API Curriculum Mod

[bert]

When I was an RAG instructor and a cone started building a helmet fire for the first time, I would stop them and ask if they were actually on fire or plummeting towards Mr. Ground. When they said no, I would remind them that they could therefore slow down on the stress level.

They still need the same number of warm, winged, bodies at the end of the day. Your chances of success have not dropped (think about the math - the same number of people will get winged vs. the same number of people wanting wings). Chill out and if you absolutely need to have something to worry about then buy stock in an investment bank.

 

[MIDNJAC]

A guy that winged a few months ago down here in Kingsville actually attrited from API and the Colonel from MATSG let him back in to give him another shot. He ended up doing well in primary as well as advanced and ended up Top Hook at the boat. He's now flying Hornets in the RAG. One of his pink sheet trackers from API said he had less than a 10% chance of getting his wings, regardless of platform.

cool story, good to hear

 

[wingsB4rings]

A guy that winged a few months ago down here in Kingsville actually attrited from API and the Colonel from MATSG let him back in to give him another shot. He ended up doing well in primary as well as advanced and ended up Top Hook at the boat. He's now flying Hornets in the RAG. One of his pink sheet trackers from API said he had less than a 10% chance of getting his wings, regardless of platform.

Probably somehow related to John McCain.

 

[Bevo16]

That dude needs to frame that and hang it on his I Love Me Wall.

I have my drop sheet from Naval Nuclear Power School framed. I was let go due to "lack of academic aptitude". Turns out that I am not as stupid as they thought, I just did not have the math/physics background out of high school to make it through that program. No hard feelings though, it worked out pretty well for me.

There is a senior cheif who works down the hall who was giving me that "don't I know you from somewhere" look a few weeks ago. He was my math instructor back in 1996 at nuke school in Orlando. He filled out my "single subject failure" paperwork when I failed the 2nd math test. The last time he saw me, I was an E-3 on my way out of nuke school. It would be an understatement to say that he was surprised to see me as an officer/aviator. I do kind of owe the guy though. The extra math that I learned in nuke school prior to flunking out helped me kick-ass on the SAT, and get into the ROTC program.

 

[Python]

How will the 3 week API change affect those on the swimming, if at all? I'm comfortable in the water and swam recreationally all my life, but never a mile or in a flight suit. Will this negatively affect preparation for that event or any other swim event in API?

Thanks.

 

[JD81]

How will the 3 week API change affect those on the swimming, if at all? I'm comfortable in the water and swam recreationally all my life, but never a mile or in a flight suit. Will this negatively affect preparation for that event or any other swim event in API?

Thanks.

I was stashed at the pool for 6 months during my API wait last spring, the instructors there did everything possible to get everybody through it. The only people I ever saw fail ANY swim evolution were those who QUIT swimming during the evolution, and mostly it seemed they started to panic and grabbed the nearest wall.

 

[Gatordev]

How will the 3 week API change affect those on the swimming, if at all? I'm comfortable in the water and swam recreationally all my life, but never a mile or in a flight suit. Will this negatively affect preparation for that event or any other swim event in API?

Thanks.

As far as time to train is concerned, it shouldn't affect you too much. As I recall, you swim just about every day in API and you do the mile swim at about the 3 week mark (during Engines week). So you (and everyone else) will have the same amount-ish of time, it's just that it's going to be really early in the morning now (I would guess).

 

[Bevo16]

I spent way to much of my A-pool time in the gym, and as a result I did not have a very buoyant body for the swimming portions of API. My advice: drink lots of beer and eat a lot of chicken wings. The mile swim was easy. Treading water in all of that gear was the one that I had hell with. The underwater swim was cake.

 

[MIDNJAC]

How will the 3 week API change affect those on the swimming, if at all? I'm comfortable in the water and swam recreationally all my life, but never a mile or in a flight suit. Will this negatively affect preparation for that event or any other swim event in API?

Thanks.

If you are truly comfortable in the water, you will not have any problems. People that psyche themselves out and/or do the strokes wrong are the folks who have to re-do swim events.

 

[SemperGumbi]

...words...

First,
Name stealer.

Second:

My answer would be that they want to dump as much quality raw product in as possible and see what comes out. The selection standards are already such that making the first door into the program smaller won't lower the attrition rate with respect to number of students. It'll just lower the rate with respect to time. That's pointless.

I would guess that they have the science of selection for SNA down to a few certain profiles that are generally successful, but "they" can't guess which individuals from each profile won't make it so all applicants who fit one of the profiles are dumped in the hopper, and put through the filters knowing that statistically, a certain number won't make it.

Now, if there is a quota of kills built in, then that's just unprofessional, and counterproductive.

I would LOVE to see the real stats about a guy who finishes in the bottom 20% (sans bottom 5%) being a predictor of failing out of flight school. I think the total bottom feeders will probably have some issues, but those guys getting 85 v. 90+ on their tests? Give me a break. It is API, not the real deal flight school. I know plenty of guys who did poorly in API who rocked the rest of flight school.

If they started dropping 20% in API, I bet the flight attrites would go down like 3% based on performance alone. In other words they wouldn't really be weeding out the people who are sucking in Primary. It is a different skill set for the most part.

But if it does go to 20% performance alone won't be the issue. The attrite standards will probably change. It will probably be HARDER to attrite.

Unfortunately, if it does go to 20% out of API, they probably won't have the ability to attrite everyone who sucks in Primary and it will end up that more sub-standard pilots make it through because the Navy is hurting for pilots.

 

[Uncle Fester]

Seems to be a slight misunderstanding of the "20% attrite" magic number. That's a projection, not a goal. Nobody's trying to attrite 20%. If this curriculum change still results in less than 20% attrition, fine; it's not going to result in the skipper picking names out of a hat until he gets there. If it results in more, then this change will probably get re-evaluated spiffy quick. Since the current actual number (both overall and API) is much lower than that, it means the Powers That Be have some room to make the curricula tougher without completely screwing up the aviation accession numbers.

I know that all sounds like heartless math to some of you students and wannabes, but it's how it is. Big Navy has to look at the numbers. You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake (or your fucking khakis), you're just another potential aviator.

 

[SemperGumby]

sorry mate, need to teach AW phonetics.

 

[nittany03]

As said before, this strikes me as a bad idea. Does someone think there's some magic button you can push to make attrition stop? Being a good test taker != being a good pilot/NFO. If anything I'd ramp up IFS before API.

 

[Ducky]

As said before, this strikes me as a bad idea. Does someone think there's some magic button you can push to make attrition stop? Being a good test taker != being a good pilot/NFO. If anything I'd ramp up IFS before API.

YES!, The "MAGIC BUTTON" is that you have to want to be there. If you truly want to be there you wont get that career ending DUI and you wont let the academics get the best of you. You will do whatever it takes to learn the material cold so that you will know when the test is trying to trick you. The gouge in API will only give you more crap to study. The gouge in primary is a much bigger help. Again the key is the desire to be in the pipeline. Just having that attitude wont necessarily get you perfect scores, but will prob keep you from attriting. Plus giving IFS the same large effort that you will give to your API classes should pay big dividends in primary.

 

[CommodoreMid]

Does anyone know with which class exactly this new system is supposed to start?