Air Force Test Pilots

[Joshrk22]

You realize these two statements aren't very consistent with one another, I hope.

Not to dissuade you, got for it. Just know what you're getting into.

Halfway through college I switched from a bogus major (PoliSci) to a real major (Math) and the quality of my lifestyle went down about a thousand percent. You wanna talk about weird kids? Wait till you get into those upper level physics classes. You'll redefine "whack" on an hourly basis.

I know now that I would have gotten the slot I got with the poli-sci degree. However I wouldn't do anything different because going the tech route made me far more analytical, which I see as a good thing.

If you like the tech stuff, go for it. Just realize that its an ass kicker just to major in one tech subject. Also keep in mind that a good GPA in one major is going to look better than a low one in two majors.

Good luck.

Actually it's funny that you mentioned it because I was just thinking to myself after reading all these replies. "Do I want to fly or do I want to be an engineer?" Obviously I picked the first, so that's what I need to plan for. Like you said, I need to work for a high GPA in one major instead of a low GPA in two majors. So I've decided I'm just going to get a degree in Mechanical Engineering.

I'm actually going into my freshman year with all of my math done except for differential equations, and all of my physics classes are done. So now I just have to worry about the MechE classes and humanities classes. So hopefully my GPA won't be all that low. This will also give me a lot more free time to worry about other classes because I will have 20+ credit hours completed.

I have the opportunity to run track for UofM, actually high jump and I think it'd be awesome to be able to do that at a DI college but it'd take up way too much time. Gotta' prioritize..

I want to fly fighters or bombers, so I think it'd be best to aim for ENJJPT, so that's what I'm going to work for.

 

[stonewall]

WTF??? I was a poli-sci major...it's a real major! It's come in real handy over the last 12 years. Well, sort of handy. Okay, it's actually not handy at all. Kinda useless. Nevermind.

 

[DaveGriffin]

I would not limit that statemeny to just "AF test pilot duties". Will Pax River stay busy too?

Interesting comment on ROTC, and how the F-22 budget has reached out and touched even a commissioning source. In years past, the the USAF allowed cadets to leave, but made them pay back their scholarships.

All military aviation will be subject to the same dynamic....fewer manned airplanes in the pipeline and in our future.

The Navy however has done a better job of embracing the future, while the AF fighter guy leadership is doing the best they can to put off the inevitable as long as possible. A good example is the (formerly joint) X-45C program. The AF bailed on the program and the Navy has kept at it, working on UCAVs that can operate off our CVGs.

As for the AFROTC, it looks like the AF didn't see the big personnel cuts coming needed to pay for the F-22 five years ago when the class of '07 was accepted. I don't know the exact number but they offered the deal to a significant number of grads in '07. How can they say we don't have a job for you and you have to pay us back for school? They can't. So they just offered the deal and let some of them walk. I'm guessing it wasn't just UVA but system wide. You are probably in a better position to check on the details of this than me.

 

[DaveGriffin]

What evidence to have to support the claim that manning cutbacks were triggered solely by the F-22?

The JSF will start bedding down in 2014. AF Test Pilots fly other airplanes besides fighters. There will be plenty of work to be done...unless you think manned flight will be over altogether in the future?

MAGNUM!!

Absolutely right. It's not just the cost of the F-22 that is causing the severe manning level reductions in the AF. It's also the high cost of golf course maintenance, Officer Clubs and recreational programs.

Now, with your F-15s out of business, to be replaced by increasing the F-22 buy, it will get even worse. It takes a lot of scrap F-15s to pay for a single new F-22 and all the folks, equipment and spares needed to maintain and support it.

But the good news is the F-22 was just declared fully operational since they figured out how to fly them across the IDL without crashing the computers.

 

[GenericPilot]

Consider ANG, Naval aviation, or Navy TPS

Don't forget about Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard commissioning programs (some have no ROTC options..i.e. long hair and no uniforms during college). I flew as a Marine pilot prior to my air guard transition, and Navy/Marine Aviation was a lot more satisfying on a day to day basis. I've spent a lot of time at Patuxent River with Navy test pilots, and they have it pretty good. However, the USAFA is the way to go to the" top in the usaf hierarchy" and in aviation. You passed up a golden meal ticket kid. Having that on your resume opens many doors.

My recommendation...join an air guard unit while in school and work in avionics. The future of flight test is the computer side of the house. You'll be testing UAVs more than airplanes when you graduate TPS.
It's also a good way to get a flight slot (fly anyhting they give you) and not have a 10 year active duty commitment.

Second recommendation..find a career field that is on the upswing..it's not the airplane side of the house. More and more kids in the USAF are choosing space warfare over flying these days. Look for future trends, not legacy careers. Make some money, buy yourself an aerobatic plane or sailplane and fly for fun on the weekends.

Best of luck.

 

[tomgoodman]

Test Pilot info

Here's a starting point:

http://www.edwards.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=6467

Here's a highly-respected alternative to military test pilot schools:

http://www.ntps.edu/

For a good look at flight-test work, attend a symposium of this organization:

http://www.setp.org/

If you are puzzled by terms such as stability derivatives, phugoid oscillations, Reynolds number, Harper-Cooper ratings, etc. -- don't worry, you will be taught that stuff (at a furious pace). But if you're bored by such things, this career is not for you.

Pay little attention to information which is not extremely current -- things have always changed rapidly at Edwards. Good luck.

 

[wmuflyguy]

My brother is an Aerospace engineering Major at UofM. He is a senior and I would say he leads a very normal college life. He plays some intramural sports, drinks plenty of beer, and goes to sporting events. He has a 3.9 GPA, so he isn't jsut going through the motions either. They throw a pretty good tailgate at his house to during the football season.

