Marine Platform Choices- Pros and Cons

[devildogdad]

:icon_boun :icon_boun :icon_boun As any parent of a SNA, I definitely have an interest of what choice my son would make in his selction. Notice I said His, not mine. My son soloed this past week at Whiting and told me that it was the most fun he has had since he started flying! He soloed when in High School and had his Private license before entering college. My SNA son stated there were some instructors that visited them in PCOLA(Whiting) this past week from Meridian and talked about selection for Jets. My son at present has no preference. Initially before being commissioned all he thought about was the Harrier and now he's talked to me about the Osprey but with No definitely "I want to fly this type aircraft" response. The instructors from Meridian stated that a 52 and above for a Marine SNA would give them a good chance of getting a Jet Slot if that is what they wanted. The "extra 4-6 Months of training" for Jets is the reason that some Marines are NOT selecting jets at this present time! This was what my son had told me. I would like to know from those AVIATORS out there how you personally feel about what you fly and why you chose what you did and the Pros and Cons of flying your particular aircraft. I do appreciate and response I may recieve.
SEMPER FI,
DEVILDOGDAD

 

[bch]

I am in the navy, but helo flying is helo flying! I LOVE IT! Unfortunatly the helo community has a bad rep (based entirely off of what people who have never flown one have to say about it), but I am here to tell you that flying helos is where it is at!

I am sure E5B or skidkid can comment about marine helo flying specifically. But as far as general helo goes, IT rocks.

BTW I selected LAMPS Mark III, SH-60B.

 

[EODDave]

The instructor and stud from Meridian were from my squadron VT-7. We go down to Whiting once a month for a question and answer period plus a little power point on the strike community. THe reason for this is the lack of jet instructors at Whiting. Most instructors there are P-3 and Helo guys. So, we go down to answer questions and show them the planes.

Strike pros: Fun flying, new Aircraft, extremely laid back ip's, fun flying, great community, did I mention flying jets is a blast.

Cons: Meridian, Ms (not the best or worst duty station)

Meridian and Kingsville, arent the best duty stations for single guys, but there are worse places to be. The time to train is a little longer than helo's or props, but it is well worth it. In the long run, your son will be happy with whatever he chooses. I like many here, always wanted to fly jets. I had a tuff decision to make as I was split on P-3's (family life, crew a/c, great duty stations, mad $$$ per diem) or Jets (oh what fun to fly). Today, I am happy flying jets.

 

[devildogdad]

Feedback was much appreciated from bch and EODDave

Gentlemen,
I do thank you so much for your replies in regards to platform choice for my son. In regards to Meridian, we live approximately 150 miles from there, so it will definitely be the closest my Marine SNA son will ever be to home while being in the USMC.
SEMPER FI-DEVILDOGDAD

 

[phrogdriver]

DDDad,

There are threads galore going back and forth between whats better. I'd recommend doing a search. A lot of them denigrate into calling each other names derived from slang for female part parts. I'm a helo guy by trade. I've always been happy with my choice. This is how I view some of the pros and cons:

Helos pro: Flying low, working with ground Marines regularly, close relationship with enlisted aircrew, being on the "pointy end" in forward bases

con: limited civilian employment, getting bum rap from some of the ignorant masses

Jets pro: Cat shots, high performance aircraft, "sex appeal"

cons: working with jerks (j/k), not close officer/enlisted relationship, having to work too much with the Navy, often fewer flight hours

C-130 pro: short, but frequent deployments, flight time, good skills for outside employment

cons: outside the mainstream of Marine air, less "tactical" than the others (but changing rapidly)

Let the flaming begin. I tried to be fair.

 

[jarhead]

I would like to know from those AVIATORS out there how you personally feel about what you fly and why you chose what you did and the Pros and Cons of flying your particular aircraft.

when i was at Whiting i didn't really know what i wanted to fly but it’s best not to say anything anyways as some of the IP’s there will hold it against you if you want Jets. the reason why Primary flight school has no Fighter/Attack pilots as instructors is because it’s a career ender for them, not to mention if you must go back to the training command and be an instructor, as least go fly tactically in the T-45. not having any Fighter/Attack pilots in Primary hurts though because nobody is there to dispel any of the rumors about the flying Jets, so students buy into the false statements made by instructors there who know very little about the Fighter/Attack side of the house. i've been flying the Hornet for a few years now, here are some Pros & Cons in my opinion ...

