TankerDriver

When I was looking into OTS, the recruiter I worked with told me that if I didn't have at least 300 hours of flight time, to not even bother. Granted, recruiters will say anything to steer people the way they want them, but OTS flight slots are very competitive. OTS gets about 100 flight slots per year, which is not very many compared to the other commissioning sources and a lot of them go to prior service candidates as well. Out of around 275 trainees in my OTS class, there were not even 20 UPT candidates and I would say at least half of them had at least PPL, IFR, and Commercial ratings. There were even a few furloughed regional pilots with thousands of hours who were going to the reserve units. I had everything up through a CFII and a bit over 1,200 hours. There were also a few who had no PPL at all. They must have had super high GPA's, AFOQT scores, PCSM scores, etc... My AFOQT scores were "OK" (84 pilot/78 Nav), but my PCSM was a 98. I had a 3.2 GPA.

A lot of your success in UPT is based upon your attitude. You could have 10,000 hours and be a royal jerk off and get washed out, so keep that in mind. Do I think having just a PPL will help you? I don't think it'll hurt you, but I'm not sure it's going to do wonders for your success either (compared to anyone else). From what I've seen, it's the guys with multiple ratings and 500+ hours who pull ahead, as long as they don't have an attitude problem. That said, I wouldn't go out and spend $10,000 on PPL and instrument rating just to gain some sort of advantage in UPT. I had plans to fly commercially before coming into the Air Force, so spending for the ratings was a must.

bubblemonkey

Of course. If I made it into UPT with prior flight experience, I wouldn't be arrogant or think I'm better than anybody else. Actually, I wouldn't even tell anybody about it unless I was asked. I would go in with an open mind, ready to learn, and would do what I'm told.

What is the physical aspect of UPT? Everything I have read about it emphasizes how incredibly tough it is. I wonder how it compares to Marine Corps boot camp.

TankerDriver

I wouldn't compare it to Marine boot camp. Probably not even close. You'll definitely have long days and may not get very good nutrition during the day (pack your own lunch), but other than pulling some G's, I wouldn't say it's incredibly tough. As you move on to bigger and better things that may pull even more G's (if you track fighters), the more physically demanding the flying will get. In primary training, you'll do basic aero manuevers requiring 3-4g. Maybe 5g. Anything more and you're probably pulling that much on purpose. In the beginning, 4g will feel like a ton of bricks on your chest, but you'll eventually get used to it. If you're in decent shape, you'll be fine. There are plenty of fatties in UPT who get through fine.

FlyingGuy

Be careful you make clear what physical aspect you are talking about. Pulling Gs is not the only thing to be concerned about. In fact it is often said that for pulling Gs you ought to be short, fat and have high blood pressure. The Air Force doesn't want two of those. I don't know exactly what they are doing for PT during training these days but the day of "fatties" doing fine is gone. A few years ago the Air Force started mandatory PT standards which consist of running, push-ups, sit-ups and a waist mesurement. Each of these except the waist measurement is based on sex and age. Running is the biggest factor but the waist measurement takes a lot of guys down. You don't want to be struggling with the physical standards at the same time you're dealing with the flight training. No it is nothing like Marine boot-camp. You will have to do some form of officer training before you can go to UPT anyway that will have a higher level of PT than pilot training. If you can't make the physical requirements there you won't have to worry about UPT. It's not tough in the big scheme of things assuming you can run but don't be complacent about it.

Scott 'Gunny' P

Bubble-

You've gotten advice that is a little scattered accross the board.

1) Listen to the recruiter... a PPL WILL make you more competitive for a pilot slot. If flying in the USAF is your goal... do everything you can to make yourself more competitive. Anything more than a PPL is overkill.

2) Once you get into pilot training.... don't tell anyone that you have a ticket... never say "Back when I flew xxx, we did it this way". Keep your mouth shut and learn how to fly the USAF way and you'll be much better off.

3) It is true that having flight experience will help give you a slight advantage through Solo... after that everyone is esseintailly equal.

4) The USAF has gone back and forth on the Flight Screening Program... for a very long time you would go through solo and then into a commisioning program... then after the Slingsby Firefly disaster they started doing that at civilian flight schools... even paying for the PPL. The Flight Screening Program is going back towards what it used to be... in Diamond DA-20's in Pueblo, CO. A PPL now will make you more compeitive... do it and realize what you are doing it for.

Good luck,

bschref

3) It is true that having flight experience will help give you a slight advantage through Solo... after that everyone is esseintailly equal.

I don't know about that...
solo comes real fast - and up until then, it's just a matter of learning the local procedures and getting used to the airplane. I've found that later on, previous experience gives some guys an edge of varying degrees when suddenly faced with a non-standard situation in the "canned" UPT environment. i.e., more "Situational Awareness" and "Airmanship" (both are graded items on every flight.)

TankerDriver

I agree. We had 3 guys in my class with CFII's (me included) and another one with an instr/comm ticket. Together we had about 4000 hours of experience. We wound up 1, 2, 3 and 4 in the class at the end of Phase II. I don't think that was a coincidence. The ones with experience started out strong and continued that way till the end. UPT is definitely a firehose and the more brain cells you can free up for learning new Air Force stuff, the better. Having 4 students with a lot of prior experience was pretty rare. There is usually one or two in a class, but we ended up with a lot.

As far as the Air Force PT standards go, I think they're a joke. Take a look at the charts.:

http://www.af.mil/news/USAF_Fitness_Charts.pdf

I do some running here and there, but don't consider myself a frequent visitor of the gym and I haven't scored below a 95 since I've been in. There are some fat people in the Air Force. I'm sorry, there is. I often wonder how they pass the PT test. This is the "Chair Force". Not the Marines. The Marines do their PT test every 6 months. We do them once a year. They do dead hang pullups, crunches and a 3 mile run. We do pushups, crunches, a 1.5 mile run and have waist measurement, which I think is the most rediculous thing ever.

10driver

I had a PPL when I went to UPT in the AF. The only thing it got me was a UPT slot a little quicker after a graduated college. The AF is going to pay for those who dont have one before they go to UPT. When I did get to UPT it only helped me know how much I DIDNT know about flying. You will learn a lot and the military is going to make you learn it their way. They just want a little experience so you arent clueless when you show up.

ToiletDuck

Yes it does help. They have a rating system on applicants. If you have XX amount of hours you get XX amount of points. It does help. I'm about to go fly so I couldn't read everything but hours help out quite a bit. If you didn't have your PPL the airforce would send you to someone like me where you would do IFS (Initial flight screening) to see if you even have the ability to be a pilot. However with your license you can dodge this step which is favorable.
Duck

TheDotster

Is it true that the AF no longer takes vision worse than 20/70?