ChinookDriver47

I could give him the name of a great Army recruiter for helo ops.

I have turned a lot of people on to rotary training as a fixed wing CFI. If nothing else, they at least took a ride to see what it was like. When I get asked about how hard it is to fly rotary I always say "Any idiot, including helo pilots, can fly in a straight line. It takes serious skill mastery to hold 50,000 lbs over one spot, +/- 2 feet in a 30 knot wind in brown-out, NVG conditions, under fire." This one 17 year old kid's eyes got as big around as the aircraft tires. His dad, who was in the back was an old Huey pilot in Nam. Since I had two hours till my next flight, i bought them both lunch while his kid listened to us trade stories. His were much better than mine.

The point, to the OP: At this point, this early in your "career" such as it is, take whatever training you can get and run with it. Do your best and forget the rest. The people you will meet, train with, and ultimately go to war with will be some of the greatest, most driven, and professional people you will have the opportunity to meet. Lots of people miss the military camaraderie. Hell, I think it it could liven up the normal "Office Space" job if people really cared about each other.

Honestly, though, good for you for looking into the military. It has been a great ride so far and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

CD

FlyBoyd

I was both AF and USN trained and then flew a USN plane on a USN mission and an AF mission with a joint staff. All the while I was stationed at an AF base. I don't intend to turn this into a ****ing contest but having experienced both sides I would say the main diffrence is that the USN pushed resposibility to a much lower level than the AF. That being said, you would find less pilots asking what they should do (waiting to be told) and just making the call because they had the authority to do so.

Again, no flame intended...just my first hand observations from my community. I also have 25+ AF Herc IPs in my current squadron who are are amazed at the differences in their experiences when compared to the USN/USMC IPs here.

FlyBoyd

Chris,

Go here Naval Aviator's Forum - Airwarriors. Wannabes are welcome. When you get there please search before posting as every one of your questions has been asked and answered before. They run a pretty tight ship and don't take kindly to laziness and lack of initiative. Also, save the airline specific/post service questions for this forum to avoid problems.

Chris

Thanks guys. There's lots of golden advice being given here and I really appreciate all input.

Great posts, Saltydog and voodiloquist.

Flyboyd, I checked out airwarriors forums. Ran into the post about eyesight, and I haven't been to the eyedoc in a couple of years, and when I did it was just the optometrist at Wally Mart. From what I've seen LASIK is a lot cheaper than it used to be. My brother got it done by a top-notch surgeon about 3 or 4 years ago and I think it ended up costing him 3 grand plus having to put eyedrops and gel in his eyes daily. I think he still carries genteal around with him.

An old CFI I used to fly with had it done in the 3-digit price range and he said his vision before the operation was terrible and 20/20 after. Good research here probably is the solution to to finding a good doc. I've heard of some real horror stories with LASIK.

Any of you guys had the procedure done? My vision isn't 20/20 but I think 20/40 in one eye and 20/50 or so in the other. Not good enough for a Navy Pilot. Supposedly AFTER being granted a pilot slot slightly worse vision than 20/20 is acceptable but that doesn't really help much. I also have astigmatism. What I really need to do is just see a good optometrist and discuss what my options are.

Chris

FlyBoyd

Chris,

As I stated earlier, go to the forum and search. If you would take the time you would see that LASIK will DISQUALIFY you from being a Naval Aviator according to Aeromedical Reference and Waiver Guide which is the waiver guide for the Navy. You would have also found that the vision limit is 20/40.

You need to be careful as seemingly simple (economical) decisions you make now can affect you down the road.

Most (if not all) of your questions about Naval Aviation can be answered (Airwarriors - Powered by vBulletin). Exercise some initiative Chris, it will be expected if you get accepted so practice now.

Also make sure you see an officer recruiter not the enlisted recruiter at the kiosk or stripmall. Call around and find out who that is and deal with them directly.

Spongebob

I started out flying SH-60B's and then got to move over to E-2's, so it can be done but takes a.) kick-a$$ fitreps (to touch the door) and b.) deft timing (for it to be open)...actually, deft timing is an essential for a "good" military career.

While nothing was better than day traps (I didn't mind night ones and a Case 3 approach was easier than chasing everyone around Case 1), day to day the helo was way more fun to fly. Flying the Hawkeye was like driving a truck after 1500 hours in it...flying the H-60 was like walking after 300 hours. Just an extension of your brain you didn't think about. Which is good when shooting a TACAN approach to a flight deck 15' off the water with a wall at the far end. At night. Without NVG's.

I got to go from the E-2 straight to a 747!

Feel free to PM.
Spongebob

dbtownley

Chris,

Do you want to serve in the military? I think that it is a valid question that you should ask yourself first. I loved it, still do in the reserves. The flying part of the job is really only secondary to being a leader and taking care of your troops. I think it is very noble for a person to sign up and join the fight at a this time period. You might end up staying in for the full time, the pension is probably the best around now. Good luck to you, I am sure that you will enjoy your time in if that is truly what you want to do. See ya' when you get to Corpus.

Chris

I want to serve in the military. I'm looking forward to the enlistment and serving my country (with a nice ride of course).

Right now, I'm just worried about my eyes. Any experiences with PRK guys? I guess I'll never take the shades off on the ramp from now on!

FlyBoyd

The recruiter at the stripmall will try to get you to enlist. The officer recruiter will help you get a commission. If you want to ride then enlist. If you want to drive you need a commission.

Chris

Understood.. I need to get my terminology straight. Amongst other things.