How much flying?

[hoover]

Can anyone tell me, on average, how many hours a military pilot flies in a month or a year?

Do transport pilots fly more than fighter/bomber pilots, or is it the same?

Thanks

 

[peter185]

For new LT's I think fighters fly about 300-400 hours per year. Heavies in the 700-1000 range. FAIPS probably fly like 500-600 hours per year. As you advance in rank the flying will slow down a little. Anyone care to reattack?

 

[MarineGrunt]

I haven't hit the operational world yet, but so far, it's been pretty frustrating how few hours I've been flying. Only about 220 (civillian loggable TT) or so in the past 2 years, but then again, all that has been UPT and KC-135 PIQ. I'm not sure how things are at my guard unit, but hopefully I can rack up another 200hrs rather quickly so I can start flying for the regionals...

 

[TankerDriver]

Well, as a tanker pilot flying the KC-135 on active duty, flight time comes in spurts. You'll deploy to the Middle East for 60+ days and fly about 100 combat hours a month (which I consider quite a good amount of flight time). However, this flight time consists of canned flight plans and flying circles over Iraq with one approach to landing when you come back. Aircraft commanders and copilots will alternate pilot flying/pilot not flying duties every day so you get a little bit of everything. However, when we're home, I fly maybe once every week or two. A 5-6 hour flight, on average, usually refueling another aircraft on a training mission and then we come back for 2-3 hours of pattern work, which tends to be much needed for most of our pilots. The last time I was home between deployments for 2 months, I flew 4 times and got about 20 hours in two months. There are occasional trips. Medivac missions, coronets, business efforts, presidential support missions, etc..., but they are few and far in between. I did, however, spend 40 hours a week behind a desk answering phones and staring at a computer. Unfortunately, flying is half the job in the military. Sometimes less than half. You're an officer first doing many, many uninteresting secretarial duties. You may get a fancy acronym as a job title like ADO, DO, UDM, XO, etc..., but you're basically a secretary. It's not like the airlines where you get done with your 3-4 day trip and spend your time off at home.

 

[skywiz]

It really depends on if you are on deployment or not. When not on deployment, C-2 pilots fly 2-3 times per week and log anywhere from 15-30 hours per month.

On deployment, i would say 200-300 hours in 6 months.

 

[Gunfighter]

150-200 hours per year is the norm for a full time fighter pilot. Part timers in the guard and reserve fly 100-150.

 

[Deuce130]

As a MC-130 pilot in Okinawa, I averaged 40 hours a month. In Florida, it was more like 20 hours a month, sometimes less. Deployments will get you 80-100 hours a month.

 

[pilotyip]

I spent 11 years on active duty in the Navy in the 60's and 70's. After 11 years, I had around 2500 hours, that is about 230 per year. 750 hours of that came in one 7 month period flying around Vietnam.

 

[L'il J.Seinfeld]

As a MC-130 pilot in Okinawa, I averaged 40 hours a month. In Florida, it was more like 20 hours a month, sometimes less. Deployments will get you 80-100 hours a month.

Deuce, when were you at Kadena?

 

[psysicx]

How come fighter pilots in the Guard fly so much less then AD? And do Tankers deploy differently depending on where there based?

 

[L'il J.Seinfeld]

How come fighter pilots in the Guard fly so much less then AD? And do Tankers deploy differently depending on where there based?

Maybe because they have civilian jobs!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Deuce130]

Deuce, when were you at Kadena?

1997-2000 - Jakals - No Mission Too Demanding!

 

[stonewall]

Funny how all those "demanding" missions took you to Australia, Pattya Beach, Guam....

 

[AdlerDriver]

How come fighter pilots in the Guard fly so much less then AD? And do Tankers deploy differently depending on where there based?

They fly part time and by definition will get less time per month (unless they want to work everyday). In an F-15 unit, the absolute minimum sortie count per month is 6. Most times, that means 1 per day. So the pilot is usually adding 6 days at the guard (at least) to his airline work schedule. At an average of 1.3 hours, that isn't going to build the hours real fast. Most guys fly a little more than that, but everyone has their months where the airline or the family stuff forces them to go just to the min. Full time guard guys without an airline job probably fly more than active duty (at least in my unit).

An active duty guy is available to fly 5 days per week all month. Unless there are maintenance issues or some kind of operational deployment/exercise, whatever, they will fly more than the guys in the guard.

 

[TankerDriver]

And do Tankers deploy differently depending on where there based?

There are 3 "Super Tanker" bases in the US: Fairchild AFB, WA, McConnell AFB, KS and Grand Forks AFB, ND. For the most part, these are the tanker units which have been doing the bulk of the Middle East deployments since 911 in direct support of Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom. There are a few other bases in the US with smaller tanker operations: MacDill and Warner-Robins. Then there are about a dozen or more ANG and Reserve units around the country. We also have tanker units at RAF Mildenhall, England and Kadena AB, Japan, but these are also smaller operations, neither of which have deployed to the Middle East since the war started, but will be in the near future.

There are 3 deployed locations for tankers supporting these operations at the moment. Each expiditionary squadron will usually be staffed by personel from a different base from the US. For example, Base X may be staffed by Grand Forks, Base Y from McConnell and Z from Fairchild. However, Base X may have pilots being deployed there from Grand Forks, Fairchild, Robins and MacDill. The staffing duties may rotate every year or so from base to base. Tankers deploy differently than fighters or Hercs, which deploy for 4-6 months at a time. We deploy for 60 days at a minimum (used to be 45, but 60 is now a CENTAF requirement). Some get extended 75-90 days. We have deployers/redeployers going out every week. We'll usually take one tanker with 3 or 4 crews and some troops in the back over on each deployer to replace the 3 or 4 crews coming home. We pretty much pass each other in the air as a direct aircraft/aircrew swap out. The average time at home between deployments has been about a month and a half to two months, but it looks like we will be getting a bit more time at home in the near future since things are slowing down for us a bit. While at home you may get a trip or two and a few local training sorties, but for the most part, you're given a squadron or group level job to keep you busy and pretty much make you want to deploy again. This varies from base to base because I've talked to other tanker guys from other bases who aren't given jobs and chill at home when they're not flying.

