Average NSS score range for aircraft selection

[MIDNJAC]

I think it (E-6s) was ahead of P-3's on my dream sheet, but I doubt I put much thought into anything beyond my top 2.

 

[Gatordev]

but I doubt I put much thought into anything beyond my top 2.

I'm curious...what was #2 for you?

 

[DanMa1156]

E-6s are the weird one. I have heard of people with an NSS in the 30s getting it. I have also seen pretty high NSSs get it. I had a 72 and E-6s #1 and got it. During my time, a lot of people got it as a second choice after P-8s. And some got it without having it on their dream sheet. A lot of stuff goes into selection, mainly needs of the Navy. Stuff like anthros can be a factor as well. A lot of tall people in TACAMO. My advice is to do your best and talk to your IPs about what they flew and what they liked/didn’t like. Just because you have a specific platform in mind doesn’t mean you should not try and learn about others. You might not get your #1 and it’ll be good to have some background. At a minimum, it is good PRODEV. Plus, the more you ask them about their career, the less they will ask you about the hyd system or the Uncommanded Prop Feather EP.

This sounds right. When I went through primary there was a guy near me that made it clear he wanted E-6s from day one and they basically catered to him to ensure he finished when there was an E-6 selection since so few people ever asked for it.

With that said, the amount of students in my time in primary who had dreams of the airlines was way less than today’s students which meant selecting it wasn’t wildly competitive - nor was maritime - and the airlines weren’t his primary motivation either; he didn’t want to have to PCS frequently and thought that was his best shot to minimize PCSs (probably correctly).

 

[Random13]

It has similarities to the E6 in that you never know when they'll be selecting it that week.
However, due to it being "tailhook", it has a minimum NSS requirement of 50.

The selection secret is if you put jets, you are ALSO putting the E2 down. So most of the E2 selects are folks who wanted jets.
E2 has a very long pipeline as you do fixed wing advance followed by the jet syllabus, so for many, it becomes less desirable as they progress through Primary.

I don't know anyone personally who put down the E2 by the end of Primary. They were all chosen by the disc queen and are happy.
In terms of how competitive it is, you have to do well in Primary due to min NSS req then hope they have a slot that week.

Thank you for your response, I wasn't entirely sure. From a novice perspective (myself), and the perspective of someone with 0 flight time (myself) how hard is it generally for SNAs to get NSS's above 50? I have spoken to a USMC MV-22 Osprey pilot and a friend who currently flies the Super Hornet, and if I recall correctly they both had NSS's above 70. If this is a stupid question or a question that has already been answered in another thread, I apologize, I am still trying to figure out the search function.

 

[FinkUFreaky]

Thank you for your response, I wasn't entirely sure. From a novice perspective (myself), and the perspective of someone with 0 flight time (myself) how hard is it generally for SNAs to get NSS's above 50? I have spoken to a USMC MV-22 Osprey pilot and a friend who currently flies the Super Hornet, and if I recall correctly they both had NSS's above 70. If this is a stupid question or a question that has already been answered in another thread, I apologize, I am still trying to figure out the search function.

NSS is a standardized score with 50 as the “average”. Without getting nerdy on it (which I couldn’t properly do anyways), it’s a standardized distribution based on something like the scores of the last 200 wingers compared to yours. So 50% will do better than 50, 50% will be less. On average, over time, not in any given class.

Not everyone puts their all into it of course; over to the individual to show up as prepared as they can be (the grades will fall where they fall, but generally tend to be better for better students and worse for less-prepared students). And then you have the scheduling and weather gods etc etc.

 

[Random13]

NSS is a standardized score with 50 as the “average”. Without getting nerdy on it (which I couldn’t properly do anyways), it’s a standardized distribution based on something like the scores of the last 200 wingers compared to yours. So 50% will do better than 50, 50% will be less. On average, over time, not in any given class.

Not everyone puts their all into it of course; over to the individual to show up as prepared as they can be (the grades will fall where they fall, but generally tend to be better for better students and worse for less-prepared students). And then you have the scheduling and weather gods etc etc.

Thank you for your explanation @FinkUFreaky . That all makes sense, especially the part about giving your all in the course=better performance.

This sounds right. When I went through primary there was a guy near me that made it clear he wanted E-6s from day one and they basically catered to him to ensure he finished when there was an E-6 selection since so few people ever asked for it.

With that said, the amount of students in my time in primary who had dreams of the airlines was way less than today’s students which meant selecting it wasn’t wildly competitive - nor was maritime - and the airlines weren’t his primary motivation either; he didn’t want to have to PCS frequently and thought that was his best shot to minimize PCSs (probably correctly).

I am trying to phrase these 2 questions without sounding completely stupid. So here goes nothing:

1.) With the E-2 not being highly sought after by students (*if I picked that part up correctly, if I did not, absolutely no offense intended*), is it like the E-6 in which if a student displays a high level of interest in flying the aircraft that Navy leadership will try to help get them selected for E-2s if said student has the minimum scores required?

2.) How would a student go about stating their preferences without sounding like a self-entitled jerk? I.E. if a student would want to put jets, E-2s, P-8 for example, and were to say "I really want to fly the E-2 if I can't get jets" or whatever aircraft if they don't get their first preferences, how would they go about stating their preferences without sounding like "me before team"?

