Pilot Pay while in UPT
 

Recently i received a pilot slot with a local ANG unit to fly the C-130. I have been having some difficulty locating an accurate amount of pay that I can expect on a monthly basis as a 2nd Lt. during UPT.

Does anyone have an estimate on what kind of take home pay i can expect?

Thanks for the help.

Check here: http://www.dfas.mil/militarypay/mili...PayTable34.pdf
I would have thought a future USAF/ANG pilot could have googled this himself though. :o

take home pay is variable based on what base you end up at, and whether you are on or off base, because of BAH and whatnot. Also, if you are married, you get a little bit more. But you'll be getting O-1 pay, and you get flight pay (which isn't much for the first few years). All of this information can be found on the internet.

The good news, flight pay starts day one of academics, the bad news, the first 6 years isn't much money. I'd assume you'd have to live in the dorms if single or in family housing if married. That's how it was at Sheppard about a year ago anyway.

It's easy to look up, but not so easy to interpret...

Look at the tables, you will get....

Base Pay (O1 under 1 years)
Basic Subsistence Allowance
Aviation Career Incentive Pay

Plus housing, which is complicated:
On base: No allowance
Off base: Look up the housing allowance (BAH) for the zip code (with or without dependents as appropriate). This could vary between $2500+ to well under $1000, but most flight training bases are in lower-cost areas.

Per Diem: If you are sent to a location temporarily (less than six months) and have to live out in town, in addition to a hotel allowance, you will get $60-150 each day in per diem...this can add up quick. Training pipelines are usually setup to avoid too much of this, someone else will know about AF UPT.

You'll take home about $2600 a month, assuming you live in the dorms. If you live off base or in other housing, you'll be able to keep some of your tax-free BAH.

Keep in mind this is cash in your pocket. No housing expenses, no medical expenses.

Congrats buddy - maybe I'll see you around!

Couldnt you have just told him it was about $328 a month as you remember it?

the 6 and 8 year bumps in flight pay were niiiiiiiiiice.

here's a question, I'm 8 years enlisted, does that factor into the pay scale or is it time since commissioning?

with 4 or more years prior service you'll be an O-1E. So different payscale until you get to O-4. O-1E, O-2E, O-3E when you're looking at the DFAS chart, under whatever your years of service are.

You'll only get the O-1E paygrade if you had at greater than 4 years of active duty enlisted (read 4 years + 1 day of active duty or 1461 points). If you were a traditional Guard or Reserve bum for those 8 years and have less that 1461 points, you'll won't get O-1E. As for flight pay, if you were an enlisted flyer (Loadmaster, Boomer, etc) your prior flight status doesn't count. You start over at 0 years for flight pay purposes.

Yes, look at these charts:
http://www.dfas.mil/militarypay/mili...PayTable34.pdf

Depending on how many reserve points you have (1460) or if you've been active duty > 4 years, then Note 3 applies, and you would fall under the O-1 (note 3) scale for your time in service (8 years) and your base pay would be $3825/month (instead of about 2,700 or so).

I'm sorry, but with 8 years prior service, you can't figure out your pay and you were able to get a pilot slot?

If your implying I have poor research skills you are incorrect. There are many factors that go into UPT pay that I do not understand because they have not been explained to me and there is not alot information out there. Thus a normal pay chart, like what is all over the web, does not explain factors like flight pay, training allowances, food and housing pay, how many days i will be paid for per month, and so on.

Thanks for the help guys. There are so many factors that go into what you actually take homw that it can be complcated. I have a friend that just went through AMS and she is still not sure what she should be making. I figured you prior service guys wouls have some good insight on it and I was right.

If you have any more comments please keep them coming. I appreciate all the help I can get.

I think it was more like $428 a month LAG...you forgot the $100/month flight pay. :D

Enjoy your wealth in flight school. I had more pocket money as a single O-1 flight student in the mid-80s than I do as a married with kids captain for a major airline in 2010.

I spent 3 1/2 years as an IP(2004-2007) and I still hear the same thing from other instructors....students have no ability to learn on their own, always needing to be spoon fed. Yeah, he implied that your inability to figure it out on your own is sad, and yet spot on.

Aren't you being a little hard on the Beaver, Ward? :D

It's not like there are other LTs in pilot training, at the base he'll be going to, getting paid twice a month RIGHT NOW. Those guys are completely unreachable by phone or DSN because there's no mil phone book on line for that base. I'm sure he could never reach anyone in the T-6 squadron, play dumb and ask for a phone number to reach any UPT student that might be available and get the info from the horse's mouth.

Or, I'm sure no one at the MPF at that base in the mil pay section would know the answer. They might even be able to narrow down the housing allowance variable.

Nahhhh - better to wait to have things "explained". :rolleyes:

It's time in service, so you're 8 years will get you a higher pay rate. Look at the pay table offered earlier and look for O-1 over 8 years of service.

JJ

$2745.50 gross base pay per month. With your adjustments, you probably won't pay much tax on that.

Another $223.04 for BAS. This is not taxable.

