To any military pilots out there, I am a 26 years old in relatively good shape and have 2800 hours, have a Bachelors degree and got OK grades while in college I believe my GPA was around 2.94. What would be my honest chances of becoming an Air Force Pilot I understand that you must be in flight school by 30, how long does it take to get a flight slot usually. Just looking at all the options available to me, plus I just saw the F22 in action What a bad a** aircraft.
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The entry age varies based on need, but is usually 28-30. You need to find out for sure from a pilot recruiter (not the Sgt. at the strip recruiting office). You need to get moving if you're going to do it...it takes 1-2 years to get a slot.
2.94 GPA might be marginal, unless your major was technical (engineering, hard science).
You never know until you apply. You must be in pilot training by your 30th birthday w/o a waiver (which are very rare). Ricks right, you need to get moving if you want to get in. I wouldn't worry about your GPA, that's what I had and it worked for me.
You need to take the AFOQT and TBAS (hand-eye coordination test) and start talking to a recruiter and again as Rick said, a pilot recruiter. Better yet call up your local guard unit, this is by far your best option, but I'm a little bias . Most of my classmates would kill to be in the guard right now.
Here is a state by state listing of all the guard units.
Since you already have a Bachelor's Degree, the only route you could go to Active-Duty would be through Officer Traiing School, or OTS.
My understanding is that OTS is not taking many candidates at this time, and there are very few pilot candidates in that small pool. To be honest, I don't know the process for OTS--it may start with a recruiter, but I would be careful. Try looking OTS up on-line, or try baseops.net--an excellent site for military reference.
The other route would be Air National Guard or Air Force Reserve. Generally thought of as "part-time Air Force," they have their own way of getting you through a school similar to OTS.
The difference between the Guard and Reserve: the Guard is under the control of that state's Governor (until activated in time of war, where control goes to the President), and is funded by that state.
The Reserves are always under operationaly control of the President, and is funded Federally. Other than that, it is transparent to you.
Keep in mind that in this day and age, "part-time" almost doesn't apply--the Guard and Reserves deploy as much as the active-duty guys.
There are many posts in this forum on the same subject over the last 2-3 months.
BTW, your GPA is fine.
Make sure you want to serve your country and are mentally willing to contribute to the death of our enemies--because whether you fly a fighter, bomber, or cargo plane, that's what it ultimately is all about.
To any military pilots out there, I am a 26 years old in relatively good shape and have 2800 hours, have a Bachelors degree and got OK grades while in college I believe my GPA was around 2.94. What would be my honest chances of becoming an Air Force Pilot I understand that you must be in flight school by 30, how long does it take to get a flight slot usually. Just looking at all the options available to me, plus I just saw the F22 in action What a bad a** aircraft.
Why limit yourself to the Air Farce?
The Navy and the Marine Corps both offer guaranteed flight contracts. The Air Force used not offer this and to the best of my knowledge still don’t.
Additionally, the Air Force is having its budget and manning cut, the Navy is steady, and the Marine Corps is increasing in size.
Additionally, the Navy / Marine Corps will wave a good portion of required flight school flights for proven aviators.
If you go guard you'll need to do all of your crap (i.e. AFOQT,BAT,etc) ASAP as it takes time to get an interview date (provided they are looking for a "UPT trainee-see RI ANG, NY ANG), you could be in the interview process for up to a year, maybe less depending on the unit. Generally you'll need to be 28 before the selection board meets. If you want fighters in the ANG it usually takes some time maybe 3-4 fighter slots per year in the whole ANG. Airlift slots are a little easier to come by. Upon being selected you'll attend drill and get a date for AMS (Academy of Military Science) which is basically OTS condensed in 6 weeks, then onto UPT.
Good luck!
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If you go guard you'll need to do all of your crap (i.e. AFOQT,BAT,etc) ASAP as it takes time to get an interview date (provided they are looking for a "UPT trainee-see RI ANG, NY ANG), you could be in the interview process for up to a year, maybe less depending on the unit. Generally you'll need to be 28 before the selection board meets. If you want fighters in the ANG it usually takes some time maybe 3-4 fighter slots per year in the whole ANG. Airlift slots are a little easier to come by. Upon being selected you'll attend drill and get a date for AMS (Academy of Military Science) which is basically OTS condensed in 6 weeks, then onto UPT.
Good luck!
You know something I don't? It's usually 1-2 per year per squadron. It way more than 3-4 per year guard wide!
You know something I don't? It's usually 1-2 per year per squadron. It way more than 3-4 per year guard wide!
You may know something I don't...however wantscheck showed about 4 fighter slots for 2008... 2007 on the other hand had around 7 fighter slots and a lot of other airframes. Some slots were for rated pilots already, as ANG gets a specific number of UPT slots per year and it trickles down. The local unit 125FW, sends about 1-2 every 2-3 years
Does your unit have 1-2 UPT trainee slots per year?
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