That's a fast-evolving program that's been realigned more times than I can count.

Isn't there a fleet of planes sitting rotting at Hondo, or are those the old Air Force Academy planes with the unknown engine problems?

I think in the mid 2000s they had a program where a candidate would train at their home of record with a local flight school for 25 hours, but after a while I believe they went back to a centralized screening school, possibly at Hondo again.

I saw advertisements in recent years for instructors to work in Colorado Springs as part of a GA initial training/screening operation. I got interest, but at the time I didn't want to move across the country for GA aircraft. That salary was pretty comfortable....

There are people on this board that have worked at Colorado Spring doing the initial screening. Most of the comments I have heard are encouraging, and for GA instruction it sounds like a very good job.

the fastest track is in the MPL program,many JAA airlines started this new method of training.

It was going to be applied in the US in Aerosim Flight Academy but the new 1500 hours rule made it impossible to happen because it all be very expensive.

The original T-34 was in fact piston, but the the T-34C used for decades before the T-6 came along) was a turboprop. We have used to have a piston T-34 at my local military flying club.

Even if you got trained on jets, you would still need 1500 hours of experience and an ATP to get hired by any US airline. A commercial pilot license is no longer allowed.

Assuming a $1000/hour for the smallest jet, that would cost you $1.5M...and even then the airlines would prefer to hire a 1500 hour pilot with professional work experience (cfi, night cargo, etc) rather than someone who bought 1500 hours.

A few of those things are still hanging around. I think in the 90's, they had some really bad structural issues that led to a lot of retirements. Interesting that they are taking all the C's to AMARC and not selling them like they did the B's. I would think there would be a market for them other than spare parts, which is all they are going to be out in the desert.

I loved flying the Turbo Weenie. It was underpowered compared to most military planes, but very forgiving and a great trainer except that you couldn't see jack from the back seat.

It would be too cost prohibitive to start in a jet from day one.

Any Naval Aviators remember this trainer?

Bob Hoover in the T28 at Archerfield - YouTube

MiGBoy hooked me up with a T-28 flight recently down south of DFW. Amazing experience and a wonderment that that big aircraft used to be the first airplane an aspiring Naval Aviator might fly - and take to the boat!

I know this is a silly thread and I shouldn't entertain the idea... But why would you want to do this? Most people have a hard enough time getting their feet under them in something slow - you're gonna go crush some approaches in a jet?