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Old 07-30-2012, 08:22 AM
  #21  
rickair7777
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Originally Posted by utroyalwulff View Post
thanks you guys i have learned alot. if you can think of anything else i would appreciate it.

So if we were to make a list of important things to do in the next few years:

-Dont plan on major in aviation unless its aerospace engineering, have a back up in something else
-stay in the CAP program and try to find out if they AFROTC at his HS
-doing it through the military or reserve is a good way to do it if ends up being what he wants to do.
-have him work on his private pilots license. Im hoping the the CAP program can get us some contacts on this.

I like the CAP program, its seems to be a pretty good deal. He has only been involved for a couple months so far. Have all of you that have been involved in this program feel it was time well spent?

Thanks
For the military, it is of course not simply another means of obtaining flight training...it is a serious commitment involving more than just flying and about ten years of your life (after college). I bring that up because wannabe pilots often have the aptitude for military service. But he needs to make sure that's doing that for the right reasons.

If you're pretty sure about the military, the next decision is active duty vs. guard/reserves.

The AD vs. guard vs. OCS/OTS has a couple tradeoffs...

Acemdy/ROTC. You can get college paid for with an ROTC (or service academy) scholarship but that will commit you to approx five years AD even if you don't get a flight slot. Even if you do get a flight slot, you might still end up in helos or UAVs.

OCS/OTS. Do college on you own (and pay for it) and then apply for a flight slot. Advantage is that you don't have to accept if they don't offer a flight slot. Disadvantages are that opportunities are limited for this route, priority goes to Academy/ROTC grads. Again, you might still end up in helos or UAVs.

Guard/Reserve. Do college on you own, then apply to guard/reserve units. This way you know exactly what you'll be flying (whatever that unit flys) and after about 2 years active-duty for training you can go part-time and progress your civilian career in parallel. This may be the best-kept secret in military aviation but it is competitive.

High School ROTC may not be the best path to a commission/scholarship. You need good grades (in challenging subjects and AP), athletic participation, and good test scores. If you still have time for HS ROTC after all that, fine. The guys who focus on HS ROTC usually end up enlisting.

Last edited by rickair7777; 07-30-2012 at 08:43 AM.
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