Originally Posted by
F15andMD11
I'll try to answer your questions:
First, forget about the aircraft in your picture, the AF is getting rid of them, too expensive.
I'm not sure if the UAV only pilot training track is up and running yet. But that may be worth keeping an eye on.
You are going to have to attend OTS so consider going to UPT and then decide what you want to do. You already have more flying experience than half the people who go to UPT. Don't sell yourself short.
Yes there are a lot of slots and competition would be minimal. However that is not the case for senior pilots trying to get in. People are realizing the UAVs are the future and a way into the civilian sector. I would not wait for the civilian sector to pick up.
Where do you live? The National Guard has a few bases that fly them and they may have slots.
I live in San Diego. My closest ANG is March ARB which i believe has the 196th unit? which is apart of the 163rd recon. However they only operate the MQ drone and want to get the reaper but because of budget cuts they are concerned about their likelihood. I wouldn't mind flying actual manned aircraft in the AF but I would rather choose UAV because of the chance in the long term run of civilian use in the NAS ( if it gets developed and passed, who knows what will happen 20-30 years from now). From what I hear AZ and NV are the place to be for ANG UAV careers. I wish i had more information on this kind of stuff so I can make a realistic decision on my career path. I still have prob a year before I earn my degree, but I would like to prepare for my decision asap. I feel like there is a newer generation of pilots specifically suited for UAV operation and I would love to be apart of it. I never grew up wanting to be a pilot, I actually wanted to get into computers before I came to being a professional pilot, so maybe thats why I'm more passionate about the UAV sector than a lot of pilots who go or want to go into the AF or any other branch.