early on if it's what you want to do. If you have a pilot licence you get to skip the first phase of IPT since you already have a foundation and knowledge of flight. I am also enlisted in the Air Force and when I send up my package, i also stand a better chance to be selected since I have a pilot license. When you take the AFOQT and TBAS because you have flight hours your PCSM score will be higher as well.

@@eduedu7986 okay awesome! I'm working on my bachelors degree in aviation. working on joining AFROTC. Good luck as your pursue your dream!

does the GI Bill/ being enlisted help with paying for your PPL?

Lol

Im 22 with no degree. So Imagine my dilemma

I don’t think it’s too long even it your 27 now

Zachary Taylor same here! What plane do you want to fly?

Good luck!

How is that working out? I’m wanting to do the same

@@captaincobra4578 after studying to apply for OCS I scored around average and needed a much higher score to be considered for a pilot spot. I started studying again (you can take the test a max of three times) but found that a general aviation route to the airlines would better suite me in the long run. So I went down that route. I love the idea of being a navy aviator! Just didn’t fully fit for me

I’m a lead Welder for a Pipeline Company, I’m ditching to enlist now. You’re not the only one brother

How’s that goin?

@@M16music69 gave up on it.

@@mitchellmitchell6938 aww dam man

@@M16music69 I know. Honestly life has worked out pretty good for me but I think I’ll regret it for a long time

Good luck!

Yes, you could apply off the street to an OTS board. Or find a Guard/Reserve unit to hire you.

Get good grades. Get into a good college and study hard. Get your private pilot's license if you can.

Hey mate, you can join the RAAF either through ADFA (Australian Defence Force Academy or Direct Entry after you finish high school. Here is a link to the website with differences between the 2 and detailed information about pilot training. Hope it helps. www.defencejobs.gov.au/jobs/air-force/pilot

School grades, physical and cognitive fitness are important!

Afterburner Club can you fly with any deformities?

Yes, I will do that. I highly recommend Guard/Reserve though.

C.W. Lemoine awesome thank you!

Almost like explain the basics for each phase

Will do!

Good luck! The Age Waiver has been happening more lately from what I'm hearing. Make them tell you no!

Get a college degree first. Apply to ROTC if your school has it.

I believe he was MARINES based, and they don't have to be CQ'ed. Only NAVY pilots, carrier based- have to be CQ'ed.

There is not. Four year degree is required to be an officer. Have to be an officer to fly.

@@CWLemoine do you have to be mega smart I'm kinda average I probably well meet the physical stuff but can you do Rotc in Pensacola Christian academy or what ever you have to do in college ill fly any jet but I've got a long Time to study as I'm a freshmen in high school

Unfortunately I did not.

Doesn't change anything.

Sounds like you're on track! As you get closer to graduation, start looking into when that unit is having UPT boards.

Yes! Absolutely. Even if you don't get into the academy, you can still go active duty via an off the street OTS board or ROTC in college. You could also apply to and serve in a Guard/Reserve unit.

@@CWLemoine Oh well that's great news, thank you very much for your words of advice! I've got my goals set and I'm ready to do everything I need to and more in order to achieve them, thanks again!

Unfortunately not. All AF, Navy, and Marine pilots have degrees.

FreedomUnits talk to a recruiter specifically a Officer recruiter but I’m gonna tell you right now your gonna need 4 years of college if you want to do OTS if you want to do ROTC I would find out what squadron is near you and call them and work from there if you want to go to the academy I’m pretty sure you still go to the recruiter and see how to apply likely if you don’t have a gov official to recommend you then you won’t get it so your best bet is the first two

Look at a University that you want to go to and see if they have an ROTC Unit there and talk to that unit. They more than likely can get you going down the right path. That is the easiest way. There is also tons of stuff online on how to apply to an academy. If you don't want to go into the Air Force without a guaranteed pilot slot, then look at OTS. Another awesome option is the PLC program with the Marines. They guarantee you a pilot slot as long as you get a 4 year degree get through OCS and pass their PT Test. If you can't accomplish those requirements, then you don't owe the Marines anything. - Current Viper Pilot

Theres never a guarantee in this business. The Marines and OTS provide guaranteed pilots slots. The marines have enough fighter pilots though and would most likely have you fly helicopters. Otherwise get a bachelor's degree while in ROTC or goto OTS. Do your very best to be competitive and if your #1 you'll most likely get your dream job.

Check out our channel :)!

Tell him not to give up. Make them tell him no. Apply to guard/reserve units and OTS boards. All is not lost just yet.

WILL DO ! He just turned 23, we will have all paperwork on hand.I guess [since this is uncharted territory] we will be contacting a recruiter...

From the video I believe he said you can find a position in a reserve unit, but you need to have completed college and it would be good to have your private pilot with instrument done.

Go to college. You need a degree whichever route you go. ROTC (what I did) is nice because you can get a scholarship and get paid to go to school. OTS will not pay your loans nor will the reserves or ANG. I did 13 years in the active duty and am now full time in the ANG, so I’ve seen both sides. There’s pros and cons to each path as Mover discussed. Am I glad to be in the ANG now? Yes. Would I trade my experiences gained in active duty for anything? No. If you live near a fighter ANG unit or Reserve unit, check it out. It all depends on their hiring processes though. Timing is everything regardless of which commissioning path you take. I can tell you my squadron is doing a hiring board next month, which we had about 80 applicants for maybe 2 slots, so it is competitive. Recently there has been a fighter pilot shortage, so at SUPT they have been giving out ALOT of fighter assignments, but that goes in waves. I found out junior year of college I got a pilot slot, which was just after committing to commission, so it’s a leap of faith. Even still, the Captain in our SUPT T-38 class got picked for pilot training while on active duty, so there’s always a way to SUPT if you are determined to get there.

