Air Force or Commercial??
 

Hi everybody!! I'm new here and thought I would say hi. I was wondering if somebody could give me the pros and cons with the Air Force and commercial flying. Right now I'm really not sure which route to take. I am 17 and going to a community college working towards my AA degree in business. I should graduate in the spring of 2009. I am also graduating high school this spring. A year early because of college. I also have my student pilot license. I should get my private here pretty soon. I have about 108 hours of flight time. Really the only thing that I can think that will disqualify me from the Air Force is my vision. I do have contacts and a very slight color defciency with red and green. I do not have any waivers on medical. Thankfully! I can pick out every number in that color blindness book thing. I just take awhile to do it. I have to run my finger on the page to figure out the number. Try to figure out the pattern.

If anybody has any questions please let me know! Thank you everybody!

you have 108 hours of flying but do not have your private lic? Excuse my lack of Gen Av smarts, is that because you are not 18 yet?

As for your orig question, you obviously have the means to fly privately for training, have as many hours a primary military student would have, if you went mil you would have to get your BA/BS to get a commision, and then deal with getting a pilot spot on top of that, i'd say you are ahead of the game Gen Av wise and should continue that route if you have the money. you could be flying regionals in 5 years or so, if you go mil, you wont be able to fly commercially for at least 15 years from right now (assuming approx 10 years in the mil)....meaning you wont be a college grad until age 22, and then will take 2 to 4 years in training, then the 7-9 year commitment to the military....

so if you desire to fly military A/C, persue it as you see fit, if you just want to fly for a living....go the other route

Cherokee,

I don't even want to touch the color blindness issue. All I can say on that topic is "I don't know how that will affect your goal of military flying." What I can say is talk to the Dr. that did your medical. If he can't answer the question on your eyes, he will know who can.

As far as other qualifications: You will need three things. 1) Bachelor's Degree 2) Commission as a military officer (Bachelor's degree is required to commission 3) Pilot slot.

How to get these:
1) Bachelor's Degree - pretty self explanatory...go to an accredited university or a military academy
2) Commission - This can be obtained 3 ways. 1) one of the military academies 2) ROTC or 3) OTS Links for information are found below.
3) Pilot slot - you compete with your peers for a ticket to pilot school about 1 year before you complete your Bachelor's degree.

USAFROTC
NAVY ROTC
USAF Academy
Naval Academy

If you want to fly choppers, give the Army ROTC and West Point a look.

There's MUCH more information available to you to help you plan your career. If you have more questions, post on here or PM me. There are a lot of military guys on here who can offer some great advice and wisdom, but this should get you started.

I can't get my private yet because I don't have my solo x-countries done yet. I already passed the private pilot written test. I'll be 18 when I graduate with an AA degree. I'm doing the duel enrollment with the college. I started college when I was 16. I should also make this a little more clear. I can see red and green fine. I can tell the red and green on the wing tip easy at night. I can fly at night with no problem reading or looking at the instruments.

I would like to serve our country but I'm not sure if I could pass the physical. I think it would be a rush to fly formation, break the sound barrier, or whatever. Those are some of the things I would really love to do. I don't really have a set plane I want to fly in the military. Just as long as it's a fighter or bomber.

Which is the best for becoming an officer: AFROTC or OTS?

If you go in the Air Force you will incur 10 year commitment after pilot training is completed... if you go the civilian route it will take a few less years to get the credentials/hours but will cost you alot of money/time... big question is do you WANT TO SERVE your country... if so, go AF.

Cherokee,
The biggest hurdle that you'll have to face is your vision. I'd find a flight doc that understands the military medical. I've known guys to pass an FAA class I, but fail Brooks AFB. If you want to persue the military option, don't forget the guard and reserve. These are both great options that will give you the military training without the fulltime committment. You will save money and can get to a major about as fast as going to the regionals. However, don't forget that nothing in this world is free, especially Freedom. If you raise your hand make sure that you are ready to do your duty. You will still need a 4 year degree in somthing to get hired by a guard or reserve unit. Good luck with your decision, I think that your eyes have made it for you.

MBB

Get a medical opinion of some one who understands the nut cutting vision requirements of the military. Are they fair...probably not. In your case of you have trouble discerning green at night...that could be a BIG problem. The airline ranks are full of guys who for some stupid reason couldnt pass an AF or Navy or Army Flight physical but can easily pass an FAA class I......good luck.

That's the thing. I CAN tell the diference between red/green easily. I tested myself using a WAC. It had the red/green mixed in together and I picked out the difference very easily. I had my mom check me to see if I was right and I was right.

And yes, I would like to serve in the military. I'm going to make a trip out to Boise, Idaho with a friend that's in the ANG. BTW, is there anybody here that's stationed in Boise, Idaho?

Active Duty? WHY?
 

Dude,

Find an ANG or Reserve unit. Active Duty sucks, the guard and reserve don't. You will need to earn a Bachelor's degree, make pretty good grades, get hired by the reserve or guard, score well on the AFOQT (Air Force Officer Qualification Test), pass the medical exam (like the previous dudes wrote, contact an AF flight surgeon for a thorough color exam, the reserve and guard have plenty of flight docs that would be glad to speak with you), and off you go to OTS (Officer Training School) for 12 weeks and out you pop a second lieutenant. If you go guard, 6 weeks of the guard "academy" and out you pop a 2d Lt.

Then you go to SUPT for 54 weeks then off to follow-on training (anywhere from 6 to 9 months), then back to your guard or reserve unit full-time for 2 to 3 years, or more, if you wish. Then you can become a part-timer if you so desire and you have just bypassed all of the active duty misery.

Good Luck!