Hello, all.
I've been lurking this forum for some years off and on now and have finally had a (selfish) reason to join.

I am currently an E3 working maintenance at an AMC base. My ultimate goal is to become an airline pilot. However, the best way for me to get into the left seat of a commercial airline is to start out in the military jets.

Now, my question is this - do i absolutely need perfect vision to fly for the military? My eyes are corrected to 20/20 and I am willing to get Lasik but for ROTC, i read that Lasik is a disqualification. Thanks for your help.

 

Flaps:

U.S. Air Force ROTC - Admissions - Requirements & Standards - Medical Requirements

Good luck. I was ROTC, and I believe you are correct, but I didn't wear glasses until I was 48.

Check with them directly. DON'T go under the knife (laser) until you know for sure.

 

Here are a few questions for you.

How many years of service do you have now and how old are you/will be after you complete college and JSUPT/JPPT?

Are you ok with going active and are you planning to retire with a 20 year active retirement? There is nothing wrong with that track, especially with the way the airline industry is going, in fact it might be the best way in this new economic paradigm we find ourselves in.

The reason I ask this is you are going to owe the big blue machine 10 years from the time you get your wings, plus the 1 year of UPT.

As many on here have asked before, have you considered the ARC?

You will have the ability to get an airline job before you finish your commitments. If the airlines are hiring when you get the PIC time to be competitive. You will know the airframe you are going to fly when you start UPT. Seems like most units are always short maintenence folks, so you should be an easy hire. Your maintence background could get you a slot as an FE/Loadmaster which will now get you in close proximity to the people who will decide whether or not to send you to OTS/AMS and on to UPT. As long as you are not the proverbial dirtbag, it should be easy to get a UPT slot as an internal.

Something the AFRC units cannot match is the fact that most states offer completely free tuition and books to members of their National Guard at in state schools, this is on top of any G.I. Bill monies you might get whether it is post 9-11 or the Montgomery Bill. In fact, you might be able to use the old Montgomery to get some flight training beyond Private, to make your application look stronger within the unit, because you would be going to school almost for free.

Disclaimer #1--I have not checked to see if this is still a Guard benefit, it used to be and I have been away from the ANG too long, but it is worth checking on

Disclaimer #2--In today's total force integration we are seeing unprecedented things happen where the AF is taking planes from the ARC like never before and giving them non flying missions or UAV/RPAs to fly. So there is no guarantee the airplane you get selected to fly will be there for your full career at that unit or in some cases before you finish UPT. Everyone is one BRAC away from losing their iron and it seems like the Guard Bureau is powerless to stop it, and AFRC is just AD for less money so whatever the AF says to do, they do it with no protest.

Good Luck and thanks for keeping them flying!

 

I have about a year and a half in now.. and I will not be 29 by UPT graduation. I am only 20 now. And I have thought about how much time I will owe after UPT and am completely prepared to do this as an active duty officer.

I have about 10 hours of private time but being an A1C, I quickly ran out of money for private lessons. By ARC do you mean Air Reserve?

 

ARC = Air Reserve Component, meaning either the Air Force Reserve or Air National Guard

Sorry for not spelling it out the first time

 

No problem!

I heard that getting a pilot slot in an ARC was fairly hard to accomplish. That's why I haven't mulled it over much. I was talking to a C-130 driver a few years ago and he told me it would be best to fly for ANG. There's a ANG wing out of Savannah, where I'm from. So, how do i go about getting an education first and then a commissioning through ANG or AFR?

 

Why do you want to be an airline pilot, Flaps?
Do you really know that much about it? If so, great!
If not, note that there's a category on this forum called "Leaving the Career". Make sure you read it.

 

Im not 100% set on commercial flying per-se. I would fly for a cargo liner given the opportunity. It's hard to say why it is I want to fly commercially. I've always done the Flight Sim thing and gotten such a thrill out of commercial aviation.

I would even do business jets. I know the career field is shaky at best and pay is substandard for the regionals... but i can't imagine myself doing anything else when Im older. I would ALMOST fly for free. I would feel like im settling if I did another job besides piloting. And I know the life style is crazy. Crazy schedule and hours... but its part of the ride. And I am willing to embrace that. But i will check out "leaving the career" for sure.

 

Do you have your degree? Make sure you make that a priority if you don't. I've seen too many people put that in the back burner and before you know it come up against the UPT age requirement.

 

A few months of actually doing this for a living will cure that pretty quick!