Transition from helos to jets??

[Broadsword2004]

Hey, I was just reading some reviews of a book called "Bogeys and Bandits," about the training of U.S. Navy and Marine F/A-18 fighter pilots, and the one reviewer says this, quoting him:

"Unfortunately, Gandt's monopolization of a subject doesn't cure some flaws in the book - some admittedly impossible to avoid. Gandt's class of trainees covers the gamut - two whiz kids who chose naval aviation when they couldn't get into nuclear subs; two women - one of whom adjusts better than the other to training; an aging marine with unremarkable but dependable flying qualities, who's only recently transitioned from helicopters; and "Highway", an African American pilot meant to inspire memories of the "Tuskeegee Airmen" of WWII."

Notice he says the "aging marine" transition from helicopters. My question thus is, how can one do this, because I thought once you were put into like one type of aircraft, you were stuck there. Can you apply to change from helos to jets or something??

 

[Bevo16]

You can apply for a transition after your first fleet tour. Your shore duty is going back to flight school (a brief fixed wing refresher in T-34's then on to advanced) for whatever you want to transition to. After you finish that pipeline, you go to the FRS and back to sea. I have heard that it is a pretty easy to get accepted for the transition. The only drawback is if you don't successfully complete the jet (or whatever) pipeline, you are going to be left without a home and probably will be out of the Navy.

When I was finishing up primary (about a year and a half ago), there were 3 Cobra pilots and 2 Seahawk pilots who were doing the transition. It is also possible to transition from NFO to Pilot after your first fleet tour as long as you have the eyes for it. We had 4 or 5 of these NFO retreads in VT-28 while I was there (all former F-14 or F-18 NFO's though).

 

[Broadsword2004]

Why "left without a home and probably be out of the Navy?" Why would they do that I mean? Why not just put you back in helos?

Also, for me, it would be "out of the Marine Corps."

 

[Broadsword2004]

Also, can you transfer from other aircraft to jets too? (like if you were flying C-130s), could you apply for jets?

 

[Bevo16]

If a Helo pilot says that helos are not good enough for him and he wants to fly jets, the helo guys are not going to welcome him back with open arms after he he finds out that he can't hack it in jet-land.

 

[Broadsword2004]

I C

Do you know if you can switch from like cargo aircraft though (like the C-130)?

 

[smittyrunr]

You can pretty much ask for/apply to anything... Mostly depends on the needs of the Navy/Marine Corps if it will be approved. To explain the particular situation more fully, read the book.

 

[Bevo16]

I don't see why you could not transfer from C-130's to jets. I have not heard of anyone doing it though.

The transition is pretty easy to get because it is good for the Navy. It prevents the Navy from having to train someone up totally from scratch and you will get back to the fleet quickly. Normal shore tours are about two and a half or three years. If you do a transition, you will be back in the fleet real quick.

 

[PilotCPB]

Be wary of believing books 100%. Both "Bogeys & Bandits" and "Airwarriors" are great books, but they were printed about 10 years ago. Things can and will change. remember, some of the book characters in Bogeys and Bandits were conglomerations of the stories of several people. Therefore we don't really know exactly what happened to who.

 

[Broadsword2004]

I C; while reading some more, I found that that female F-14 pilot, Kara Haltgreene had originally transferred from some type of plane (I forget which) to the F-14. She had applied for the F-18 but got the F-14. She crashed though. She ejected, but her parachute didn't open.

 

[peanut3479]

LT Hultgreen was an A-6 driver before she transitioned to F-14s. She got the transition because the Navy finally opened up carrier fighter slots to females sometime around 1993(?). Her RIO ejected them, but her chute never opened because she was ejected straight into the water. Read "Callsign: Revlon" - it's her story, written by her mother - good book.

 

[Broadsword2004]

I C; one thing about carriers; if you select like the Harrier or Hornet and get selected, do you automatically have to learn to land these craft on carriers, as a pilot of one of them? Or would you as a Marine pilot let's say, be put onto a land base somewhere, and then you can apply to learn carrier landings, and then if you pass the training, they would then put you at sea?

 

[virtu050]

if you're a marine/navy jet or e2/c2 stud you'll learn to fly jets in T-45s and as part of the syllabus learn how to do carrier landings.

 

[Odom]

You can apply for a transition after your first fleet tour. Your shore duty is going back to flight school (a brief fixed wing refresher in T-34's then on to advanced) for whatever you want to transition to. After you finish that pipeline, you go to the FRS and back to sea. I have heard that it is a pretty easy to get accepted for the transition. The only drawback is if you don't successfully complete the jet (or whatever) pipeline, you are going to be left without a home and probably will be out of the Navy.

Not totally accurate for USMC. The transition to strike from RW is not extremely common. There have been a couple of boards in the last few years which selected 2 Cobra guys each time. Those were the first boards in at least 7 years and the FY05 board had zero quotas for RW to FW. Do a search of FY02-FY05 ALMARS for more accurate info on the transition/conversion boards (look on USMC.mil). Bottom line is: work hard in flight school to get what you want. If it doesn't work out, then set a new goal of being the best pilot in your community instead of waiting for a board that may or may not happen. Besides, if you haven't built up credibility in your TMS you wont get picked up by a transition board anyway. As far as no home if you attrite, one of the guys didn't pass CQ and went right back to his former skid squadron with no big issues.

 

[Bevo16]

I should have been more clear.

The process that I was talking about was for Navy pilots. I only know that it is possible for Marines to transition because I met so many of them that were doing it.