Careers: Military--Army, Navy, Airforce, Marines, Coast Guard/Air Force Education

Advertisement

Expert: - 6/27/2006


Question
How many years do i have too go to college too acually be considered a Fighter Pilot for the AF? Do my High school years affect my career in the Air Force at all ? Last but not least how many years in general after high school will it be untill im done with training and everything and i can fly an F22 or F16 or any fighter planes.

Answer
Greetings Dino -

First of all, an apology for taking so long to respond.  I live in Pennsylvania, and my area has been greatly affected by the flooding.  My house was spared, but many around me were not.

Anyway, to be commissioned as an officer in any of the armed forces, you are required to have a 4-year college bachelor's degree.  What you decide to major in is up to you, but you must have a degree.  Your performance in high school will affect how you get into college, but should have little bearing on your military career.

Also realize there are many variables to consider to being a pilot.  In addition to being physically fit enough for flight status, you must apply for and be accepted into flight training.  Once accepted, you will attend UPT (Undergraduate Pilot Training).  This is basic pilot school, and you will learn all the necessecary skills to fly, land and navigate an aircraft.  This training takes between 6 and 9 months.  Your performance in this training will determine what type of aircraft you will serve.

After UPT, you will be assigned to your permanent aircraft, be it a fighter, bomber, transport or tanker.  Upgrade training can take up to 2 years.

So you can see, between college, UPT and qualification training, you are looking at roughly 7 years to reach fully qualified status, although you will start flying shortly after starting UPT.

I hope this answers your questions.  If not, don't hesitate to write back.  You can also visit the Air Force's website at ...

http://www.airforce.com/

They also have people available online for you to chat with and get realtime answers from those more qualified than I to answer your questions.

Good luck on your future.

Sincerely,
James Bell

Careers: Military--Army, Navy, Airforce, Marines, Coast Guard

All Answers

Answers by Expert:

Ask Experts

Volunteer

James Bell

Expertise

I am a retired MSgt (2004) with 24 years experience in the aircrew career field, both as a loadmaster (AFSC 1A2x1) and flight engineer (AFSC 1A1x1). I have been to every continent at one time or another, and regularly flew 300 to 500 hours a year. I have been involved in the operations in Grenada, Panama, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. I can answer most questions you may have about enlisted Air Force life in general, assignments, benefits, and enlisted aircrew operations. NOTE: If you have specific recruiting and/or medical questions about how to get into this career field as a civilian, they have changed since my time, so that is best answered by a recruiter or MEPS. I can answer questions about military personnel wanting to RETRAIN. If you are asking about being an Air Force pilot, please be advised my area of expertise is ENLISTED aircrew operations, NOT OFFICERS.

Experience

Loadmaster (AFSC 1A2x1): 7 years - 2,000 hours - C-5A Galaxy cargo plane. Flight Engineer (AFSC 1A1x1C): 7 years - 2,500 hours - C-141B Starlifter cargo plane, 10 years - 3,800 hours - KC-10A Extender aerial tanker. Served as aircrew Flight Instructor, Flight Evaluator and Training Manager

Education/Credentials
Aircraft Loadmaster Initial Qualification - 1980. Mission Qualification (C-5A) - 1981. Fixed Wing Aircraft Performance Course - 1987. Initial Flight Engineer Qualification (C-141B) - 1987. Mission Qualification (KC-10A) - 1988. KC-10 Initial Qualification Course - 1994. Mission Qualification (KC-10A) - 1995. Instructor Qualficiation (KC-10A) - 1997. Evaluator Qualification (KC-10A) - 2000.

©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.