USNA69
4th February 2007, 12:15 PM
You/your son or daughter has received your appointment. You/yours is one of my aforementioned candidates, who from the age of diapers, all you have ever wanted to do is fly fighters.
Should you take private flying lessons?
My opinion is no. My first time in the front seat of a plane was my P'cola Fam-1. I graduated primary at the top of my class. Ditto for my son. He went on to graduate jets at the top of his class.
I was recently talking to the person partially responsible for setting up the new Navy pre-flight school flying program where prospective aviation candidates are given 20 or so hours of flight time before they report to Pensacola. He said that they had a heck of a time with these civilian flight schools to get them to do what was expected. The Navy did not want these candidates to learn how to fly but only to demonstrate being comfortable in the air. Kind of an airborne AQT/FAR where they can demonstrate situational awareness and prove they do indeed like flying. I suppose it saves a lot of govt funding to find out they don't like avation before they spend all the money of getting them to P'cola and through ground school. The civilian flight schools wanted to teach procedures, especially landing ones. The Navy does things differently. From day 1 they are preparing students to land on the boat. A civilian school can teach enough bad habits to put the neophyte behind the power curve at P'cola and cause him never to be able to get ahead.
There are students with 1000 flight hours that still have trouble with Navy flight training. Mostly attitude problems, but nevertheless, trouble.
I saw recently where the USNA flying club was disbandoned due to lack of funds. I would guess that the powers-that-be at the Academy share my views or money would be "found" to support it.
Just my 2 cents.
Should you take private flying lessons?
My opinion is no. My first time in the front seat of a plane was my P'cola Fam-1. I graduated primary at the top of my class. Ditto for my son. He went on to graduate jets at the top of his class.
I was recently talking to the person partially responsible for setting up the new Navy pre-flight school flying program where prospective aviation candidates are given 20 or so hours of flight time before they report to Pensacola. He said that they had a heck of a time with these civilian flight schools to get them to do what was expected. The Navy did not want these candidates to learn how to fly but only to demonstrate being comfortable in the air. Kind of an airborne AQT/FAR where they can demonstrate situational awareness and prove they do indeed like flying. I suppose it saves a lot of govt funding to find out they don't like avation before they spend all the money of getting them to P'cola and through ground school. The civilian flight schools wanted to teach procedures, especially landing ones. The Navy does things differently. From day 1 they are preparing students to land on the boat. A civilian school can teach enough bad habits to put the neophyte behind the power curve at P'cola and cause him never to be able to get ahead.
There are students with 1000 flight hours that still have trouble with Navy flight training. Mostly attitude problems, but nevertheless, trouble.
I saw recently where the USNA flying club was disbandoned due to lack of funds. I would guess that the powers-that-be at the Academy share my views or money would be "found" to support it.
Just my 2 cents.