Originally Posted by
runge
Also: Quasi-related question. I was told that 10 years reserve duty is the minimum for a Air Force Reserve pilot. Does the 10 years start as soon as I go full time (e.g. when I start OTS), or does the 10 year countdown begin after I finish UPT?
When I signed 5 years ago it was 10 years from UPT Graduation, basically 12 years total.
Keep in mind, the reason the commitment is so long and people expect so much of you is that landing an AF Reserve pilot slot off the street is the Aviation equivalent of winning the lottery. Your training costs $1.1 Million per pilot, and you also get your Commercial pilot license, something that now costs close to $50,000-100,000 in the civilian world. For every pilot, there is on average 50 applicants after his slot.
The weekend stuff is bogus as it relates to pilots. In fact, unless you are on an out-of-town trip, you rarely fly a local training sortie on a weekend. Your weekend drill is usually for ground training, although you can "reschedule" and use those days to fly during the week.