Almost UPT Complete

Dont know who's telling you that. C-130's = multiengine turboprop. This is not an exception at any major. Plenty of C-130 guys and gals are airline pilots. Fly what you want in the AF. Airlines will come.
 
In the end it is all really going to come down to the drop. I looked back at my DSs drop and out of 16 T1s dropped, 6 were 130s (4 Is and 2 H).the next largest amount were 3 17s. They had only 1 135.
~ I looked at all of the drops from all of the bases over the past year and almost all of the drops had only 1 KC135. The 130s have not been dropping at the same high numbers, it appears appears that the 17s are the big drops now. Makes sense because the 130 schoolhouse is really slammed right now. Little Rock simulators are running 24 hours a day, except for Sunday, which they run 12 hours. Probably due to the Hs conversion to Js.

Our DS wanted the J because of its mission, it was his first choice. Our best friend is a pilot for SWA and when he got it he congratulated him and told him SWA will be happy to have him in 9 years. Than again, part of getting picked up by the airlines is having great references that fly for them.. And hopefully are on the hiring committee!
~~ DS laughed at him because he currently plans on doing twenty. He told him let me fly at least one operational mission before you guys start plotting my airline career. Guys because our other friends fly United and Jet Blue.

I am hoping for you that you get the 135, I hope your entire class gets their number 1 choice. Good luck and God speed.
 
What are the possibilities of selecting a Fighter Aircraft?. How does the process go by?.


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As a retired FighterJock and now Check Airman with a great airline...I have to say that as long as you've graduated from UPT from the Air Force or Navy....fixed wing...I can positively say that being on the selection board process for airline pilot wannabees....I definitely lean towards in selecting a military trained fixed wing pilot regardless of type of aircraft...oooopsss...okay....maaaayyyybeee towards a fighter pilot more so than a heavy .:) but definitely over a civilian trained pilot. I have seen over and over in the Sim, the HUGE difference between a civilian trained pilot compared to a military trained pilot. I especially notice the stress factor difference when giving EP scenarios and the military trained pilot react a lot more calmly and quickly than MOST civilian trained pilots.
 
Would you say that your time at the academy helped prepare you for stand ups, EPs, and boldface? Was there a notable difference between the academy and ROTC guys?

What is the T-1 syllabus like?

Do you think it is wise to take the IFS waiver if I already have my PPL and will be going through PFP this fall?
 
Take the IFS waiver. There is no advantage to going to IFS if you do not need to go.
 
Hornet is right...all you do by going is risk busting a test or a flight.

I am a ROTC grad spouse (Bullet F15E WSO aka CSO now) and ROTC Mom. DSs class had a 22 drop and that went to a prior E OCS commission. He was the number one student.

Commissioning source means nothing at UPT. My DS and fencers DS (USAFA) both got 130Js.
 
I understand that commissioning source has nothing to do with how you fly or finish within your class. I was just asking if the academy experience (high stress, lots of memorizing, etc) translates at all to UPT?
 
zachtx said:
I understand that commissioning source has nothing to do with how you fly or finish within your class. I was just asking if the academy experience (high stress, lots of memorizing, etc) translates at all to UPT?
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I'd argue USAFA certainly helps, but that it doesn't really give you a leg up. For example, consider standups. Most consider that to be a stressful situation. There was likely some benefit to having soaring, PFP, and IFS to ease that experience. And in my opinion, a couple of the guard guys struggled initially because they came in with PPLs and didn't even have the IFS experience. But the syllabus is structured such that the beginning (15-day program) is non-retributional which allows everyone to catch up pretty quick. And even though I was able to work my way through a standup, the stress was definitely there. For an example of memorizing, consider the boldface and ops limits. Perhaps the memorization and recall skills I developed at the Academy helped me learn it more quickly, but we wrote enough practice boldfaces during academics that everyone will be proficient at writing those before it matters. A lot comes down to your personal work ethic. There is a gluttony of information that you are expected to learn. It's up to you to learn a majority of it, and I've seen lots of my classmates excel, but also too many (including grads) that struggle.
 