 

[psysicx]

He said full time fighter pilots. I thought that meant there only job. If thats true 150 hrs a year seems low.But I see that he put the same for part time so its confusting. Is there a reason why the tankers based in Japan and England haven't deployed to the middle east? I guess thats why there so popular.

 

[VVJM265]

250 / year averaged over 19 years without any conversion factor. Includes a tour at grad school and some staff time thrown in. All the rest has been flying. My prediction is that the days of USN guys doing 20 years and retiring with anything close to 4K are rapidly coming to a close.

My 2 cents,
VVJM265

 

[BengalsFan]

I read all these and saw no FAIP numbers, so here is some info on that...

I averaged 500 hours per year... was a FAIP for a little over 2 years, so I have just over 1000 hours... good hours too cuz they are all PIC and mostly Instructor. I have about 750 sorties too (a lot of 1.3s) so when we get a conversion factor of .2 or .3 it really helps... you do the math. Oh and as one other person said on here about the military... this flying was secondary to my bullsh*t paperwork duties... which was my main duty, I don't care what anyone says.

 

[prozac]

300 hrs/year in tankers overseas give or take. Spend about 5 times that flying a desk. No kidding. Bengals Fan is right when he says that BS office work comes first. AMEN BROTHA! Looking forward to actually flying for a living someday.

 

[TankerDriver]

300 hrs/year in tankers overseas give or take. Spend about 5 times that flying a desk. No kidding. Bengals Fan is right when he says that BS office work comes first. AMEN BROTHA! Looking forward to actually flying for a living someday.

300 hours a year flying tankers??? Wow. Where ya at? Mildenhall or Kadena? You guys gotta start deploying alittle more. I'm at about 500 hours over the past 6 months. 400 of which is "combat".

 

[RampFreeze]

300 hours a year flying tankers??? Wow. Where ya at? Mildenhall or Kadena? You guys gotta start deploying alittle more. I'm at about 500 hours over the past 6 months. 400 of which is "combat".

Please tell me you put "combat" in quotes intentionally in an attempt to minimize the term. Logging "combat" time in the same airspace that civil airliners fly in is beyond a little silly. Now, for the guys down below 10,000' in that same airspace, it's an entirely different story. But, for the guys up above 20,000'... (Yes, I've got my fare share of this "combat" time) It really bothers me to see the exact same Air Medals given out during WWII for flying missions over Germany handed out today like candy for logging "combat" missions.

O.K., descending off of the soapbox now. Out.

 

[pilotyip]

Is it not know as combat support?

 

[CobraKai]

not anymore. When you are over the same threats as the guys below. Yes we are a little higher, but someone thinks we still have a chance of being shot down. Yes I have been and know other tanker guys that have been shot at. And before some pointy nose gets his panties in a wad, we do know that missles come up and flares go down (and by the way when was the last -15C modle combat hour logged?) Is it fair to those guys that flew in "real" combat? Probably not. Do most tanker pilots take our combat hours fully seriously, especially with Luftwansa 262 flying 10,000' above us? Probably not, right up until the DIRMOBFOR asks you to cover for the spec ops tanker that just MX CNX, hello low alt AR. The answer is, it all depends on what airspace you fly in. But hey we haven't lost a tanker yet so when the Iran thing kicks off in a few years we can move them closer to the target area.

 

[TankerDriver]

Please tell me you put "combat" in quotes intentionally in an attempt to minimize the term. Logging "combat" time in the same airspace that civil airliners fly in is beyond a little silly. Now, for the guys down below 10,000' in that same airspace, it's an entirely different story. But, for the guys up above 20,000'... (Yes, I've got my fare share of this "combat" time) It really bothers me to see the exact same Air Medals given out during WWII for flying missions over Germany handed out today like candy for logging "combat" missions.

O.K., descending off of the soapbox now. Out.

Yes, I did actually. I put "combat" in quotes because I don't consider this a conventional war anymore. It's more of a peace keeping mission now. However, I've done my fareshare of A/R at FL180 over Iraq and as low as 10k AGL over Afghanistan, well within range of most of the shoulder fired SA's that are being smuggled into these countries. Considering we're a pretty big target with 4 hot engines out there without countermeasures mind you, don't think the thought of being shot out of the sky with absolutely no warning hasn't passed through my mind. I wouldn't be suprised if CENTAF makes a "below 10,000" rule for the Air Medals one day. They already changed the amount of missions needed to get one. I agree that Air Medals for most of us just aren't a big deal anymore. I've gotten 3 of them over 2 - 60 day TDY's. The paperwork gets to be more pain than it seems to be worth.

Combat support is when your doing a mission in support of Iraqi or Enduring Freedom but you're not flying over a combat zone, ie: Iraq or Afghanistan. For example, refueling a Buff over the ocean on its way to Afghanistan.

The days of air combat have changed a bit since WWII. Should an F-15C pilot get credit for an Air Medal on a mission after shooting down an enemy aircraft 40 miles away that he may never see? The same medals P-51 guys got for dogfighting their way out of a big furball in the sky? Apples to oranges.

Medals don't play a huge factor in promotions for officers anyway. Enlisted troops, yes. It's nice to have a big rack and all, but for the most part, it's all bling.