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IFS question

FMRAM

Combating TIP training AGAIN?!
I started my civilian flight training last week and I was looking to find out exactly how many flight hours/experience I can get before I am ineligible for IFS. Can I solo and still get IFS?
 

xmid

Registered User
pilot
Contributor
I started my civilian flight training last week and I was looking to find out exactly how many flight hours/experience I can get before I am ineligible for IFS. Can I solo and still get IFS?


Maybe I'm clueless, but why do you WANT to do IFS? Doesn't it just add an extra couple of months on to an already very long and stagnated pipeline? You're going to be a pilot regardless right?
 

RiceOwl06

Registered User
Right now it will add to your class up time for API, but he doesnt necessarily have to do it in P-Cola. If his school workload is not too bad, then he can do it in his last semester before he graduates. Or, like many Ensigns in A-pool right now, he can do it after his commissioning and before his P-cola report date. For example, I graduated in May, but reported for A-pool in August. So I had a few months to kill, and IFS was a great time killer. And it was 25 hours of free flight time. I think its definitely worth it to do IFS. The training I got would have cost me $5,000 out of pocket. So, if he does things right, he can report the same time he would have normally, and save himself a few thousands bucks to go spend on whatever.
 

GardnerGunz

Registered User
If you really love flying in a tiny cessna or piper with no airconditioning, sweating your butt off no matter what altitude IFS in P'cola makes sense for you. But keep in mind you won't be doing IFS in P'cola unless you get extremely lucky. NASP farms out the guys who need IFS to Milton, Mobile, Destin and Eglin AFB. If you're a ROTC or OCS guy with almost no time in you will get screwed into driving over an hour to Mobile, Destin or Eglin because the selection is based on seniority. The Marines in each IFS group always go first because they're always senior since they hit TBS before reporting. So yes you'll get more flight hours paid for by the navy, but you'll eat it in gas. If you get Eglin you may get a guy who actually flew in the Berlin Airlift. He stopped counting flight hours at 25,000, pretty sure his wingman was Jesus back in the day.
 

scoober78

(HCDAW)
pilot
Contributor
IFS in the Redneck Riviera also has the drawback of being run like an attrition program. A friend of mine who re-designated from NFO to SNA went back through the program down there and was actually told when she ran into trouble completing solo in the required hours that "IFS is supposed to be an attrition tool." This in comparison to IFS with another Part 141 which is from what I've heard, a nice introduction to flying for someone who hasn't.

While I admit there are people who aren't meant to be aviators, I don't think IFS is the proper program to figure that out. Let the IP's decide if someone has the chops in the air...Just my .02
 

nugget81

Well-Known Member
pilot
While I admit there are people who aren't meant to be aviators, I don't think IFS is the proper program to figure that out. Let the IP's decide if someone has the chops in the air...Just my .02

I was under the impression that the attrition would be self-initiated for those who decided that flying wasn't quite what they thought it would be.
 

gregsivers

damn homeowners' associations
pilot
IFS in the Redneck Riviera also has the drawback of being run like an attrition program. A friend of mine who re-designated from NFO to SNA went back through the program down there and was actually told when she ran into trouble completing solo in the required hours that "IFS is supposed to be an attrition tool." This in comparison to IFS with another Part 141 which is from what I've heard, a nice introduction to flying for someone who hasn't.

While I admit there are people who aren't meant to be aviators, I don't think IFS is the proper program to figure that out. Let the IP's decide if someone has the chops in the air...Just my .02

Maybe its viewed in that light in Pcola because of the vast number of students they have to complete. And the time requirement isn't set by the flight school, its a Navy directive. The instructor you get helps a lot with that mindset as well. My instructor at PAC was awesome and really made it fun.
 

Fezz CB

"Spanish"
None
I was under the impression that the attrition would be self-initiated for those who decided that flying wasn't quite what they thought it would be.

You mean DOR? From ppl I know who left the flight program, it seems DOR and attrite are both used interchangeably. Maybe someone here can clear up the differences, if there are any.
 

pdx

HSM Pilot
You mean DOR? From ppl I know who left the flight program, it seems DOR and attrite are both used interchangeably. Maybe someone here can clear up the differences, if there are any.

A DOR is someone who "drops on request" also known as quitting.

"Attrite" has two meanings.
1) In the stricter sense, an attrite is someone who gets kicked out for performance (grades, flights, etc).
2) Sometimes all non-completers are called "attrites," regardless of the source (NPQ, DOR, etc).

It is possible to attrite from IFS, but DORs are more common.
 

Fly Navy

...Great Job!
pilot
Super Moderator
Contributor
I've always considered attrition a two part word... those who fail out... and all those who are removed from the flight program, regardless of method.
 

nugget81

Well-Known Member
pilot
I was using the word "attrition" in the sense that a DOR is a form of attrition. Concur with what was said above.
 
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