I'll caveat all of what I said above by saying honestly if I am chosen to fly in the military, I just want my wings, specific airframe definitely comes second (if not significantly lower) on the level of importance in the grand scheme of things.

 

[Meyerkord]

is it like the E-6 in which if a student displays a high level of interest in flying the aircraft that Navy leadership will try to help get them selected for E-2s if said student has the minimum scores required?

In general, I wouldn’t expect anyone to go out of their way to ensure you get what you want. Most of them don’t have much pull anyways. Your desires are only one small piece of the puzzle. That being said, definitely make your intentions known. You’ll never know if someone is able to pull some strings behind the scenes like the person above.

How would a student go about stating their preferences without sounding like a self-entitled jerk?

They will give you a sheet of paper where you’ll rank your choices. Aside from that, your instructors will probably ask what you want to fly and you should definitely talk with them and see if you can pick their brains about their communities. The only way you’ll sound like a jerk is if you come in with the “I’m the next blue angels pilot, respect me” attitude. Everyone has their desires. It gets talked about a lot, especially as you get close to the end. A lot of people want jets, and that’s totally fine, jets are sick. Just be humble about it, work as hard as you can, and don’t get bitter if your first choice wasn’t an option

 

[MIDNJAC]

I'm curious...what was #2 for you?

Rotary. I had a weird obsession with always flying via stick and rudder. In hindsight, that was a pretty silly discriminator I also liked the idea of flying low and doing it VFR. Anything beyond jets and helos was basically an airliner in my mind, and I would've joined the airlines instead if that's what I'd wanted

 

[Gatordev]

Rotary. I had a weird obsession with always flying via stick and rudder. In hindsight, that was a pretty silly discriminator I also liked the idea of flying low and doing it VFR. Anything beyond jets and helos was basically an airliner in my mind, and I would've joined the airlines instead if that's what I'd wanted

I wouldn't say that's silly. I'd say as far as a student's perspective vs reality, you weren't that far off.

 

[tward1512]

Okay, I’m going to be the guy who asks “the question”. A few pilots have told me that if you don’t get your first choice, if the instructors like you and you’re a good student and you say hey I really want to fly X aircraft, with the way things are they’ll hold you back until a slot for that pipeline opens up as long as you qualify for it. How true is that? Have you seen it happen? I understand the needs of the Navy and whatnot. I’m not asking “if I suck up to my instructors enough…”, more so getting a general consensus of is it possible. I will now open it up for ridicule 😂

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

Okay, I’m going to be the guy who asks “the question”. A few pilots have told me that if you don’t get your first choice, if the instructors like you and you’re a good student and you say hey I really want to fly X aircraft, with the way things are they’ll hold you back until a slot for that pipeline opens up as long as you qualify for it. How true is that? Have you seen it happen? I understand the needs of the Navy and whatnot. I’m not asking “if I suck up to my instructors enough…”, more so getting a general consensus of is it possible. I will now open it up for ridicule 😂

Almost certain your question is asked on this forum.

 

[Gatordev]

Okay, I’m going to be the guy who asks “the question”. A few pilots have told me that if you don’t get your first choice, if the instructors like you and you’re a good student and you say hey I really want to fly X aircraft, with the way things are they’ll hold you back until a slot for that pipeline opens up as long as you qualify for it. How true is that? Have you seen it happen? I understand the needs of the Navy and whatnot. I’m not asking “if I suck up to my instructors enough…”, more so getting a general consensus of is it possible. I will now open it up for ridicule 😂

The answer to your question is, no, you will not be held back for another week if you have completed the syllabus by the cutoff time (historically, that was by Tuesday night of the week).

What has happened is a CO can ask to deep-select from the fiscal allotments, but it's not something the CO is going to do regularly, or even at all. It was extremely rare, but I have seen it happen and the stud had a stellar reputation among the IPs. It's been too long, so I can't remember any other details, but I think there were some other extenuating circumstances, as well.

What it is NOT is a, "he's a good dude, let's just give him a jet slot from next week," type of hookup, as that doesn't happen.

 

[tward1512]

The answer to your question is, no, you will not be held back for another week if you have completed the syllabus by the cutoff time (historically, that was by Tuesday night of the week).

What has happened is a CO can ask to deep-select from the fiscal allotments, but it's not something the CO is going to do regularly, or even at all. It was extremely rare, but I have seen it happen and the stud had a stellar reputation among the IPs. It's been too long, so I can't remember any other details, but I think there were some other extenuating circumstances, as well.

What it is NOT is a, "he's a good dude, let's just give him a jet slot from next week," type of hookup, as that doesn't happen.

Thank you that’s the answer I was looking for. I know the Navy has a shortage of pilots all around, but are there some pipelines they’re trying to fill more than others?

 

[Gatordev]

The Navy doesn't have a shortage of CAT 1 pilots, so the pipelines will be filled up based on their fiscal allotments. The Navy does have a problem with time to train, but that affects all of the pipelines at the Primary level, so it's mostly a wash.

 

[Python]

Thank you that’s the answer I was looking for. I know the Navy has a shortage of pilots all around, but are there some pipelines they’re trying to fill more than others?

The only shortage is with retaining pilots with ten years+ of experience. Not newbies.