Pros of flying the Hornet:
- first and foremost flying one of the world's best Fighter/Attack aircraft

- the different types of missions, i.e. one day you might be flying a 1v1 or 2v2 dogfighting against other Hornets or Air Force F-16s or F-15s, the next day you might be practicing Close Air Support with Marines on the ground, and the next day you might be apart of a division (4 Hornets) self escort strike being aggressed by unknown fighters. we do low alitude training though we don't fly as low as Helos. the Marine Corps limits Hornets to 300 feet above the ground during training (for safety), but maneuvering at 300 feet and 500 knots is pretty cool.

here's video from a low altitude Pop-up attack flight i did from a couple years ago ... Popup Attack ... it's approx 6MB, if you have problems viewing you probably need Divx Codec added to your Windows Media Player

- the ability to fly faster than the speed of sound

- the slow speed capabilities of the Hornet

- being the Pilot in Command and not having to share flighttime (i fly the single seat variant of the Hornet)

- working with Marines on the ground doing Close Air Support ... i have yet to work with the Navy other than attending their schools. unless you deploy on a Navy ship (Carrier or LHD), you don't do much work with the Navy)

- landing & taking off of an Aircraft Carrier (though i haven't done that since the RAG)

- the other Fighter/Attack pilots that I work with on a daily basis … most everybody is pretty laid back and professional, and is willing teach you rather than "haze" you because you are new to the squadron. and there's not very many "high n tight haircut, oo-rah devil dog types" to be found in the Hornet community. from day one as a 1stLt, you are calling the other Company Grade Officers by their callsigns, and not calling them "sir". it's a laid back yet professional community

- there is always something to learn, either by studying or by listening to briefs & lectures. that is what turns a lot of people off to Jets, always having something to learn or study. but nobody holds your hand, either you learn on your own or lack of knowledge will show when you go flying.

- going on cross-countries and to airshows (ties into the "sex appeal")

Cons:

- long work hours … it’s not a 9 to 5 job

- never can get enough flight time ... 10-20 hours a month, depending on where your squadron is in the training cycle is the norm, but more would always be better. but for those planning ahead and looking to fly commercially in the civilian world, airlines have a conversion rate for Jet pilots which balances everything out. each airlines has a different conversion rate.

- Marine Hornets are getting old (as with all of Marine aircraft), which equates to more maintenance issues which means more broken jets, which equates to less flighttime

any questions feel free to ask ... good luck to your Son

Semper Fidelis

 

[skidkid]

A view from the Cobra side of the house.
I was very fortunate int hat I got my first choice all along through flight school.
I knew I wanted to be a Cobra pilot since very early in the training.
We as a community kind of straddle the line between jet and Helo. WE do not have an enlisted aircrew flying with us just another pilot. I have seen some phenomenal crew chiefs and the Huey guys swear by them but I like it jsut having one other mouth in the cockpit with me haveing flown in a Huey a few times they are always talking and crew coordinating which enhances mission success Im sure but I found myself thinking "just be quiet I know what Im doing"

We get flight time comperable to most of the opther communities 20-25 hours a month is the norm.

WE shoot about as often as the F/W guys do though 90% of our shooting is done in suport of Marines on the ground either in training or in reality.

We work and plan withe the Infantry side of the house much closer than our Fixed Wing counterparts. If we are colocateed we will help plan their fire support plan and stand ready to take control of that plan and execute it controlling both jets and artillery fire. If not sometimes we will land and coordinate with them to ensure we are giving them waht they need.

The community has a bit of a reputation for eating our young. WE are very tough on our new co-pilots this stems from a couple of things. Trying to drive home the idea that this is a serious business and if we screw up good guys can be hurt adn a drive to develop them into the kind of aviator that can take charge of not just his aircraft or flight but the entire fight.

All in all it is a great platforma nd a great mission.

Ok now the Cons:
-WE do at times get treated like a second class citizen like the rest of rotory wing aviation when it comes to things like bonuses and the like. WE liek to think we are a cut above (no offense to anyone its just a mentality that is pretty prevelant) You may here something like a question about flying helicopters and a response like no I fly Cobras. Ive heard this happen so we somtimes are legends in our own minds.

-We as a community have a reputation as @ssholes though not entirely undeserved it is nowhere near as bad as I was told to expect by the assault support instructors in flgiht school.

-We are deploying a lot right now becasue most of the fight is a close in Close Air Support fight and that is what we do best.

I hope this helped I will try to answer any questions