Expert: James Bell - 5/4/2006

Question
Hi James Bell,
My name is Jonathan, 17, 1 year from high school gradutation, and its my dream to become a fighter pilot one day. I dont just have one question, but a few, and I would really appreciate it if you wouldn't mind answering them:
1) What are the physical requirements? I've heard you need a certain height, very good eyes, perfect health and more. Are these requirements international? (A link to this question would also be appreciated)
2) What can I do now to get ready for a potential fighter pilot career? Books to read, subjects to master, physical activities, etc.
3) How long is the entire Fighter Pilot education programme, starting after high school? Stepwise information would be appreciated here.

Thanks,
Jonathan

Answer
Greetings Jonathan -

I can give you some general guidelines, but realize if you want an authoritative answer, you need to speak to a recruiter.

The basic requirement of any pilot (fighter, tanker, transport, etc.) is a 4-year bachelor's degree.  The type of degree isn't important, but you must have one.  Once acquired you can then apply for OCS (Officer Candidate School) or OTS (Officer Training School).  You can also attend a college that offers an ROTC program (Reserve Officer Training Course).

You must also be a native born citizen of the United States (not naturalized).  Your eyesight for pilot training is distant visual acuity no worse than 20/70 each eye correctable to 20/20; near vision to be 20/20 each eye without correction.  You cannot have had any type of corrective surgery (such as Lasik).  There are minimum and maximum height requirements, but I don't have them memorized.

The training program depends mainly on the aircraft you are assigned, but UPT (Undergraduate Pilot Training) will take approximately one year.  Here you will learn basic flying skills and navigation.  From there you will be assigned to a particular aircraft, and then start training on that aircraft.  That will take approximately six months, with another six months to get fully mission ready.

I would suggest you visit the Air Force website at http://www.airforce.com/  You can see a variety of questions and answers, along with a breakdown of the various careers offered.  They also have people available for online chats, and you can ask them questions directly and they are the authoritative answer for all your questions.

I hope I gave you a direction in which to go.  If the Air Force website doesn't answer your remaining questions, don't hesitate to write back.

Sincerely,
James Bell