Flight School wait steady at 2 years

Herman_Snerd said:
It's earn wings plus 8 years for Naval aviators. So it's more like 10.5 or 11 vs 13 if you think there will be 2 additional years of delays. Just to help the gentle readers following the bouncing ball.
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This will all surely have effects down the line when it comes to shore/sea tour rotations, O-4 promotion, DH screening, etc., in the aviation community. The good news is, the delays affect everyone in the year group, so NPC is tracking it and will come up with solutions later on when it comes time :)
 
Majority of YG ‘21 grads are just starting to fly the T-6 and haven’t even selected jets/big wing/helos. The Pool is indeed very deep in many phases of the Navy’s flight school. Bottom line is aircraft readiness, on a good day…1/3 of the T-6s on the ramp will be available to fly. The T-45 is still struggling to get thru their engine inspections/rework from their compressor blades failing due to cheap outsourcing. If you’re a SNA, plan on finding something to do to be constructive. It’s idiotic that the military doesn’t put these pooled up students into a civilian private pilot program and instrument rating prior to showing up to PCOLA. They could shave off 1/3 of the time and have students move thru the program quicker by doing this and drain the pool.
 
Know this post is almost a year old, but thought I'd refresh with some new data. DS graduated May 2023 (ROTC, not NA), went to Pcola in Aug, classed up in Dec, now on to CC, TX this week for Primary. The waits are much shorter then they were. Majority of his friends are right behind him by just a week or two.
 
Bklup said:
Know this post is almost a year old, but thought I'd refresh with some new data. DS graduated May 2023 (ROTC, not NA), went to Pcola in Aug, classed up in Dec, now on to CC, TX this week for Primary. The waits are much shorter then they were. Majority of his friends are right behind him by just a week or two.
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Has he graduated from the Cessna 172 to the T-6 Texan yet?
 
Bklup said:
Know this post is almost a year old, but thought I'd refresh with some new data. DS graduated May 2023 (ROTC, not NA), went to Pcola in Aug, classed up in Dec, now on to CC, TX this week for Primary. The waits are much shorter then they were. Majority of his friends are right behind him by just a week or two.
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He is probably in with some ‘22’s!
 
T-6 is up next, no schedule yet. Could wait a week, could wait 3 mos. Once they are in CC or Milton, Primary seems to be starting at various times (according to those ahead of him.) Some got to CC and "officially" started Primary in less then a week, some waited a few months. Situations vary week to week, nevermind month to month.
 
For the old pilots (like me) out there, they fly the much safer T-6 Texan II (Beech) now.
It is not to be confused with the North American T-6 Texan tail-dragger of yore, responsible for so many student ground loops. :p
 
At Milton, it also depends on which VT you go to. Some VTs here have a longer wait than others for the flight line…
 
Ivy22 said:
At Milton, it also depends on which VT you go to. Some VTs here have a longer wait than others for the flight line…
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Long ago, SNAs waited to find out what VT squadron they were assigned. At NAS Whiting in Milton there was VT-2, VT-3 and VT-6. Each squadron had a reputation. VT-2's was the "club" with good instructors that were willing to teach and help you learn. VT-6 was known as the "friendly skies" with a lot of fixed wing and helo pilots looking to build flight hours before leaving the service. When one found out they got VT-3, dread set in. Marine instructors had reps for being, let's say, "demanding." The squadron's unofficial motto was "Attrition is our Mission." Hope all is well in Milton.
 
THParent said:
For the old pilots (like me) out there, they fly the much safer T-6 Texan II (Beech) now.
It is not to be confused with the North American T-6 Texan tail-dragger of yore, responsible for so many student ground loops. :p
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But ya gotta love big round engines!
 
Usnavy2019 said:
Is there still a B Pool in some of the Milton VTs?
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In between sims and Fam-0? Yup. One of the VTs has a couple days wait, another a couple weeks, and the last one has a couple months... It's random which VT you get of course (except for legacy admits)

WT Door said:
Long ago, SNAs waited to find out what VT squadron they were assigned. At NAS Whiting in Milton there was VT-2, VT-3 and VT-6. Each squadron had a reputation. VT-2's was the "club" with good instructors that were willing to teach and help you learn. VT-6 was known as the "friendly skies" with a lot of fixed wing and helo pilots looking to build flight hours before leaving the service. When one found out they got VT-3, dread set in. Marine instructors had reps for being, let's say, "demanding." The squadron's unofficial motto was "Attrition is our Mission." Hope all is well in Milton.
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I think 3 and 6 have switched reputations now!

2 is still the chill squadron
 
While I do my best to pick up on what's being laid down on the acronym front, y'all need to help update the list.

Asking for myself; just trying to keep up....
 
JD Hopeful Dad said:
While I do my best to pick up on what's being laid down on the acronym front, y'all need to help update the list.

Asking for myself; just trying to keep up....
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The acronym can be a bit daunting so here is what was discussed in the previous posts. CC is Corpus Christi, Texas. SNAs are Student Naval Aviators. There are two primary T-6 training squadrons (VTs) in CC and three VTs -2,3,6 in Milton. Sims are simulator flights done prior to strapping into the actual aircraft. FAM stands for Familiarization. FAM flights are the start of flight syllabus: take off, landing, emergency procedures, pattern work etc. Back when there were 16-18 Fam flights - Fam1 to Fam 16. I think they are referred to as contact flights by SNAs now. As a side note V stands for fixed wing. VFA-xx would be an F-18 fighter/attack squadron. H is rotary wing HT-8, Helicopter Training Squadron 8, etc. Have fun deciphering the lingo!
 
FAM-0 is when you meet your onwing, go over expectations, and strap into a T-6 for the first time!

We call the first 4 Contacts flights "Fam" block (Fam 1, Fam 2, etc.), and then the rest of Contacts are generally known as just Contacts. While you receive gradesheets for the first 4 flights, none of them will factor into an SNA's overall NSS for primary. The majority of SNAs get airsick at some point in the Fam block, especially Fam 1 (the first flight!)
 
Ivy22 said:
FAM-0 is when you meet your onwing, go over expectations, and strap into a T-6 for the first time!

We call the first 4 Contacts flights "Fam" block (Fam 1, Fam 2, etc.), and then the rest of Contacts are generally known as just Contacts. While you receive gradesheets for the first 4 flights, none of them will factor into an SNA's overall NSS for primary. The majority of SNAs get airsick at some point in the Fam block, especially Fam 1 (the first flight!)
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Thanks for the good info! Helpful.
 
@WT Door hi friend! If a Navy pilot select completed their solo during USNA powered flight, how does this affect or change flight school? If at all?
 
Heatherg21 said:
@WT Door hi friend! If a Navy pilot select completed their solo during USNA powered flight, how does this affect or change flight school? If at all?
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They skip NIFE flight phase after academics and go to straight to physio. No Cessna flights for them before the T-6. It shaves off like 2 weeks from NIFE. NIFE only does 7 flights in the Cessna, so it’s not really too big of a deal in the grand scheme of things to be honest.
 
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