Is Military Aviation Worth It?

[a_m]

Definitely worth it. Especially when a little kid snaps a Polaroid of the jet in the pattern then asks you to sign it.

What is a little kid doing with a wide-angle lense?

 

[puck_11]

Military flying is so worth it. I came in with more than enough time to be hired by the regionals and do not regret my decision one bit. Every military pilot I have ever talked to said they would do anything to trade places and do it again, and they all said you will never regret your decision. OTOH, my friends who are flying for the regionals are not happy with life, being shit on by management, making $23,000 a year, and realizing that flying a CRJ isn't all that its cracked up to be, with upgrades to the majors not looking great anytime soon. I'd say at least half on them are looking at getting out and doing something else.

 

[phrogdriver]

Worth every second. Any young 2ndLts (preferably TBS complete) want to switch places with me?

*note: I get to keep the wife and kids. You can have the pay and staff job.

Half the fun of being a Lt is not having the wife and kids!

Definitely worth it. Especially when a little kid snaps a Polaroid of the jet in the pattern then asks you to sign it.

What kid has a damn Polaroid camera? Did he come to the airshow via a time machine from 1985? :icon_tong

 

[TheBubba]

What kid has a damn Polaroid camera? Did he come to the airshow via a time machine from 1985? :icon_tong

I shit you not... flew into CHA for some Qdoba on the tail end of a low level... little kid approached me with a Polaroid camera...the camera musta been about as old as I am... and a pic of us rolling out on final.

 

[a_m]

I shit you not... flew into CHA for some Qdoba on the tail end of a low level... little kid approached me with a Polaroid camera...the camera musta been about as old as I am... and a pic of us rolling out on final.

Was this in the prowler or was it the might StrikePig?

 

[TheBubba]

StrikePig, 'FOBus, Sabre-toothed Liner... whatever you wanna call it.

I haven't been off the ground in a Prowler yet.

 

[a_m]

StrikePig, 'FOBus, Sabre-toothed Liner... whatever you wanna call it.

I haven't been off the ground in a Prowler yet.

That makes it infinitely less exciting.

 

[Gatordev]

Military is a lot more intensive than civilian and does require a much more in depth knowledge of systems, emergency procedures and flight characteristics. You'll do some civilian flying with IFS so you'll get some of that no matter what you choose, however IFS is a "taste." One thing I noticed is that military is a lot more uniform in instruction than the civilian world. Whereas we have an actual syllabus for Primary, the civilian world was more "make sure these things are completed by your checkride." As for commissioning, I went through the Academy so I'm not very familiar with the programs you mentioned, unfortunately. That's something I should brush up on.

To add to the above... Primary, which is roughly equivalent to the same stuff you do for your private, plus a little more, is at a much faster pace than the civilian side. It's not like you can throw time and money at the CFI and you'll eventually get it. You, the student, have to get it w/in the alloted number of flights (plus a little wiggle room, depending on your case). The T-34 (and I'd dare say the T-6) isn't that much more complicated than your standard Cessna or Piper. There's some more bells and whistles, but overall, it's not that big a deal, but like xj220 said, you go more in depth to get a better understanding.

As for those thinking about going to the regionals....As I was flying back home yesterday and watching the various regional FO and "captains," I had ZERO desire to be in their shoes. Flying cattle straight and level while wearing a suit just doesn't have the appeal. I know there are many here who do it, but for me, it's just not enticing.

 

[Schnugg]

A4sForever, thank you for your opinion. its rare on this post to have someone respond with the flight experiance that you have. of course when i was a kid, i wanted to be an airline pilot....mostly because of the glitz and glam of the job. that was before i knew better. the military right now is booming with the budgets they are receiving for war operations. i dont see a slowdown anytime soon. i have found with military aviation that theres a whole lot more to the job than just flying. the responsibility, the hard work, and the type of flying is something i would never have a chance to do again.

We'll see after the elections in November....

WRT the OP; IMHO, it's worth it. I'd do it all again. What a ride. !!!

Please capitalize your letter "i" lest you get a ticket.

 

[Pags]

It's even better when he asks if you're a blue angel and says "oh", and walks away after you tell him you fly helicopters.

Kids are awesome.

Or being on Fleet Week in NYC and have a cute chick come up to you and say, "so, how does this thing work?" as she points to the helo and then have her intently listen to you for 20min as you explain just exactly how the magic happens. That and the people who seem flabergasted that the helo isn't a museum piece and that it was just flying the day prior.

 

[xj220]

To add to the above... Primary, which is roughly equivalent to the same stuff you do for your private, plus a little more, is at a much faster pace than the civilian side. It's not like you can throw time and money at the CFI and you'll eventually get it. You, the student, have to get it w/in the alloted number of flights (plus a little wiggle room, depending on your case).

+1 big time. With civilian its a matter of how much you want to pay and then finally getting it. Personally I think the T-34C is a much more complicated aircraft than any Cessna or Piper I've ever flown, however my license is only in SEL with no endorsements (e.g. high performance, complex). It definitely has a lot more power plus turbine lag, three trim controls (vice one), and a few other things that you need to master.

 

[Gatordev]

+1 big time. With civilian its a matter of how much you want to pay and then finally getting it. Personally I think the T-34C is a much more complicated aircraft than any Cessna or Piper I've ever flown, however my license is only in SEL with no endorsements (e.g. high performance, complex). It definitely has a lot more power plus turbine lag, three trim controls (vice one), and a few other things that you need to master.

All true. I didn't mean for it to sound like cake. It (along w/ the T-6, I'm sure) is a lot to learn at first. But having flown about 500 hours on the civilian side before the Navy, then flying a fleet aircraft, it's amazing how simple the T-34 is. However complicated the T-34 (or the -57, or the -45, etc) is, it pales in comparison to the fleet aircraft you'll end up in. It's actually refreshing coming back to the T-34. "You mean that's it? It seemed like so much more back in Primary."

 

[MasterBates]

Having a shat-ton of hours in turbine helos, the -34 was not so mystical to me. But when I got to the 60B I was dumbfounded.

The -34 is FAR closer to a Cessna with a turbine engine than a fleet aircraft. I liked flying the 34, 44 and 45 again.. Nice and simple..

Favorite part about the -45. No circuit breakers. Systems are SIMPLER than a T-34 for the most part.

And I have not been asked how many windings/bolts/etc are in some component not addressed in NATOPS here.

 

[scoober78]

But when I got to the 60B I was dumbfounded.

The -34 is FAR closer to a Cessna with a turbine engine than a fleet aircraft.

Anyone wanna chime in with how many pages are in the P-3 NATOPS?

 

[MasterBates]

When it gets that big, you weight it.. The page count is just too scary.