Hired to fly A-10s!

[LJDRVR]

Cool!!

Now when they ask what you do in the military, you can tell everybody you're a nose gunner.

Congratulations Jafar, I hope you enjoy it, Bro.

 

[Jafar]

Thanks again to everyone. Needless to say I'm really looking forward to it.

How long is your seasoning going to be? I know it varies by unit. Some are 2 yrs others are 6 months.

Seasoning is about 18 months at this unit. If I'm able to stay on orders from start to finish, I'm looking at about 4 years of active duty from AMS to the end of seasoning. However from what I hear it seldom works out that way, instead there are substantial breaks while waiting to enter the next training phase.

Congrats J!

Don't forget about those poor grunts down there taking fire and needing you to blow someones azz back to the PreCambrian era.

(I used to be one of those poor grunts watching the A-10s at Hood and thinking ... "Man, that looks like a lot more fun than what I'm doing." :erm: )

You know I too was once a grunt, that's why A-10s were my first choice.

this is probably a retarded question, but what does it take to be an A-10 driver. Degree? Age limit? any info would be awesome.

Getting a Guard slot was about how I expected it to be. I was often told it was like rushing a fraternity, and that's exactly how I would characterize my experience. Yeah, the obligatory stuff is there, degree, good AFOQT scores, letters of recommendation, rated pilot, etc. But ultimately its about fitting in with the unit. They want to know that you're the kind of guy they want around.

I was very fortunate in that I got selected by the first unit I interviewed with and I got the plane I wanted in exactly the place I wanted it. Things rarely go like this and all I can say is I really lucked out. I intend to make good on the great fortune I've had. If you're interested in rushing a Guard unit I say get in there and do it. Just call units you are interested in and see when they are hiring. Take the AFOQT and get some good letters. Believe me, if I can get a slot, anyone can. You just gotta want it. Oh and to answer the age limit question you have to be able to be in pilot training by your 30th birthday. So you usually have to be hired by about 28. Good luck.

 

[AlbieF15]

Luck is where preparation meets opportunity. God gave you the health to get your medical. You've done most of the rest. Thanks for your service in advance...

 

[psysicx]

How many hours are guard pilots getting in 2 yrs? Someone told me that 800hrs was possible with 2 deployments.

 

[Scrapdog]

How many hours are guard pilots getting in 2 yrs? Someone told me that 800hrs was possible with 2 deployments.

Depends on what you fly. What kind of airplane are you referring to? When you're in a heavy doing long straight lines I'm sure you're going to rack up the hours. If you're in a fighter doing lots of turning in AB, expect a standard training sortie to be about a 1.3. Lots of difference there...

 

[psysicx]

I'm talking about fighters. 800hrs seemed like a lot of time. But is it possible to volunteer for deployments?

 

[Scrapdog]

I'm talking about fighters. 800hrs seemed like a lot of time. But is it possible to volunteer for deployments?

I think 800 hours is out to lunch for 2 years flying fighters. What source did you get that from?

You can probably expect to fly 250-300 hours a year flying fighters. If you're overseas for a long time and upgrades are slow, you may fly longer sorties, but the actual flying will be pretty lame. If you're back in the states and upgrades are happening quicker, you'll probably fly more often with shorter sortie durations and better "blue air" training. But overall I think 250-300 a year is a fair assessment. Other fighter guys chime in with what you think.

 

[psysicx]

Thanks thats what I figured. They were figuring in a 4 month deployment to the desert each of those years. Still 300hrs isn't bad.

 

[Scrapdog]

Thanks thats what I figured. They were figuring in a 4 month deployment to the desert each of those years. Still 300hrs isn't bad.

My best advice is get a UPT slot first, then do well on all your checkrides, then go to selection night and get a fighter, and then do well in your specific fighter FTU. Don't worry about how many hours you're going to get each year. If you're specifically going into the military to fly and serve your country, then that's the guy the military wants. If you're doing it to rack up your turbine PIC for airlines down the road...I think a commuter is the place for you.

 

[CrewDawg]

One of our guys is about to get off (sts) his seasoning and I think he has about 500 hours in the 16. That is with one deployment to the sandbox.

 

[stonewall]

I think 800 hours is out to lunch for 2 years flying fighters. What source did you get that from?

You can probably expect to fly 250-300 hours a year flying fighters. If you're overseas for a long time and upgrades are slow, you may fly longer sorties, but the actual flying will be pretty lame. If you're back in the states and upgrades are happening quicker, you'll probably fly more often with shorter sortie durations and better "blue air" training. But overall I think 250-300 a year is a fair assessment. Other fighter guys chime in with what you think.

I think you'll only get that many hours with a desert tour. If it's all CT "back home," you'll probably average 10, maybe 12 sorties a month. At 1.0-1.5 a sortie, we're looking at 120-180 or so. It's pretty rare to hit 200 in a year with all CT flying these days. Alot depends on fighter, base, manning, IP status and all that jazz, but I just don't see many Guard or AD dudes getting 250+ these days.