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IFS for NFO's - Anyone know????

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shorty12

Stashed Ensign - NFO
Does anyone know if IFS is offered to NFO's prior to reporting to pensacola? If so, should I take it at my present command or wait until pensacola? What is the cirriculum for NFO's in IFS?
 
I am enrolling now in NIFS here in JAX. There is different paperwork that needs to be done than our Pilot counterparts have to do. If you enroll before you get commissioned you get more time to finish. You get 11 flights with the last one requiring you to fly a cross-country (with a CFI) at least 50 nm from departure airport. You need to fly 12.5-13.5 hours with .5 hr brief and .5 debrief. Also need to complete ground school and pass all tests with at least an 80%.
 
It's not too bad. While pilots have more lessons on the same thing (i.e. basic control of the aircraft in different situations, more gritty in to the mechanics of flight), nfo's will learn the basics of flight control and then go learn how to do things more in instruments. You will go over things like ILS approaches, GPS approaches, etc. It's really too much to pick up in such a short time, so it's more likely that this is just to get nfo's used to flying and to get some exposure to approaches.

I just finished it yesterday.
 
Try not to do IFS in Pensacola... you may end driving an hour and a half to get to the flight school they assign you like I did. There are 4 schools to choose from (Pensacola, Milton, Eglin, Destin ) and they assign them by where you live and/or if you have some special situation like a pregnant wife... and sometime it's just luck too. I put 120 miles on my car each time I drove to Destin and back... sucked. I can't complain too much though cause Destin is beautiful and you fly along the beach a lot... you get to see cool things like sharks in the water sometimes, and they like to swim close to the tourists... haha
 
How long exactly is IFS for nfo's? Days? Wks? Also, how intense is ground school and the exams? I also heard you have to do a couple solos. Anyone wanna enlighten on this?
 
No solo's for nfo's. It is supposed to be completed in 65 days. You can do a max of 4 hours of flying a day, so if the weather is nice and you are available, it shouldn't take too long to finish the 13.5 hours that is required. The ground school depends on the school. Some guys here actually have class. I had a set of CD's to watch and take quizzes on.
 
alabama_matt said:
No solo's for nfo's. It is supposed to be completed in 65 days. You can do a max of 4 hours of flying a day, so if the weather is nice and you are available, it shouldn't take too long to finish the 13.5 hours that is required. The ground school depends on the school. Some guys here actually have class. I had a set of CD's to watch and take quizzes on.
Click to expand...

Holy cow! 65 days?! Thats like 2 months. So just to be clear, we must complete IFS before we can start API, correct?
 
yes, you have to finish IFS before you can start API. However, the 65 days is the upper limit for time. It is entirerly possible to finish within a few weeks if you can get an instructor open that much.
 
My husband completed IFS in 10 days. It was insane, but he was happy to get it over and done with so quickly.
 
this must all be for the Navy guys...they told us we were pretty much not allowed to take IFS. It would have helped with contacts ;)
 
IFS for NFOs is only 40 days when you are commissioned, it's probably 65 days if you're still in ROTC or something, but all I got was 40 days along w/ all the other SNFOs here in Pensacola. I completed mine in 37 days, took long cause of the bad weather we have been having here... I had a good 2 weeks off because my flights kept getting cancelled. I could've finished quickly, but then that would mean I'd have to go back to a-pool and muster 5 days a week... not fun.
 
Bad things about IFS in P'Cola:
1.5 hour drive to Eglin every day
Insanely boring ground school with wacky old guy who told us stories about when he used to fight "the Japs"
Weather always tended to fall below VFR minimums right before carefully scheduled flight

Good things about IFS in P'Cola
****Gets you out of A-pool muster**** (most vital)
Flying over the ocean, seeing sharks
Flew ILS approach with an instrument hood to within 100' of the runway, and realized for the first time that it is completely possible to land a plane without being able to see anything...really cool

In my mind, it was a toss-up, do whatever works with your schedule. Either way, IFS is probably not the most difficult or stressful experience, so it'll work out.
 
TrunkMonkey said:
Bad things about IFS in P'Cola:
1.5 hour drive to Eglin every day
Insanely boring ground school with wacky old guy who told us stories about when he used to fight "the Japs".
Click to expand...

I would think this WWII vet would be the best part of IFS :)
 
Trunkmonkey,

Don't forget that the old gujy also invented every major weapon system currently in use by the Air Force..."I remember when I first came up with the idea for a C-130 gunship..."

Drive sucked, Eglin is a dump, and the weather was vengeful. Other than that, no worries. I finished yesterday on Day 40 so that was nice! My advice to Mids and newly commissioned folks is to get it done at your unit if possible. I got called three different times by Flight Management asking if I was done yet because they had me slated for the next API class. Don't listen to anyone who tells you otherwise, but SNFO's can class up real quick like around here.
 
Fmr1833 said:
Trunkmonkey,

Don't forget that the old guy also invented every major weapon system currently in use by the Air Force..."I remember when I first came up with the idea for a C-130 gunship..."
Click to expand...

LMAO! I'm glad someone else understands what I'm talking about.... :icon_smil
 
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