Are Coast Guard Pilots Real Pilots?

[jayman]

I'm a fixed-wing Air Force Guy and my kid comes up to me and says he wants to be a Puddle Pirate. And then twists the K-Bar by saying he wants to be a Rotor Head...ouch...I remember stapling the helo chapter of my Instrument Flight Rules closed.
Being the best Dad I can, I swallow real hard and try to figure out if God is playing a joke on me. Why couldn't my kid just say he was gay? My kid assures me he isn't. He said he saw The Guardian and he figures Coasties they are better than any other kind of pilots because they have to deal with big waves and hurricanes while they fly. (WTF?)
Anybody out there have any idea where to get info for a disillusioned 14 y/o on how to become a Coast Guard Helo Pilot? He is interested in the Coast Guard Academy, but I am a college grad, so I know nothing about the Academy.
Help. Seriously-Help.

jayman

 

[Kuma]

Are you being serious?

jayman-

I think that your attempt at humor was lost on me.

If your son has an interest in the Coast Guard, then have him start with the following links:

http://www.cga.edu/
http://www.uscg.mil/
http://www.gocoastguard.com/

He can also go to

http://aptap.forumco.com/

to post any questions that he has. There are a bunch of current and former Coasties on that site.

When did you fly the U-2? It is a very small community, so we probably know the same people.

Kuma

 

[AdlerDriver]

I'm a fixed-wing Air Force Guy and my kid comes up to me and says he wants to be a Puddle Pirate. And then twists the K-Bar by saying he wants to be a Rotor Head...ouch...I remember stapling the helo chapter of my Instrument Flight Rules closed.
Being the best Dad I can, I swallow real hard and try to figure out if God is playing a joke on me. Why couldn't my kid just say he was gay? My kid assures me he isn't. He said he saw The Guardian and he figures Coasties they are better than any other kind of pilots because they have to deal with big waves and hurricanes while they fly. (WTF?)
Anybody out there have any idea where to get info for a disillusioned 14 y/o on how to become a Coast Guard Helo Pilot? He is interested in the Coast Guard Academy, but I am a college grad, so I know nothing about the Academy.
Help. Seriously-Help.

jayman

Every ex-CG pilot I've talked to seems to have some pretty interesting stories.

I've always thought they would have the best chance of performing their actual mission on the most regular basis (rotory wing or fixed). Wars and contingency ops come and go but the CG has to deal with drug runners and boats in distress all the time.

I hope you can help your son find the info he needs. Based on your post, I hope he doesn't go to you for advice on tact.

 

[GenericPilot]

Flamebait: Maybe your kid wants to join the Coast Guard pilot for a reason

This posting has to be a joke, but I will respond for those who are considering flying for the Coast Guard.

The ignorance of "some" air force pilots never seems to amaze me. Now that I am one (as an Air Guardsman/Reservist-7 years), I know a lot about the average USAF pilot. 60 percent of them are OK, and 40 percent of them are just idiots. The poster of this articale must be in the 40 percent range.

As a former Marine (Hueys), former Navy IP (T34C), and current ANG C-130 pilot, I can take a pretty good stab at this attempt to get a rise out of the Flightinfo group.

I taught some coasties how to fly as T-34 instructor. Great guys. Great attitudes. The other Coastie IPs has great stories of saving actual lives. A Coastie can retire after 20 years and know that he really made a difference in real world events that have not been spun up in Washington. Saving lives and, flying in real weather, and helping people doesn't sound like a bad gig. The pay us pretty much the same as the other services.

No sitting in a third world country not knowing when you might come home is also a coast guard benefit. Not being separated from your family for 6-12 months is another. Having better leadership skills and perhaps experience in another career field (rescue boat officer or CG program management) is also nice. Perhaps not having as much marital problems because of a better work-life balance might be good too. Being able to go from rotors to
C-130/Casa 295s, and perhaps a G-V isn't bad either.

The USAF is not the place to build a government flying career in the next 20 years. Fighters will be unmanned in 10-20 years, and deploying as a transport pilot is pretty boring. If Chuck Yeager was signing up, I am sure he would not choose the USAF in 2007. The Coast Guard will always have a mission that invlolved manned flight doing real world/non-political missions.

This guy has a smart kid, must come from his mother's side.

 

[jayman]

Don't drink and write

My humor sucks...I am very excited for my kid. It was more to make him laugh so I'm sorry to put you through that.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Deuce130]

It amazes me some of you guys are actually pilots. I thought Jayman's post was pretty funny, and if you didn't then you've probably just got a chip on your shoulder or something. The guy's kid wants to be a coastie and he brought up a funny way to ask for info about it. The humor was obvious. Unlike the poster who said 40% of USAF pilots are idiots. Touchy, touchy.

 

[JimNtexas]

You know, I think that Copper's BBQ in Llano is really overrated. They do get props for leaving a van at the airport though.

 

[ExAF]

Hilarious

I thought Jayman's post was hilarious. If you couldn't see the humor in it there is no hope. Step away from the keyboard.

Jayman...obviously your son is really gay and he is lying to you.:blush:

Jayman's 14 year old son...Go for it. Good luck at the CGA.

 

[puck_11]

Like GenericPilot said Coasties have a pretty good deal with their flying. Short deployments and those guys are all good sh*t, they're a small community and I haven't met one that I didn't like.

 

[jayman]

Generic Clown

This guy has a smart kid, must come from his mother's side.[/quote]

Generic Dude,

You need to pull your panties out of your ass and chill out. Are you for real? The intent of my post was pretty simple, but your "help" is really just a a whole page of hot air...are you sure you're not a balloon pilot posing as a fortune teller? My kid read your post and thinks you're a clown.
For the guys who gave me some links, thanks and it's a great start for Jr.

Jayman