OdeToMemory

I'm sure this isn't the first time you've been asked, but what is the best route to be a pilot (preferably Navy)? I'm thinking Navy ROTC in college, double major in engineering and aerospace (thoughts? Or should I just do my ratings at an FBO?) and enlisting as an officer. Does anyone know what path will get me in a cockpit? I wouldn't care about what I would fly, and fighters would be out of the question, because I'm 6'6''.

EvilGN

getting ratings at an FBO and "commisioning" as an officer will not get you a pilot spot. There are 3 ways to become a Naval Officer from the position you are in, ROTC, Naval Academy, or finish college and do OCS. the first two have no guarantees to being a pilot, you have to do well, be involved in many activities, and then get selected for a pilot spot. For OCS you have to finish college and go to a recruiter and then get selected for a pilot spot prior to going to OCS. And yes, being that tall may keep you out of the jet, so you are looking at P-3's/E-6s/and ALL helos. Maybe E-2/C-2 but someone else will have to answer that one.

milky

They pretty much waiver anything these days, so I wouldn't sweat the height that much. As far as getting a commission, the ROTC scholarship is a pretty good way to go. Free college and not quite the BS of the academy. I don't recommend double majoring, though. You'll have enough fun with one major and the added duties of being a MIDN. An engineering degree with good grades will go a lot farther than a double major with mediocre grades. You don't need to study aerospace anything to be a pilot. Good grades, strong math/science, you'll be almost certain to get a pilot slot.

As an aside, I spent a little cash while I was at college flying at the Navy flying club at Dobbins getting my private. I did it for fun, not because it was in any way going to help me get a pilot slot. I will say that having some comfort in the airplane will help you A LITTLE TINY BIT in the very beginning of flight training, but pretty negligible overall. I just did it because I wanted to fly girls to places on dates (I'm sure you can figure out why). Flying is a lot more expensive now than when I was a MIDN (98-99 flying at the flying club), so I would only do it if you have spare cash on hand.

DON'T go in debt to fly. It's STUUUUUPPPPIIIIDDDD!!! Was I clear? Going the military route is a great way to do something fun, see the world, and get all your hours for 'free.' There is obviously some downside to it, but listening to RJ pilots on here makes me think that living on a carrier is probably better than being at a regional. Just my opinion. Hope that helps. If you need any more advice, feel free to PM or ask away on here.

zondaracer

As far as double majoring, only double major if that what you REALLY want to do and you are going to get stellar grades. Your gpa is pretty important when competing for this kind of stuff. I know guys in NROTC who got pilot slots with geology degrees, business degrees, psychology degrees, so don't think you necessarily have to have an engineering degree. Study something that interests you first, if it is engineering then go for it.

roadwarrior

6'6" is not too tall to fly fighters. Get good grades in something other than basket-weaving, and you're good to go.

As for the commissioning track, OCS (formerly AOCS) is the guaranteed way to assure you don't end up wearing a long sleeve khaki shirt on the USS OILER. All of your military indoc is crammed into 14 weeks......which is fine. The down side: YOU pay for college.

ROTC/Academy: they pay for college, and you are competing for a pilot slot with everyone else graduating the same year you do. The Academy provides an excellent education, along with many other hassles in the form of military training, lack of chicks and liberty, spread out over 4 years. ROTC is only part time, you play military 1-2 times a week.......don't go to Berkely if you go this route.

Why Navy? The AF tends to have better equipment, training is more standardized, and you'll never have to land on a boat.

At night.

usa3000go

If you didn't get the pilot slot via navy ROTC, is it possible to get a staff officer position? I know that Navy is mostly surface warfare, and I really don't want to do that. I am looking into supply corps as a backup.

OdeToMemory

Well, after some research, NROTC only has 2 posts in Tennessee, and I can't do either college (Vandy is the Southern Harvard, and I refuse to go to Memphis). This means I would have to go out of state, probably to Auburn. This wouldn't matter to me, and if I had the ROTC scholarship However, there is an AFROTC at MTSU, which is right down the street, and at UT-Knoxville. The reason I've leaned towards Navy is 2 fold.

1.) I have bad vision. It's correctable to 20/20, I have 20/17 with my contacts in. Navy waivers a lot more people.

2.) I have heard that Navy pilot jobs are easier to get.

Do you think I should go after AFROTC instead? Also, you mentioned OCS. I wouldn't mind paying for school, but which route would give me the better opportunity to be a pilot of some kind?

Spongebob

This is called "Poly-Sci to fly" where I went to school. It's been said (and I believe it from what I've seen) is that there are more aerospace engineers driving ships than flying planes.

The one thing nobody mentioned about all the ROTC programs is that you're making a guess on the military's needs 4 years down the road, and they WILL change the rules to suit, even after you've signed. When I got commissioned, everyone pretty much got what they wanted and it was the first year males could pick Supply Corps without being on a medical waiver because they had too many people in the pipeline. Because of that, AOCS and OCS essentially closed for a year and a half (read: VERY competitive). OCS is used to make up the difference between ROTC/USNA and what they need - quotas go up and down, you may get an aviation guarantee, you may not.

In general, from ROTC if you're healthy you are going to Aviation (pilot/NFO), SWO, Subs or SEAL, with maybe a couple of Civil Engineer Corps folks nationwide. If you're not, then you have more choices for staff jobs - but many staff communities require a warfare qualification first (such as the engineering duties).

This happens in AFROTC too... I had 7 AF classmates that had pilot slots rolling towards graduation (in 1992)...only 1 went straight to flight school, the rest got letters saying to ask in 3 years if they were still interested and they would be considered for flight training. The 1, well, SHE wasn't the top cadet either. 4 of the 6 got to go 3-5 years after doing time as a WSO, EWO, maintenance, etc.

One thing nobody has mentioned yet is the USMC. They'll let you know sophmore year if you're going to be a pilot (or anytime thereafter if you get the slot). They also have the Platoon Leader Course (PLC). Same deal (or you can compete for a pilot slot at The Basic School). PLC is a sweet deal...you essentially go to school and do OCS on your summers. None of the junk from ROTC, and you're not restricted to a school that has NROTC.

Also, only join the military if you want to serve and have the chance to fly. You'll find most of us feel we were lucky to get the shot at it, and those that joined just to fly and punch were grumpy for quite a long time becaue of all the other things involved. The easy way to say it - I was in 14 years (Navy), never had a non-flying job and walked out with 3300 hours. Obviously, 95+% of my time was NOT involved with flying.

BTW, I never thought night traps were that bad.

Spongebob

Spongebob

Oh, one more point. Do not EVER use the word "enlist" around a recruiter. You want a "commission".

Bad things could happen otherwise.

Sponge

F16Driver

Go Air Guard or AF Reserve. Get a pilot slot with one of those units and you will know what you will be flying and where. Plus, you stay in the cockpit a lot longer than anyone on active duty. It is competitive, however.

Do a search, its been talked about before.