 

[puck_11]

WTF??? I was a poli-sci major...it's a real major! It's come in real handy over the last 12 years. Well, sort of handy. Okay, it's actually not handy at all. Kinda useless. Nevermind.

Hence..."Poli-sci if you want to fly!"

If you really want the best deal, join Navy BDCP your sophomore year of college. Guaranteed pilot slot, plus you get paid AD as an e-3 plus BAH and BAS, which works out to be about $500 a week. All you have to do is meet with the recruiter once a month to make sure you're not getting fat and run a PRT twice a year. You'll be living like a king! Best part is after you get your comission at OCS, you'll be pulling O1 over 3 pay, difference of 8K a year over your academy/rotc grads, and maxing out the pay tables as your promote, plus you'll have accumulated 60 days of leave while in college, and 3 years of service, so then its only 17 years of actual serving till retirement.

The academy and ROTC grads hate hearing about this program. Check it out on airwarriors.com for more info.

 

[puck_11]

Just a little more information, look up TAM-21
http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?storyID=123054831

And as far as the guard units go, they are always susceptible to BRAC. Look at the Fargo ANG guys, they had a good deal flying F-16s, some of them were lucky to get C-21s, some of them are now flying the Predator.

 

[Joshrk22]

My brother is an Aerospace engineering Major at UofM. He is a senior and I would say he leads a very normal college life. He plays some intramural sports, drinks plenty of beer, and goes to sporting events. He has a 3.9 GPA, so he isn't jsut going through the motions either. They throw a pretty good tailgate at his house to during the football season.

Wow, aerospace and he has a 3.9? Either he's a genius or he's worked his butt off. I'm hoping to make it through MechE with at least a 3.5+, and MechE isn't nearly as tough as Aero.

 

[Joshrk22]

However, the USAFA is the way to go to the" top in the usaf hierarchy" and in aviation. You passed up a golden meal ticket kid. Having that on your resume opens many doors.

There is no sense in going if I don't want to be there, no matter how prestigious the school is. I look at it like I can go the same route through ROTC and get to the same place that I want to go. I think a degree in Engineering from USAFA or umich is very respectable.

 

[PlaneStupid]

I had a friend who had all the good intentions you had. Double major Physics/M.E. He graduated and did just well enough to get F.A.I.P.d in a T-37. I know that is not an option for you now but you have to consider that your flying choices may not be determined by you but rather by the needs of the A.F. Good luck and it seems like you are headed in on the right path. (The Academy folks are a bit whacked).

 

[Joshrk22]

I had a friend who had all the good intentions you had. Double major Physics/M.E. He graduated and did just well enough to get F.A.I.P.d in a T-37. I know that is not an option for you now but you have to consider that your flying choices may not be determined by you but rather by the needs of the A.F. Good luck and it seems like you are headed in on the right path. (The Academy folks are a bit whacked).

Haha, thanks!

 

[McGillicutty]

However, the USAFA is the way to go to the" top in the usaf hierarchy" and in aviation. You passed up a golden meal ticket kid. Having that on your resume opens many doors.

That's just dumb.

 

[GenericPilot]

Might be dumb but...

Might seem dumb if a guy just wants to be an airline pilot (where any four year degree may do), but try getting past the 17 year mark or trying to become an 0-5/0-6 in the military. All my USAFA acquaintences (mostly reservists now), whether fighter or transport, have been able to rise quickly and make considerably more money in the long run. They tend to flow into senior leadership positions fairly easily. A free 4 year degree helps with the student loans too. I'm not saying they are better, but they do get preferential treatmentby being members of a large aviation fraternity.

PS. I'm not an academy graduate.

 

[Oh-ryan]

That's just dumb.

Agree with McGillicutty about this ridiculous quote from Generic Pilot, "However, the USAFA is the way to go to the" top in the usaf hierarchy" and in aviation. You passed up a golden meal ticket kid. Having that on your resume opens many doors."

Some food for thought:
Current USAF Chief of Staff, Gen T. Michael Moseley graduated from Texas A&M in 1971 with a BA in poly sci (so there is hope for MAGNUM!!)

His predecessor, Gen John Jumper graduated from VMI in 1966 (via ROTC).

Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (2001-2005), USAF General Richard Myers graduated with a degree in business from Kansas State University ROTC (1965).

So go Big Blue kid. Major in basket weaving, break some hearts and never look back. There is a place for you in the USAF. Who knows, by the time you are ready for TPS good ole MAGNUM!! may be the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

 

[Joshrk22]

Thanks for the input guys

 

[stonewall]

MAGNUM!! may be the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

Well, if you don't end up as the Chairman of the JCS, your career ends in failure. Think about it...if you want to make the AF your career and don't end up there, it's because someone told you that you were pretty much done. Sorry, this is as far as you're capable of going...take care...so long...you're not good enough to go on. Better to quit early and avoid the emotional devastation of not making four-star.:bawling:

 

[Mud Eagle]

Bizarre...not sure why the myth that USAFA guys have better career expectations perpetuates, but I've seen nothing in the last 13 years that indicates there is any truth to it.

There may have been a day that being a "ring knocker" gave you a leg up on your ROTC or OTS contempraries, but that day is long gone.

 

[Mud Eagle]

Absolutely right. It's not just the cost of the F-22 that is causing the severe manning level reductions in the AF. It's also the high cost of golf course maintenance, Officer Clubs and recreational programs.

Yeah, either that OR the 100-million-a-day war overseas.

The cost of the Raptor fleet is peanuts compared to the cost of the GWOT (TWaT).