Is There Precedent for Beginning Fighter Pilots of Late Age?

[mmntm]

Hi All,

Very curious if there have been stories of older officers within the 28-32 y/o range that have made it as a Fighter Pilot.

Hard to find this piece of information, but curious if it has been done.

Not a totally open-ended question, but would love to hear the journey!

 

[Meyerkord]

Yes, there are plenty of people in all communities that are older than the average college grad when they first start. It’s not as uncommon as you’d think.

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

Hi All,

Very curious if there have been stories of older officers within the 28-32 y/o range that have made it as a Fighter Pilot.

Hard to find this piece of information, but curious if it has been done.

Not a totally open-ended question, but would love to hear the journey!

This has been asked a few times on here. Age has no indicator of landing a tailhook spot for flight school.

 

[HuggyU2]

PJ was "the old man" in our pilot training class and was my table-mate.
Showed up at his fighter squadron at about 29-30 years old.
Got the Air Force Cross in Desert Storm for his efforts in saving Devon Jones who was shot down in his F-14.

I'd say he did ok.

MAJOR GENERAL PAUL T. "PJ" JOHNSON

Maj. Gen. Paul T. Johnson is Director, Operational Capability Requirements, Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Plans and Requirements, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. In this position,

www.af.mil

 

[mmntm]

Thanks all for your input. Too often do I see age as a deterrent on multiple posts, but this reinforces how it really boils down to high top tier performance, persistence, and consistency.

 

[Griz882]

PJ was "the old man" in our pilot training class and was my table-mate.
Showed up at his fighter squadron at about 29-30 years old.
Got the Air Force Cross in Desert Storm for his efforts in saving Devon Jones who was shot down in his F-14.

I'd say he did ok.

MAJOR GENERAL PAUL T. "PJ" JOHNSON

Maj. Gen. Paul T. Johnson is Director, Operational Capability Requirements, Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Plans and Requirements, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. In this position,

www.af.mil

Ha! I flew with Devon back in VT-27.

 

[DanMa1156]

PJ was "the old man" in our pilot training class and was my table-mate.
Showed up at his fighter squadron at about 29-30 years old.
Got the Air Force Cross in Desert Storm for his efforts in saving Devon Jones who was shot down in his F-14.

I'd say he did ok.

MAJOR GENERAL PAUL T. "PJ" JOHNSON

Maj. Gen. Paul T. Johnson is Director, Operational Capability Requirements, Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Plans and Requirements, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. In this position,

www.af.mil

Reading his bio and looking at some of my peers I knew from USAFA (exchange cadets at USNA) - I am always amazed at how much opportunity the USAF seems to be able to give for in residence graduate education compared to Naval Aviation.

 

[csanfilippo9]

Hi All,

Very curious if there have been stories of older officers within the 28-32 y/o range that have made it as a Fighter Pilot.

Hard to find this piece of information, but curious if it has been done.

Not a totally open-ended question, but would love to hear the journey!

I know plenty of dudes / gals who are over that are on the older side and get picked for jets and make it through.

 

[Swanee]

What's up with the blatantly obvious Chinese posts in the last couple of days?

 

[MIDNJAC]

I'll be 41 years old in a week.......still fly fighters (well not as much "fighters" anymore, same plane but with these big pods that can theoretically be hung on the wings to do nerd stuff). I was 25 when I started flying in the navy, was never a problem. Was only a year or two older than my peers, and there were many who were my age or older who also did fine.

 

[Fallonflyr]

In what universe is 28-30 old?😂

 

[Gatordev]

In what universe is 28-30 old?😂

A teenager's.

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

In what universe is 28-30 old?😂

GEN Z folks.