Valuable ratings VS. Just more money

[Gorilla]

Remember Chad Hennings, USAFA grad and Dallas Cowboys Defensive line guy? One huge dude. Somehow he managed to get into T-38's and went on to the A-10. I'm not sure how he did it legally.

I'm 6'3", still legal, but when I did my AT-38 IP stint at HMN, my helmet really scraped the back seat canopy, and the whole fit was pretty marginal for safe ejection.

 

[TankerDriver]

The upper limit is 6'5". The unit I am in flies F-15's. Someone told me one of the pilots is 6'6", so I assume I should be fine, since it is Guard. I fit into C-150s fine, so hopefully I fit into a T-38.

For active duty, do they determine airplane based off of height at all? Does it truly have any factor, as long as you are within limits?

Anything is possible. I'm sure the chances of getting a waiver and such is much easier being in the guard because there's less of a chain of leadership to have to deal with and I'm sure units are more prone to fighting for their people compared to Joe Blow active duty.

There is a range, 64-77 inches standing and I think the sitting height range is 32-44". If you fall outside any of those ranges, you're pretty much disqualified from UPT and have to go through a painful waiver process, which used to go up to the Chief of Staff, but I believe the AETC commander can now sign height waivers. When you fall outside any of those limits, they take additional measurements (arm reach, etc...) and evaluate them to come up with what planes you can fly (if you press for the waiver). The waiver process when I went through was a bunch of butt pain, just like anything else in the military. The people down at Brooks were pretty much worthless and wouldn't lift a finger, although they did try to make me reclassify and give me a new job (that was nice of them ). It wound up taking some "political persuation" and 6 months to get a waiver. Supposedly the T-38's archaic ejection seat is very violent on the body, especially if you're outside the height and weight parameters and that's why they T-1 track people outside these parameters.

 

[Pirate]

Oh well, I thought it was a good guess.

Any way I hate the if you didn't fly 38s you must suck attitude.

I could actual care less if you fly an F-whatever or a B-whocares.
The way I see it is a guy has one of two things going for him, either he has a big johnson or he can fight; everyone else should keep their mouth shut.

 

[TankerDriver]

Oh well, I thought it was a good guess.

Any way I hate the if you didn't fly 38s you must suck attitude.

I could actual care less if you fly an F-whatever or a B-whocares.
The way I see it is a guy has one of two things going for him, either he has a big johnson or he can fight; everyone else should keep their mouth shut.

:laugh: Well, I will agree that for the most part, studs that get tankers had them at the end of their list and got them because they were on the poop end of the stick in class ranking. Well, at least the KC-135 guys. KC-10 slots are rare and are considered "Gucci" and usually most people put them up at the top of the list , so the top studs get them. I wanted the 135 over the 10 because we actually fly our aircraft by hand a lot more than the 10 guys and I was lucky enough to have a few 135 IP's in my T-1 flight to tell me this. We do transition, ie: overhead patterns, tactical arrivals and departures, VFR closed patterns, etc... I don't believe the 10 guys do that stuff. UPT is a rumor mill. UPT studs are near sighted and only think about a great first assignment. People love labeling different flying communities and they pick airframes by popularity rather than looking down the road a few years and what their options will be. C-17s are the newest technology we have in AMC, they've got a lot of pretty computer screens and a control stick like a fighter, but after a few years, just like anything else, you get bored with it and the quality of life catches up to you. Besides, 135 guard units are a dime a dozen which opens up many options during these times of "Force Shaping" and hopefully that's where I'll be by the summer. :beer:

We had a guy in my primary class who was ranked 7th out of 13 and he still got fighters because he was lucky enough to have 3 guys ahead of him who wanted T-1's and T-44's. The best of the best, right... sometimes it comes down to who wants what and how lucky you are.

 

[Mooseflyer]

OK dude, now I know that this is the pot calling the kettle black, but if you were such a hot #hi# CFII, why did you end up getting tankers out of UPT.

What a c0cksucker...... I rarely post on Flightinfo, but it always p!sses me off when some moron thinks that if you didn't take a fighter out of UPT you're a sh!tbag. How about bases of assignment? Travel opportunity? Community mentality? Heavy jet time? No deployments? FWIW, the #1 guy in my class took a -135 (with his guard unit), and the F-16 went about halfway down. While I was happy for the opportunity to fly the -38 (in the days before SUPT came to CBM), I couldn't imagine flying around the flagpole for the rest of my days.

Edit:
No offense Vingus, I just noticed YOU were/are a -135 guy. Regardless, the train of thought has always gotten under my skin......

 

[Pistlpetet]

When it comes to getting a pilot slot through Active Duty, or Guard/Reserve, having previous flight time, and some ratings under your belt are a good thing. It only helps your chances.

My question is;
What ratings are good to get, and help your chances, vs. what ratings are simply burning more holes in your pocket, and don't make a difference.

For example, is having a private, and instrument sufficient, along with a good amount of flight time, or if one can, does continuing on, and getting a commercial, etc., etc., help even more.

I don't want this to come across the wrong way, but if you get a pilot slot, obviously you are getting trained, and will receive all of these ratings through the military, free. Is it worth spending $20K+ for all of these ratings past the instrument civilian?

Back on the topic....Since you have not gotten selected for a pilot program yet, you always have to have a back up plan, and not put all your eggs in one basket. Life can always hand you a $hit sandwich.

Getting your private and Instrument would not only help your packet, but it would also show people you like aviation enough to put your money and time into getting your ratings. Also, having flown instruments before can only make your time in Flight School a little easier, since you will have that base of knowledge.

Until you have been selected, you don't have the option to Uncle Sam pay for your ratings. Yes, there are plenty of lucky guys who have never had to pay a dime for their flight time or licenses. Personally I like to hire guys who I know have put their own money and effort into their careers, not just the ones that only get the ratings that the Military Gave them.