Originally Posted by
AZFlyer
Guys thanks so much for all the great feedback.
By the sounds of it, I'm guessing I would end up being okay after a few rides.
Now if I could convince you guys to humor me with a few more questions.
What is the actual day to day lifestyle like of a Mil pilot? Obviously the flying will be different between heavy and fighter types, but are you doing grueling training missions on a very regular basis or are there opportunities for down time/free time/recreation?
I ask because I have this notion in my head that all military jobs (grunt to pilot) involve long difficult days, short nights with poor sleep, 7 days a week! (Maybe I've watched too many movies!)
And if it makes a difference, flying Navy is my first choice, if the cards fall just right.
edit: Are there ever times/places where civilians that are interested in pursuing this career can actually meet and speak to current pilots?
The day to day lifestyle depends on a wide variety of factors: service, aircraft type, sea/shore duty rotation (Navy anyway), operational squadron vs. training squadron, etc. It just goes on. There is no typical day for a military pilot. There may be a typical day for me at my current job or another guy at his current job, but I would say the one constant is that you will actually spend more time in front of a stupid computer than you do flying (at least for fighters). All the brief prep, debrief, lectures, etc.
Time off will depend on optempo. At my school where I'm an instructor I will work 14 hour days 6 days a week during exercises. Non major exercise months can be pretty chill, but sometimes we have other commitments as well. This week, I will probably be gone by 3pm every day. Tough to say.
If you want to talk to an active duty military pilot you have to meet one. You can't go to a recruiter because they won't know crap about it. And if you do meet one and talk to him, he know a lot about his area of flying and, depending on how experienced he is, he will know some of other communities and services.