Non mil flying

[J3Rizzo]

Hey there kind SA forum folks,

I was just wondering if anyone experienced in the field out there could give me any insight on wether or not you could fly for the Air Force in the civilian world, or If any civilian flying career could resemble mil flying.

 

[USAFA_86]

I think it all depends what kind of flying you want. For example, there is no place in the civilian world where you will be able to fly anything that is remotely close to performing like an F-22, F-35, or F-16. However, if you are wanting heavies, then some of the Boeing jets may have a similar feel. I am not experienced in these fields (yet) so take what I say with a grain of salt.

 

[shiner]

I admittedly do not fully understand your question, but here is my attempt.

In general, there are no civilians flying Air Force planes. However, you can be a civilian and work with the Air Force.

An example of civilian pilot working in conjunction with the Air Force would be experienced military pilots who have separated from active duty but still want to fly. They join companies like Draken Aero who fly military aircraft found in foreign country arsenals and serve as skilled adversaries for Air Force training.

The timing of this is sad, because we lost a good one this week - Nicholas Hamilton, USAFA c/o 2000 perished outside of Nelis AFB when his Dassault Mirage F-1 crashed Monday afternoon.

 

[Thunderbolt462]

There are a bunch of contract companies that provide adversary support, like shiner said. There are also contract companies that provide aviation support for the Air Force in areas you can't really talk about on here. They're also considering making a lot of air refueling contracted as well. The problem with most of these is they really like former military aviators in these positions. It's pretty hard to take someone from flying Cessnas and turn them into an adversary fighter pilot worth anything on the company's dime and time alone.

Aerial firefighting or flight for life/police helicopter pilot might give you a similar "rush." If you're just looking to serve the community and don't really care about the adrenaline aspect, Civil Air Patrol pilots do some really cool missions.

 

[OldRetSWO]

There are some private civilians who own retired tactical aircraft. I've heard of a retired Marine from USNA 76 who flies his own Harrier.
When my mother had cancer surgery some years ago, her neurosurgeon did his appointments at night so he could fly his Mig )and
a few other planes that he owned) during the days.

 

[USAFA_86]

There are some private civilians who own retired tactical aircraft. I've heard of a retired Marine from USNA 76 who flies his own Harrier.
When my mother had cancer surgery some years ago, her neurosurgeon did his appointments at night so he could fly his Mig )and
a few other planes that he owned) during the days.

Wow! I didn’t know you could do that. That’s a lot of gas money though!

 

[Stealth_81]

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