I say national guard right after you graduate then do college. Guard is 2 days of work every month, with some 3-6 month deployments not often though. Then while your in get to know some pilots, maybe get your pilots license, then you could commission and hope you get a pilot slot

Enlist for free college, then go to ocs. Or, you could put in a packet for the army warrant officer flight school if you want to fly helicopters right after high school

V stands for fix wing I believe and then F is fighter and A is attack. Before the strikefighters it was just VF. Basically VFA -XXX is strikefighter squadron XXX. Or so I've been told

Makes sense. Thanks

Wilson Arterberry bomber assignments are given to T-38 students. So from the T-38 track you can get a fighter, bomber, or FAIP historically. For a few classes when the fighter pipeline (IFF and B courses) were backed up they gave heavies to some T-38 students based on availability. SUPT (specialized undergraduate pilot training) used to just be called UPT, in which everyone just went through T-38s.

It took me about two years from OTS to arriving at my squadron.

No, they're not all full time. Only AGR/Technician (ART) or some form of orders are full time.

xXOctavianXx coming from another crew chief you’d probably be better doing OTS because you don’t have college however try and get some flight time first and finish your degree

It depends. Air Force Academy gets the majority of the pilot slots and ROTC/OTS gets the remainder. I will let you know though, ROTC always gets more pilot slots compared to OTS. You have better chances of getting a pilot slot from ROTC/an Academy (even West Point) over OTS. Also some school are better at getting more slots over other schools. When I went through ROTC at Embry Riddle, about 80% of the cadets were given either Nav, ABM or pilot slots, which is exponentially higher than any other school. things might have changed since I commissioned.

Get your degree. Apply to your home unit. Best of all worlds.

Dude, I recommend getting your degree and applying to the Badgers. Stop in the squadron and let the guys know you’re interested. Having been a crew chief in the unit pulls some weight when it comes time to apply. If for whatever reason (timing or otherwise) it doesn’t work out you could apply either to a different unit or OTS. Otherwise you could do ROTC while in school or apply to the USAF academy if you want to.

Mid 20s probably. I was 25 when I finished F-16 school.

It took me two days when I went through the Viper profile (had just come back from SERE). Certain fighters are 9Gs, some are less. The A-10 profile is the same as the T-38C IIRC.

Sounds to me like you should go to T-1s then (not that there’s anything wrong with that).

Work hard. Keep your mouth shut. Fly T-38s. You'll have many girlfriends. Chicks dig fighter pilots.

Rule #1, don't be a douche. Then "Work hard. Keep your mouth shut. Fly T-38s. You'll have many girlfriends. Chicks dig fighter pilots." Pure Gold.

@@CWLemoine Thank you sir. I always try and remember the saying "You have two ears and one mouth". Girlfriends shouldnt necessarily be an issue I have one now that I couldn't imagine being without. I'm mainly just curious about the different lifestyles that each path offers. Your videos are very helpful!

@@trevorhartsock4768 Don't be a douche can be applied to every career field. Very good tip👍

No. Degree doesn't really matter as much as GPA

Yes. I've heard many instances of that happening.

So would you say the best chance of getting a pilot slot is through ROTC?

I'd say your absolute best chance is the Air Force Academy. ROTC really depends on the size of the school. Your best shot at a guaranteed fighter is Guard/Reserve.

So if I go to A&M and do ROTC there how would I get a pilot slot through guard/reserve?

You wouldn't. You could apply to Guard/Reserve units while in ROTC, but once you get to your Senior year in ROTC, I believe you are committed.

Doing the unit's mission? Zero. Involuntarily mobilized to go do powerpoint with the Army in the desert? Much more likely.

I want to be deployed, IDK what you're on about

Why not go for pilot?

@@CWLemoine It always just looked more appealing to me. I am really interested in all the weapon systems and jobs that go along with the back seat of a Hornet. Also, it seems a little bit more realistic for me, as they don't have to micromanage quite as much, not saying that an NFO doesn't have to work hard, but he doesn't have to constantly have laser focus on the flight instruments as much as a pilot would have. (hope that makes sense)

Sorry man I don't have any advice for you. I'd do everything I could to be a pilot.

@@CWLemoine Ok, I'm going to try for pilot, but I wouldn't be upset if I got NFO. This video was very helpful by the way. Thanks.

Worry about getting a fighter slot first. No need to get wrapped up about what you'll fly this early in the game.

C.W. Lemoine thanks for the response👍🏽

I got my PPL just after I turned 19. Check out my video "How did I become a fighter pilot"

Datrumpster Donald if they have ROTC at the college you’re going to (or nearby detachment you could go to), I’d do that (or at least try it). I got an AFROTC scholarship out of high school and got paid to go to college. You can also apply for a scholarship while in college if you don’t get one right out of high school. OTS doesn’t pay for school, but you’d know before committing you have a pilot slot. In ROTC you commit after sophomore year and find out mid to late junior year that you got a pilot slot. They give out plenty of slots in ROTC though, so if you get good grades and do well on your fitness tests, you have a good chance of getting one.

Deuce Dufresne how did you get an AFROTC scholarship out of high school?

Rule #1: use the infinite powers of Google to find out what the unit you're interested in flies first.

@@CWLemoine Appreciate the response. Looks like we only fly the C-130. And Kentucky doesn't really have a reserve location. Might have to relocate. Thanks again. Informative vids.

Current rule is you have to start pilot training by your 30th birthday. You need to get that degree ASAP though.

@@CWLemoine thank you for the response