Another $125 for flight pay. Taxable.

If you live off base, your BAH (untaxed) will be single/married:

Laughlin: $798/1062
Vance: $792/927
Columbus: $882/927
Sheppard: $849/1110

Add these to get your total gross pay. Good luck.

Yeah your right, they must just hand out military phone numbers to civilians with no questions asked. Better yet, I should just drive to the T-6 base I am going to be at, hop over the fence and walk around in my civilian clothes asking everyone I meet it they know about pilot pay. God I am sure that will go over great.

Take it easy Dick, im doing the research on here. Next time you see one of my posts do yourself a favor. Take the time that you would use to write a foolish remark on my post and do something else.

Thanks that helps alot. I have been looking at the web sites everyone has been posting and that is about what i have been getting.

Oh my. I’d recommend beefing up your thin skin a little more before you embark on this journey of yours.

I think what some of the other “old heads” and I are trying to point out to you is that you appear to be ignoring some of the more traditional methods of “research”. It’s never going to be an acceptable excuse in your military career to claim that you don’t know something because it wasn’t “explained to you”. That implies that you are waiting for the actions of another. Take some responsibility for your own “education” and go find out – don’t wait for someone to do it for you.

So, back to the “research”:
If I had made the choice to pursue a military career in the ANG as a C-130 pilot, I guess I would have included “research” into things like pay and benefits in my PREPARATION for such a choice. I would not have committed to the position and then jumped on an internet forum to try to figure out what I was getting into.

Civilians are able to call military bases just fine. They use normal 7 digit numbers plus area code just like every other facility with a phone in the US. You could also use the phones at your Guard unit and call via DSN which is just a military phone network that doesn’t need an area code(more on your Guard unit later). Either way you get the same person on the same phone. You can go on line in 7 seconds (I just did it) and get the main phone number to the base. I don’t know where you’re going to UPT but Laughlin AFB in TX is a possibility – here’s the main number to that base: (830)298-3511. This will ring the base operator who will connect you with whoever you want to talk to.

Or you can call directly to any office if you have their phone number. Here’s a quick reference list that took me about 90 seconds to find.

http://www.laughlin.af.mil/shared/me...081107-038.pdf

Guess what I googled………..I know this is going to be tough to follow: Laughlin AFB phone book. That took me to the Laughlin AFB website and I searched for “phone book”. Still with me? ;)

I’m doing this from home – not some special military computer because I retired last year from the Guard. You’ll note two significant numbers on the reference list, Military Personnel Flight (MPF) and Finance. Either one of those numbers will put you in touch with people who would be able to direct you to the mil pay specialists. So, no need to jump any fences and get jacked up by the SPs. The people that answer those phones will be USAF members who speak English and won’t even know you’re a civilian unless you tell them. I’d recommend speaking politely to them (avoid calling them names), explain who you are, what you’d like to find out and I’ll bet you’ll get the answer you’d like.

I’m starting to wonder about where your Guard unit is in all this, too. Somehow you were able to get in touch with someone there, get interviewed and offered a pilot slot. Since most Guard units only hire a few lucky UPT candidates off the street each year, I’m guessing they’d be willing to bend over backwards to help out any new arrival to their “family”. Any chance you might still have a phone number for someone at the unit you claim to be joining. Maybe they might be able to help you with your “research”. Every Guard unit I have ever had contact with had mil pay offices (with phones too:D) and lots of smart people working there who have been around the USAF block a few times and know their stuff. Any particular reason why you’re choosing to ignore that resource while you “research” the particulars of the job you apparently already accepted without knowing much about it?

Some free advice from someone who was in your shoes 23 years ago. One, expand your list of resources to find the answers you’re looking for. Computers are nice but the military (especially the Guard) has a much better resource in its people. You’ll single yourself out quickly one way or the other depending on how willing you are to go the extra mile and get the job done, big or small. Leave the excuses at the door and bring results. And two, resist the urge to lash out and call anyone who displeases you a “dick”. They may use sarcasm or mild ridicule to enforce the point that you’re being stupid. I’d hazard a guess that some of your UPT instructors may resort to that, depending on how stupid your trying to be. You won’t be the first 2Lt to receive this treatment and it won’t kill you. It might even motivate you to not be stupid in the same way again.

Good luck in your training.

Remember, there's no such thing as a stupid question...

Unless you ask it on this message board.:confused:

I don't think his question is stupid. I think how he went about trying (sort of) to get an answer was "less than smart". Subtle but important difference, IMO.

Mil Pay calculator:

https://staynavytools.bol.navy.mil/P...nch+Calculator

If you still have questions make sure you put a helmet on before going outdoors. Just Kiddng :p

Easy there buddy... there are more than enough people on here with friends at all your potential UPT bases that can crush your dreams before you ever get started. Anonymous, you are not.

If you seriously have 8 years of prior service, and can't figure out how to read the DFAS pay table (or figure something out on your own for that matter) you're probably going to have serious problems with UPT.

I didn't think it was either. Some people certainly did and my comment was aimed at them.

