Originally Posted by
bschref
I wouldn't say that a PPL would necessarily help or hurt your chances of getting an Air Force pilot training slot. I do think, though, that the general experience in the flying world that comes with the PPL would tend to give you an edge once you're in the pilot training program.
It all depends on the individual and the amount of experience he brings into the program.
Some folks come to UPT with no flying experience...so a classmate with a PPL will initially have an advantage.
But the military trains and flys differently than most civilian operations...particularly in a training environment. Folks with previous time may find the stick and rudder part to be familiar, but the procedural part may not be.
In any case, a typical UPT class tends to sort itself out by the midway point. The initial advantage tends to all but disappear by the time the class gets to the last half...and by graduation time, it's not unusual to find little correlation between initial experience and final outcome.