C-5 Flight Engineer in the ANG

[cougar6903]

I'm currently in my first year of College majoring in Aeronautical Science. I'm strongly considering enlisting in the ANG as a flight engineer in hopes of getting a pilot slot after College. Has anyone else on the board done this? I'm looking at the C-5 unit in Newburgh, NY. How long does Basic training and the FE training take? Will I be able to obtain an FAA Flight Engineer's license after completing the training? What is the length of the commitment to be a FE? My vision is 20/160 correctable to 20/20. Will I have a better chance of getting a waiver, if I have prior service history for a future Pilot slot? Any help and advice from those who have been in my situation would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[LJDRVR]

Hey Man,

My information is a few years old, so I can't vouch for its accuracy.
Finishing your degree is the best course of action you should focus on. Air Force Flight Engineers are required to have a maintenance background, have completed your first enlistment, and be an NCO. (4 years) The schoolhouse at Altus is slightly over a year long. Yes, you would be eligible for an FAA FE Turbojet certificate. Being an FE will probably not help you get hired for UPT, and on the civilian side, will not help you get hired as anything but a PFE (Professional Flight Engineer) To improve your chances:

Finish your degree
Get good grades
Develop friendships with folks in the guard.

Air Force FE training is unlike anything civilian pilots go through for FE. The course is competitive, world-class and very difficult. My free advice is this: unless you really want to be a flight engineer, don't waste 6 years trying to improve your UPT chances slightly. The competition for FE slots in a heavy guard unit amongst the various MX troops is AT LEAST as competitive as the UPT stuff, probably more so.

I can't speak for that particular Guard unit, but if I was hiring, why would I want to take one of my expensive, trained, performance and mission qualified FE's and move him from a career field that has been historically critically manned?

Air Force Flight Engineers are some of the most highly trained enlisted folks out there. Both they and that guard unit views them(selves) as CAREER aircrew.

Best of luck, I hope you get some good responses from those on the board who have done what you want to.

Cheers,

 

[cougar6903]

LJDRVR, Thanks for the advice. The only reason I am considering enlisting in the ANG is to have a better chance at a UPT slot after finishing college. I have heard from a few people that have gotten UPT slots that the reason they were chosen was because they wee enlisted, which gave them the edge. What would be the best position to enlist into, in hoped of becoming a Pilot for the same unit after college?

 

[LJDRVR]

Seems like most of the folks on active duty I know that ended up with a UPT slot tended to be Crew Chiefs.

Not ever having been in the Guard, any advice I give you here is not very good.

Any of y'all in the Guard community care to put your two cents in here?

 

[Flaco]

Best position for UPT slot

Cougar,

Greetings from the ANG enlisted world.

If you want a UPT slot after college, enlisting is one of the best ways to do it, especially if you want a UPT slot in your home unit.

A few of us on this board have done exactly that. I came from the engine shop personally, I know a few of the other dudes on this board that are going to UPT were enlisted as SPs.

My opinion is that what job you have is less important than how well you network with the pilots in the unit. Keep in mind too that if you have a high visibility position, you will always be under scrutiny by the pilots. Any minor slip up (5 minutes late to drill, etc) could be noted.

I preferred to make a good impression on the pilots in my unit by stopping by frequently to keep them updated on what I was doing with my flying, school, etc, and just generally shoot the
sh!t with them. They got to know what kind of person I was from that.

I'm not from a heavy unit so I can't speak to FE positions. I would assume you would get a ton of face time with the pilots, but keep in mind my above argument. Overall I think enlisting is a very smart thing to do, especially with the benefits currently being offered.

Flaco

 

[Bloud]

Enlisting in the guard is a good way to work your way into a pilot slot.

Flight Engineer school might be a little long of a school. You might want to look into being a loadmaster, still aircrew but I think the school is a little shorter.

Like Flaco said being aircrew is not a must. I am one of the SP's who now has a UPT slot and God knows my career field is looked down on by many. But for argument sake if I had been offered an enlisted aircrew job, I would have taken it. Basically if you enlist you need to make sure you do your job and show hard work and comitment to the Wing. That is what they are looking for.

Good luck!

Good luck.

 

[fredflyer]

Cougar,

I'm currently in the C-5 reserve unit in Dover. I'd have to agree with the posts above. Most of the guys I know that have made the transition from enlisted to pilot were not FE's. In fact a lot of the FE's in the reserves hold pilot jobs on the outside, but they stay engineers in the reserves.

The guys that I have seen go from one to the other have been loadmasters or maintenance guys. Again, having been a member of an interview board, the best thing to do is to establish a good communication with the pilots section, get your name known and don't get on their bad side. You can even try to get an administration job in the unit, as long as the folks ther get to know your name/face. Plus, keep up your grades and other flying-related acitvities outside the guard, they look at all that stuff at the board.

Hope you get in, I flew with some of the guys up there when I was on active duty. Sounds like a good bunch.

 

[C5 Guy]

I was active duty C5s for 5 years at Travis then 19 months in the C5 Reserves before getting furloughed and going back on active duty. I know of at least 6 guys/gals who were loadmasters in my reserve squadron who became officers and went to UPT.

My uncle retired as a guard fighter pilot and told me to enlist when I was in college because quote "the guard will take care of you". (I went to active duty AF instead). I firmly believe this quote to be true of both the guard and reserve.

My recommendation: Get a guard or reserve job quickly. With the number of guys already furlouged and more to come, there will be less jobs all around. Start networking now if you aren't already!!! Good luck.

 

[jstew311]

I am Guard right now 8 years ENL and from my experence the guard takes care of the guard.

i have made some very good contacts here.

hopefully one day i will put them to good use...

 

[C-5 MEM]

Cougar,

I am a flight engineer on the C-141 in Memphis TN. 2004 we will be going to C-5. I found out from the training department it will take about 9 months. Now if you are coming out fresh, you will need about one year. I know all of our former loadmasters and one flight engineer got UPT slots because of prior experience. Our unit grabs individuals who are already in the guard.
I know now we are all on active duty and that is something to expect if you get into a flying unit.
PM me if you need any further assistance


Terry Vickers
CRJ/FO
ACA