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Question
I have a question about pilots both in the Navy and Marines. It is my dream to become a fighter pilot in the Navy. I've taken all the right steps. I was accepted to college and an NROTC unit based here in New York. I was wondering what are the physical requirements to become a pilot. I would imagine that they would be the same for Air Force and Navy but its just one of those things I need to know before I commit to the military. In terms of physical requirements I especially want to know if there are any height requirements that must be met. I'm a little on the short side so this would calm some fears. I have 20/20 vision, good shape from being on the track team and I'm an honor student. PLEASE help me to stop worrying about this. Thank You
Respectfully,
Daniel C. Bermudez
Hi Daniel,
I'm afraid there are height and weight restrictions involved for fighter pilots for all of the services. This is for *very* good reason. When a fighter pilot gets "shot down," or his/her jet simply breaks, and the flight can't be recovered, then the only hope of survivial is the ejection-seat system.
The ejection-seat systems are designed to be sucessful, withing certain weight and heigh perameters. If an aircrew member falls outside of the designed perameters, their chance of surviving a combat ejection is reduced significantly.
The "basic" standard for Navy fighter pilots is no shorter than 62 inches, and no taller than 78 inches. Anything outside of these parameters is not likely to survive an ejection without serious injury.
There are additional measurements. Details (for the Navy) can be read at: http://usmilitary.about.com/od/officerjo2/a/pilot.htm
For more information about the United States Military, feel free to visit my military information website at: http://usmilitary.about.com
Hope this helps!
Rod Powers
http://usmilitary.about.com
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Answers by Expert:
Rod Powers
Expertise
Rod Powers is considered one of the premire experts about U.S. Military career information on the planet. He has more than 30,000 articles about U.S. Military career information on the About.com U.S. Military Careers Information website at: http://usmilitary.about.com. Additionally, he is the author of "ASVAB for Dummies," "ASVAB AFQT for Dummies," (available in Dec 2009), and "Veteran Benefits for Dummies," all published by Wiley Publishing. He is also the author of "Barrons' Guide to Officer Candidate School Tests," published by Barron's Educational Series.
Experience
Rod Powers is a retired Air Force first sergeant, with 23 years of active duty service, 11 of those years as an Air Force First Sergeant. He has helped thousands of military members, recruits, and military applicants since he took over the About.com U.S Military Careers Information site in 1999. He has a reputation for "telling it like it is," so questions may not be answered based on "what you want to hear," but will be answered based of the bast available information, concerning the service/situation.
Education/Credentials
Rod is a distinguished graduate of the Air Force Noncommissioned Officers Academy, the Air Force Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy, and the Air Force First Sergeant Academy. He also holds an Associates Degree in Personnel Administration from the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF).
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