PPL now or later?

[NavyAv8]

Should I get my PPL while I wait for my OCS class up date in the fall?

Hay man, you are lucky as hell to get a slot considering everything that is going on down here. Right now there are a ton of opportunities to get weeded out. My suggestion is to get your privates on your own even though it will cost you a few grand. I flew before going into OCS and you wouldn't believe how much it helped me get through IFS. If you don't have a Private Pilot License then you have to go through Intro Flight Screening (IFS) which is a program designed to cut people. I have seen many great dudes get cut from the program because of IFS. One of the most heavily weighed exams is the FAA written and from what I know right now a passing score is 80. Just to be safe, you want to get a 90 or higher on that exam just because of the need to cut people. Now, I don't know if things are going to be as rigid as they are now when you arrive. However, just score high on everything just to be safe.

Also, say you don't get your privates in the time you expect (which you should because a PPL should only take a month) I would recommend doing a THOROUGH ground school and fly as much as you can regardless. That will put you ahead of many people who have absolutely no experience. Experience is not necessary, but will help you out in the long term. This is because the stuff you see in IFS is what you will see over again in API. Just that API is way more in depth with the subject matters. The best book that I would recommend to you is the Jeppesen Discovery Flight text. The other really good book is the Pilots Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge. Read and remember everything in those books because that is IFS and API in a nutshell (At Least from everything I have seen so far). But API of course will deal some advanced concepts. And if you want to start reading for API stuff, then all you have to do is Google "Aviation Preflight Indocrination" and look for the publications dealing with the API subjects.

So in summary, YES, get it now so that it is one less hurdle that you have to deal with once you come to Pensacola. The more you start preparing with the material, then you better you will be once here.

Good Luck Man! Looks like you are eager to start which is the right attitude. Regardless of everything going one, don't loss that!

 

[Kycntryboy]

IFS started as a way to see if people could acclamate to being in the air and iron out some initial bugs (wanting to reef back on the stick to take off, that sort of thing). But like every good deal someone has to either f it up or f with it and it has turned to what it has. I did mine at Destin and it was a great experience, and the test taking was magical there which constituded me taking the test home to do it and "going over" the answers with the instructor before I turned it in. It was a pain in the @ss driving there, but worth it.

 

[Ducky]

One of the most heavily weighed exams is the FAA written and from what I know right now a passing score is 80. Just to be safe, you want to get a 90 or higher on that exam just because of the need to cut people.

Um every private pilot out there needs to get a score of 70 or better. 80 is not too much to ask nor difficult especially considering you have the entire question bank to study from. If you truly don't get it just memorize the test bank. If you don't have the test bank get it off the internet.

Also, I'm not saying your buds that got cut were not good dudes, but if they can't hack it in IFS they would probably have trouble flying while working weapon systems and sensors. Primary is much more difficult than IFS and it only gets harder after that.

1-4 flights would be suffucient to get someone "comfortable" with the idea of an airplane. I just have trouble recommending a full PPL when you can test out of it for $100 after you get your wings. The only prior training that truly gives a primary stud a leg up is instrument training, and even then he can still screw it away in forms or fams if he doesn't mend any previously learned "bad habbits."

With that being said, if IFS is truly some evil fun sucking shit screen thats a real shame. When I was going through you could fail out, but it was a pretty low stress good deal.

 

[Kycntryboy]

I'll just add on to Ducky here, you have to start getting used to the idea that not everybody is meant to fly. Some people who are quality dudes, (never sandbag and would always extend a hand) can not function in the cockpit, it has nothing to do with wanting to succeed or not putting effort in. On the opposite side of the coin there are shitbirds who were blessed with the ability to fly. We all have friends that have been taken out of pipeline for one reason or another.

 

[NightVisionPen]

If you're thinking about it because you really want to get in the air, go for it. If you're thinking about it because you think it'll help you in Primary/Advanced, save your money.

This is relatively true. Having a fair amount of experience ahead of time will help you out in Primary, but the learning curve in flight school is so steep that by intermediate and/or advanced the guys who started with nothing have pretty much caught up. This is all individual dependent of course. I had a couple of helo rides, a T-34 ride, and an S-3 ride as a midshipman before flight school, none of this IFS stuff, and I managed to get fighters. IFS is pretty much designed to weed out the guys who DOR on the first few flights.

If you just can't wait to start flying, have the time, and the money then go for it.

 

[NavyAv8]

With that being said, if IFS is truly some evil fun sucking shit screen thats a real shame. When I was going through you could fail out, but it was a pretty low stress good deal.

Yeah, just found out the other day that a dude I went to OCS with had a rough checkride and didn't make it. It's interesting seeing those who make it and those who don't in IFS. I thought he would have no problems at all. Everyday is a struggle to survive here in API....I hope I don't have to go home early.

 

[OUSOONER]

We lost a lot of good men out there....

Nah, but on a serious note. Every flight in Primary is essentially a checkride. You are being evaluated from the moment the IP comes into the student ready room and calls your name to brief. So if your buddy got weeded at IFS, it was probably inevitable down the line..this just saved the government $$ and your buddy more heartache down the road.

Aside from the dude who just completely freezes at the stick, you can succeed in flight school with good preparation and repetition of the skills you learn throughout. You show up with good knowledge and the ability to learn from your mistakes...you will get through the program. The IP's here will teach you the stick and rudder skills. In API, just don't do anything stupid...study as much as YOU need to and remember everyone is different. I had a no shit MIT astrophysicist in my class down in API..I'm sure he just glossed over the Aero book a couple times and then cracked open a beer. I on the other hand, spent a couple hours a day studying and I made it.

Solid preparation will overcome 'bad luck' and any of the policies they design to weed you out. Remember, people still have to sit in those cockpits..so it's doable.