I would agree with buffalo. The Academy taught me how to memorize things quickly and that certainly helped with boldface/ops limits. I'd say you'd have to choose for yourself as far as going to IFS. I had a classmate fail out and she took the IFS waiver and blamed not going as the fault. I personally learned a lot by going to IFS but you do risk the chance of failing out. But the way I see it, if you failed out at IFS, then you would have most likely failed out of T-6s since there's more to think about and being in a faster jet doesn't help. I believe IFS helped me with the transition versus being dropped into UPT like the guard/reserve guys. However, I see many guard and reserve guys surpass the active duty guys in work ethic and in flying performance. It all comes down to work ethic and if you want it, you'll get what you want.
 
zachtx said:
... What is the T-1 syllabus like? ...
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Changing subjects to the T-1 syllabus. After you track you'll have a month of T-1 academics and a few sims. Then you'll hit the flight line again. There are three flying phases. First up is transition. This is twelve flights to learn how to fly the jet. I must admit it's a little underwhelming to come from aerobatics and formation in the T-6 and spend your MOA time in the T-1 doing Vertical S maneuvers and traffic pattern stalls. After transition is navigation. This has sixteen flights, most of which are out and backs, where you'll fly to another airport for approach work. Every few flights you'll also do a low level or fly VFR enroute. Mission Fam is the last block. Here you have four flights to learn to fly formation with another T-1, and then six flights where you'll either learn the basics of air refueling, or fly a formation low level mission. Intermix a bunch of sims into the flying and you have the basic syllabus. Most sorties are flown with two students and the instructor. For transition and first block mission fam, you'll seat swap once or twice mid flight and have one marathon 3.5 hour sortie. For the out and backs it is common for one student to fly the out and the other student to fly the back.

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Does anyone know why you can still drop heavies out of the T-38, even though you aren't getting that type of tailored training? Also, what aircraft does one track if they wanted to fly the CV-22?
 
zachtx said:
Does anyone know why you can still drop heavies out of the T-38, even though you aren't getting that type of tailored training? Also, what aircraft does one track if they wanted to fly the CV-22?
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Up until 1993 all Air Force pilots trained in the T-38 before getting their wings. The T-1 was introduced to extend the life of the T-38s which date from the 60's. The flying taught in the T-38 translates to flying any plane, and the heavy pilots will get plenty of type-training at their FTU.

The CV-22 can drop from any track. I have seen them come from the helo track at Ft. Rucker as well as the T-38 and T-1 tracks lately.

Stealth_81
 
Just to make it clear to people interested. Tracking 38's makes every plane in the Air Force inventory available to you; not just fighters/bombers. Tracking T-1's means you are limited to crew aircraft.
 
"Pima, in my previous post I made the notion that I don't want C-130's since they are prop because I want to possibly go into the airlines. I personally know of C-130 pilots that are commercial pilots and there's exceptions to every rule but I believe that having multi turbo fan hours are better to be hired."
Hi!
I contacted a classmate of mine; she's a VERY senior Captain (Chief Pilot at a Major US Hub and VERY involved in the hiring process) at a major international US airline....think 3 letters...and here's what she had to say about "130's vs any other turbine aircraft..."

"Hi Steve! PIC time is the critical item and you're correct; turbine time is turbine time whether it's a C-130 or a KC-135, it doesn't matter. It's all an algorithm that looks at total time, education, "flight experiences (IP, Evaluator, leadership, etc.,) and letters of recommendation."

So don't bypass the mighty Herc if it's your choice...it's turbine time!

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
 
From what I understand, CV-22s currently drop from T-1s and T-38s. They used to drop from Rucker only.
Not sure exactly why they made the change, and if it will switch back at some point.
 
Hey Steve,

That's good to know. I still want 135s. Who doesn't want overpowered engines :)
 
Overpowered...ahh...let me tell you someday about the "steamjet..." the venerable KC-135A "Water Wagon."

First "R" flight, I was in the jumpseat; low seatback...not even strapped in because in the "A" well...there wasn't a lot of acceleration for the first mile or so...light weight pattern only flight...flight commander in the left seat, looks back with an evil grin (which I missed completely) and says: "Steve, you ready?" "Yep...let's see what's so nice about this jet..."

BIG MISTAKE, BIG, HUGE!!!
(with thanks to Julia Roberts)

TRT static takeoff, pops the breaks, nosewheel rises; and the jet takes off like a homesick angel! I flip basackwards out of the jumpseat and start heading toward the boom pod...

A couple of years later I was a demo pilot in the "R" showing it off at airshows...it really IS very capable if you know how to handle it!!

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
 
Is there any difference really between the UPT bases (excluding Sheppard)? Obviously they're in different states, but other than that? Is there any difference in the way they the syllabus is run, what drops they get, how flying is, etc?
 
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