flight school

[tougs9]

In my senior year in college and have some electives that I can take. Just wondering what type of class would be beneficial for flight school. Also what would be a good math class to take to help prepare for flight school.

 

[PropStop]

take LOTS of writing classes.

if you join the navy to be a pilot, you're in for a rude treat. After you're done writing power point presentations and point papers, then *maybe* they'll let you fly.

 

[zilber]

get your private pilot's and instrument license. You might think the cost is high, but it will be well worth it. I have not met one person with both licenses who did bad in flight school. Just don't get used to civilian flying but be comfortable in the plane.

 

[bch]

TAKE WHATEVER CLASSES YOU WILL ENJOY!!! API does not require any special knoweldge. Primary: the extra flight time MAY (emphasis on MAY) help you, but IMO not worth the money when you will have less than a yr of experience when you get there anyway. (and I had my license b4 hand)

Enjoy that last semester, I did, I have not regretted it, I got my first choice everytime althroughout flight school. So this is not coming from someone who slacks off.

 

[squeeze]

Enjoy that last semester, I did, I have not regretted it, I got my first choice everytime althroughout flight school. So this is not coming from someone who slacks off.

hahahahha
hahahhah

hahahahhah
*gasp*
hahahahahahah

bch, not a slacker. good stuff
slacking off and getting your first choice are not mutually exclusive

 

[bch]

don't make me reach across the internet and ***** slap you

 

[tougs9]

so would I be better off taking calculas or physics II

 

[gregsivers]

Have fun with that, those classes were gpa killers for me. API is all memorizing, no need to know fancy math.

 

[zilber]

so would I be better off taking calculas or physics II

If you got money, go out and get an instrument rating. TRUST ME, it will pay off in the long run. It could change the rest of your life. It will help you during your selection. I always hear people say things like, "It's not fair. We are competing against people who have 200+ hours, and I came here with just 25..." You need to get your private pilot's license before you can get an instrument rating. Everything will cost around $10,000... The benefit of having instrument time will far outweighs the cost in flight school. I did not have any instrument time, but some of my friends did, and Radio Instruments are 50% of Primary and about 50-70% in Advanced. I had to work a lot harder, and did a little worse than my firends with instrument time. The first question from the instructor during my IFR sim was, "Do you have any prior instrument time?" Most people who answer yes and prove to the instructor with "fancy flying" that they have good situational awareness, do MUCH better. Of course, there are exeptions: people who are superstars end up doing great anyway

So what I would do is take some easy classes and go out and work on flying

 

[Bevo16]

I could not disagree more with Zilber about the need for flight time prior to flight school. I started API with zero flight time and a degree in political science, and I did just fine. Dropping 10 grand on an instrument rating right before the Navy pays you to get one does not make a hell of a lot of sense to me. I would guess that less than 5% of SNA's start primary with flight time other than what the Navy gives them in IFS. Guys pick up their first choice every week who did not have an instrument rating before flight school. IFR procedures are pretty cut and dry, and if it takes you $10,000 worth of prior instruction just to get through flight school, you are are really going to be hurting later on when you get to weapons, tactics, and all the other complex stuff in your fleet aircraft.

As for classes that you can take in your last semester, it depends on your situation. If you have already been accepted for SNA, take it easy. If you are still in the application process, taking calculus or physics would be a good idea. All ROTC students are required to take 2 semesters of each no matter what their major. If you are going to have a good package, you need to have a good GPA and electives that make it look like you actually took college seriously.

 

[VarmintShooter]

Dude, taking calc and physics won't help as far as flight school academics go. Taking a class that is all memorization might be good practice (biology maybe?), but I wouldn't worry about it - take it easy and enjoy your last semester.

On the other hand, taking calc and physics might help you get picked up for the program if you aren't already and if you can get a reasonable grade ... a D or F isn't likely to do much good.

As for flight time, if you are looking to drop money down a hole, go ahead. If not, save the money because you can do fine without the time. You might not outshine the guys with 200 hours instrument time (or do much 'fancy flying' ... sorry Zilber), but you'll be ten grand richer and after advanced you'll both hold the same ratings. Up to you.

 

[zilber]

I could not disagree more with Zilber about the need for flight time prior to flight school. I started API with zero flight time and a degree in political science, and I did just fine. Dropping 10 grand on an instrument rating right before the Navy pays you to get one does not make a hell of a lot of sense to me. I would guess that less than 5% of SNA's start primary with flight time other than what the Navy gives them in IFS. Guys pick up their first choice every week who did not have an instrument rating before flight school. IFR procedures are pretty cut and dry, and if it takes you $10,000 worth of prior instruction just to get through flight school, you are are really going to be hurting later on when you get to weapons, tactics, and all the other complex stuff in your fleet aircraft.

As for classes that you can take in your last semester, it depends on your situation. If you have already been accepted for SNA, take it easy. If you are still in the application process, taking calculus or physics would be a good idea. All ROTC students are required to take 2 semesters of each no matter what their major. If you are going to have a good package, you need to have a good GPA and electives that make it look like you actually took college seriously.

Like I said, some people are natural rockstars in a plane. But while in Primary, I noticed a trend of people with prior instrument time have NSS of 70 and above. And it all comes down to basic airwork and headwork. Anyone can do the 6 T's or holding... But managing basic airwork, situational awareness, communications, and everything else that comes with flying is much easier with prior flight time, and the grades will reflect that. To give you an example, my friends who ended up getting 65+ NSS received really good grades right away: when the MIF for each item was 3 they received 4's and 5's. An average student will receive a couple of 3's and the rest of the grades will be 4's. By the end of the block, everyone's grades are the same, but those first 3-4 flights in the block would have made a difference between getting 55 NSS and a 65 NSS. I am also talking about doing better in FAM's, BI's, RI's, VNAV, Night VNAV (you do a night cross country if you decide to get your private pilot's license)... All of those better grades add up. By the end up primary, everyone is on the same level (everyone is getting the same grades). That's just my opinion. Doing better from the start pays at the end.

On the other hand, I did not have any instrument time, and I am very happy with my selection.

 

[VarmintShooter]

I'm sure you are correct Zilber, but you only need what, a 30 NSS (I think) to get through the program?

An 80 NSS won't help you if every set of orders is helos (unless you want helos), and the fact is, you just can't predict what orders are going to come up each week. I got my first choice with no prior flight time at all.

 

[zilber]

I'm sure you are correct Zilber, but you only need what, a 30 NSS (I think) to get through the program?

An 80 NSS won't help you if every set of orders is helos (unless you want helos), and the fact is, you just can't predict what orders are going to come up each week. I got my first choice with no prior flight time at all.

Congratulations on getting your first choice. I am sure you worked hard for it. Navy side of the house, you need a 35 NSS to get winged, from what we were told. You are absolutely right. The Navy and Marine Corps need good pilots in all of the pipelines, so even if you have high NSS, you never know what you are going to get.

 

[bch]

The reason people with instrument tickets tend to do well, is NOT the instrument training. It is all the time they have in the aircraft, built up after a FEW years of flying. It makes them more comfortable and raises their SA since the flying part is already second nature.

You will NOT get to that level in the short time you are talking about, even if you do a quick ppl and instrument ticket. PPL is not that many hrs and the instrument ticket is not many more.

SAVE YOUR MONEY! I can not emphasize this enough. YOu want an edge, go buy an IFR (less than 50 bucks) book and learn how to read the plates, and get an idea of what it all means. That is the hard part of RI's, not the flying.

I know plenty of high hr types who did NOT get great grades. I mean real low 50's to low 40's