Quote:
Originally Posted by USMCFLYR
I liken this statement to those who say that being a fighter pilot is the holy grail of aviation, yet there is always the heavy/helo guy who says he had the grades and didn't chose fighters for a reason.
I believe both
I knew one guy in the Navy who wanted Helos so bad, he turned down TacAir TWICE. He had jet grades coming out of Primary and was offered an A-6 transition after his first cruise. Turned them down flat twice both times. Ended up being one of the seminal influences in the Combat SAR arm of the Navy.
Personally, I wanted to fly P-3s or C-130s out of Primary even though I had jet grades. But, that was because I was trying to use the Navy as an avenue to the airlines. I even volunteered to CQ in the T-28 in an effort to get E-2s but the T-28 CQ program was cancelled just a few weeks before I graduated Primary.
Sigh! Took an extra 5 years to get the multi-engine fixed wing time I needed to matriculate to the airlines. 5 years of lost seniority, but that's water over the bridge.