• Please take a moment and update your account profile. If you have an updated account profile with basic information on why you are on Air Warriors it will help other people respond to your posts. How do you update your profile you ask?

    Go here:

    Edit Account Details and Profile

What is it like to be an NFO?

HAL Pilot

HAL Pilot

Well-Known Member
None
Contributor
It used to be if a SNA got NPQ in Pensacola it was an automatic transfer to SNFO if they were PQ for that program. Has this changed?

If you really want to be a pilot, apply for SNA and see what happens. NFO is a great job and if you go NFO because you were NPQ for pilot or because the NFO job is what really interest you, you will find satisfaction and you will be happy. If are PQ for pilot and you go NFO when you really want to be a pilot, there is a real good chance you will be miserable.
 
IRfly

IRfly

Registered User
None
Whoa, okay...let me see if I can get out from under this dogpile.

The biggest reason that I wrote what I did (which admittedly was a gross oversimplification) is that I have several friends who are SNFOs that meant to be pilots...i.e. they were physically qualified for pilot and some have pilot's licenses with all kinds of ratings and experience, but they weren't picked up for pilot (at least not immediately) and signed on for NFO, thinking that either 1) they'd be able to easily transition to pilot, or 2) pilots and NFOs undergo the same training (true to a limited point), have the same quals, and essentially do the same job.

To the original questioner: as an NFO, you're not going to take the stick. You're not going to make the emergency landing on the carrier if the pilot becomes incapacitated. You're not going to log thousands of hours of PIC time that you can take to the airlines later.

Again, this is all for the sake of simplification. If an ECMO wants to tell an API class that he flies Prowlers, that's fine--because everyone in the room already knows that that plane isn't going anywhere without a pilot. For someone looking into Naval career paths, I think it's better to clarify that the pilot flies the plane and the NFOs have various missions which definitely include assisting with the aircraft's operations--and that there's only one stick on a Prowler. NFO is NOT a backdoor into being a pilot.

Anyway, for the NFOs on the board--no offense intended...if you feel the need, flame on. The little red rep dots along with the green ones make the screen look kind of Christmasy.
 
raptor10

raptor10

Philosoraptor
Contributor
A passengers job is to STFU and enjoy the scenery, an NFO's job is to help accomplish the mission. Thats what was chafing your fellow Air Warriors
 
E

eddie

Working Plan B
Contributor
Why some of the senior NFO leadership chooses to appear so offended by what was obviously a mis-understanding and mis-assignment of terms (aviator, passenger, etc. warranting a correction surely) is what confuses me.

If anything, it looks (to the youngsters) like an inferiority complex, snap-reaction, which I know, isn't the case.

Just my perspective...
 
wink

wink

War Hoover NFO.
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
HAL Pilot said:
It used to be if a SNA got NPQ in Pensacola it was an automatic transfer to SNFO if they were PQ for that program. Has this changed?
.
Click to expand...
I don't believe it is still automatic, but very common at least.


About this NFO as passenger/near aviator/non flying officer. IRfly has fine tuned his statement, but there is more to consider. In some missions on some aircraft the NFO certainly has down time in between, or in transit to/from station. All that time the pilot is indeed "flying" the aircraft. But if that means the NFO is just a passenger then does it follow that the copilot or 3p is just a passenger? How about the flight engineer? None of them are passengers. They are trained airmen/aviators (note the samll case A) assigned to a crew. If the sh!t hits the fan the 3p and FE will be on the flight deck asap making valuable contributiions, likewise, the NFOs in the crew will be up on ICS at their stations and in the check list. I agree with the above comments. The minute a NFO starts to consider himself a passenger he is putting the rest of the crew at risk.

Only real difference in ground jobs and additional responsiblities between pilots and NFOs is that only pilots are LSOs and the NFOs usually spend more time in mission/strike plannning and weaponeering.
 
TheBubba

TheBubba

I Can Has Leadership!
None
eddie said:
Why some of the senior NFO leadership chooses to appear so offended by what was obviously a mis-understanding and mis-assignment of terms (aviator, passenger, etc. warranting a correction surely) is what confuses me.

If anything, it looks (to the youngsters) like an inferiority complex, snap-reaction, which I know, isn't the case.

Just my perspective...
Click to expand...


It chafes b/c its not recognizing what we are trained to do/training to become.
 
wink

wink

War Hoover NFO.
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
eddie said:
Why some of the senior NFO leadership chooses to appear so offended by what was obviously a mis-understanding and mis-assignment of terms (aviator, passenger, etc. warranting a correction surely) is what confuses me.

If anything, it looks (to the youngsters) like an inferiority complex, snap-reaction, which I know, isn't the case.
Click to expand...

Absolutely not. We are responsible for making sure the impression left with members and visitors to this site are accurate. And if it was misunderstood by the few that have responded here then it could be misunderstood by many with far less knowledge of NAVIR. The postings are to set the record straight, not slam the indidvual who made the initial comments (well, maybe Brett did;) ). After all, he has yet to experience the fleet as a NFO. Those of us you think have some kind of inferiority complex have been in the fleet and know better. You should be so lucky!!
 
IRfly

IRfly

Registered User
None
For the record, I completely understand and agree that all members of the aircrew are valuable contributors to the mission of the aircraft. Each member, though, also has his/her more specific function (the reason that person is in the aircraft to begin with). Flying the plane (hands on the stick and throttle, feet on the rudder) is not what NFOs do. If you want to fly the plane, do not become an NFO. If you are considering going into Naval aviation, and someone tells you that NFOs "fly the plane," or "are just like pilots," you are getting bad gouge. You will be contributing to the mission in any number of important ways, but you will not be flying the plane.
 
A4sForever

A4sForever

BTDT OLD GUY
pilot
Contributor
^ I dunno ... I let my B/N's fly the bounce pattern. Auto-throttles on ... they lean over the center counsel, grab the stick .... good time for me to take a nap. :)

"Roger B/N Ball" ...
generalandmeqr6.jpg
 
S

SlickAg

Registered User
pilot
TheBubba said:
I know some NFO's who've made the switch to pilot, and some pilots who've made the switch to NFO.
Click to expand...

Who do you know who made the switch from pilot to NFO? Just curious. Also, to any Marine NFOs, how many NFOs per year generally get picked up for the NFO to pilot transition? Because we've got 3 of them in our squadron right now, and that seems like a lot, but I don't know.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top