Really....what are we, a bunch of adolescent girls?:rolleyes:

deleted - disregard

YES! On a serious note, yes I've seen guys get a burr up their ass and make habitually disrespectful/belligerent internet posters work a little harder in training. Internet toughness run wild I guess. Haven't heard of anyone actually washed out, but guys have showed up day one unknowingly wearing a bulls eye.

Wow
 

I go away for a few days and missed all this? Wow! I predict a long row to hoe in UPT for Mustang C Bra. BTW is that a cup size in your screen name? :D Just kidding....don't get your panties in a wad...just having a little fun and doing another test on your skin thickness. I really am not a Dick. ;)

PS. "C cup" or "C bra" just might make a good call sign for a newbie pilot. What do you think?

Stretching Stupidity
 

Calling people, Dick over your asinine questions?

Stretching Stupidity
 

What a waste of electrons. Don't worry, folks this is self-correcting. Apparently we have Orville's descendant amongst us. Clue, if you haven't done the math on the fact you received one of the most vaunted slots in the orbit of American aviation combined with the realism of readily accessible pay charts means if I see you at solo or much less getting winged it will be a day too long for us military aviators.

Who cares what you make? The fact we, the American taxpayer, are footing the bill for your truly phenomenal education, and on top of that paying you a sum that at the minimum, will keep you off food stamps ultimately begs the obvious overarching question, do you have a clue on what you signed up for beyond the dollar and cents column? Even after 8 years of military service, a spaghetti chart on pay, et al, confuses you? We're not talking quadratic equations here, it's a simpleton's pay chart, not too challenging, got it? It's only going to get more confusing, so who gives a rat's a** on what you will be paid? In short, if you need to ask, then question why people slam you for not even being able to cross the threshold of "Mr Moto?" In the end, get a clue, or buy a clue.

Did you touch a nerve, in a word, yes. I had a buddy who got killed pre solo on a ground mishap, you know what, fresh out of commissioning? She never once asked about your asinine crap--how much she would make as a butter bar---what an idiotic question.

If the reward of being an officer, with an opportunity to obtain a freely multi-million dollar education is not sufficient then why ask a question that is readily accessible? You know what? Ultimately your mindset is self-correcting for you are truly lazy. Therefore, you will be lazy enough in flight school to get kicked out, or you will pooch a flight. Remember the term, "triggers-pull." Too bad the Guard wasted a slot on you, but as my flight commander stated in T-38's there are no quotas, either you can fly IAW with the Air Force or not, for you that means, the Guard slot stink won't save you from your clueless self. Raise your personal bar or perish. Cheers!:D

Mustang - Grow some thicker skin, it will serve you well in your career. While I think calling ahead to UPT instructors, to put a bullseye on someone is lame, Grumble has a point about being an E-thug! Also, remember that since you will be a student...IP's can dish it out but can't take it back, at least, not from you. As a buddy of mine can attest, they WILL get their panties in a wad if you try...which is never good for you, the student.

Be sure that your squadron gets you orders to Corpus for phase III, that way you only have to suffer through the bs up tightness of AF pilot training for 6 months. Better yet, see if they will send you to Whiting for Phase I and II. The beach and only showing up for academics, sims and flying (ie...not showing up 12 hours a day, everyday) would be well worth the extra time it takes to get through your training.

Goodluck!

Saint asked the '8 year enlisted question', not the OP.

Seems a lot like Flight info here...

Number one bro, I do not have any prior service. That was someone else on the board that has 8 years of prior service that posted on this thread. Number two if you really think that your going to "flush me out of UPT because of a comment on a message board that I made about your rudeness, you are sadly mistaken." Bullseye on my back or not I have come way to far in my career and flight training to allow someone on a message board who has nothing better to do than criticize civilians for trying to inquire about pay scales, ruin my future.

I dont know who exactly you think you are, but your not him. With that being said to the people who actually put in useful information I thank you. To all others you can pretty much bite me. I have done my research on line about housing and pay. If your a member of the military you know that there are alot of different variables regarding pay. This is why I posted my simple question.

Being the son of a 25 year Army Ranger and Vietnam veteran I can ensure you I have thick skin. I learned that from my father. I also learned another thing from him, never give up and never back down.

One last thing, Respect is earned not given, with that in mind if you expect me to respect your comments then you need to be more appropriate with them.

First of all I am sorry about your friend.

I appreciate the flight spot more than you will ever know friend. Pay is important to me because I am married and have numerous student loans to pay off. Private student loans can not be deferred for long. I work 70 hours a week now to pay the $800 in loan payments every month along with all my other bills.

Although I may have come across as (apparently) lazy, when you work two jobs and begin your day at 3am and do not stop until 9pm, posting a simple question to tap the resources of military personell that already have experience can be very helpful and save time.

See the problem with these threads is that you guys do not know me or who i am. If you did you would know that I have faced to much adversity to just let a UPT slot slip through my hands by being "lazy". With that said hopefully you guys will have a little more respect for why I take great offense to being called a misfit or lazy.