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[Mad Dogg]

I'm a flight instructor with over 1000hrs. ASEL, and am interested in the air force. I have done quite a bit of research(including my class I flight physical), and i am trying to decide between active duty and a couple of guard units flying f-16s(full timeif possible). can anybody persuade me one way or the other???

Is it true active duty works all week to fly once?

 

[Steeler Fan]

Heavy Driver Chimes IN!

MAD DOG,

I cut/paste this from some earlier posts (no, I’m not a fighter pilot, but since nobody has replied yet, I hope this might help).

Useful phone # ...1-800-423-USAF (prompts are a little painful to follow)...www.airforce.com is better
Follow the links to Contact Us--"find a recruiter", then you can call them. Active Duty AF will naturally lean towards you going Active Duty

…Going to pilot training with the Active Duty gives you the OPPORTUNITY TO COMPETE for that F-16 (not a guarantee), but you have tons of options open to you (some guys don't know exactly what they want to fly, and this gives you a chance to talk to pilots from all types of backgrounds)..

If you get an F-16 ANG (Guard) Slot, AS LONG AS YOU DO WELL ENOUGH (i.e. pretty awesome) at Pilot Training/IFF-(intro to fighter fundamentals)/and F-16 RTU (Aircraft Specific Training)
…if you slip up, or don’t make the grade, you may or may not be able to transfer to another unit…IF you go this ROUTE, make sure you are COMPLETELY WILLING to put in the effort.

Not trying to scare you! I taught pilot training for 3+ years, and most do well, but not everybody makes it to F-16s (Believe it or not, some people do well enough in T-37s, but decide on a different track)…This is about YOU figuring out what YOUR direction will be, and then press on!

Airlift Guys are flying A LOT right now and so are F-16 pilots (Guard/Reserve/Active)…

I'm not going to slam Navy/Army, but I was Active AF, now AF Reserve, so I speak to what I know.

Both Active AF and Guard/Reserve are great options...if interested in Guard/Reserve, visibility/persistence/friend in the unit all help you get hired...things are busy most of the time, so they want pilots who will participate alot (especially when world events call for us to be more active).

Once again, you're smart about asking questions early, but this is YOUR DECISION. Good luck and happy hunting!


If you're really certain you want to go to a particular Guard Unit and fly for them, do ANYTHING you can to meet their pilots, find out what the quickest way to become a pilot in their unit, and go for it. Some units really want you to enlist first.

There are so many questions that only you have the answer to.

If you have/plan to have kids, Active Duty's health care is mostly free (not awesome, but way better than buying your own).

Explore ALL your options...some younger pilots I've met have applied to multiple locations (all services, various Guard/Reserve Units)...If you are living close to a particular Guard/Reserve Unit, that is a HUGE selling point for you.

PM me if you want...Albie seems to know what he's talking about too. Big Picture...only YOU can choose what's best for you...get as much knowledge as you can so you don't have any regrets...once you make your decision, give it your all. RUNWAY BEHIND YOU IS USELESS, SO DON'T LOOK BACK!

 

[korn]

Mad Dogg,

Guard jobs are very competitive and you are not likely to find a unit that will send you to UPT with a guaranteed full-time position at the end of the training cycle. A typical guard fighter squadron might have 6-9 full time pilots and 26-29 part timers. Most dudes will fly about the same amount per month. Depending on the location of the unit, the state of the airline economy, etc. the full time jobs may be very, very tough to get. They tend to go to guys who have proved themselves already. Be prepared to find another source of income after your training orders run out (you should get about 4 years of full time pay and benefits for training).

I did all of my training with the Active Duty, but that is my only experience there. I'm pretty sure that they average more than one flight a week, though. I'd guess that they fly as much as, or more than most Guard guys.

My view on the AD vs Guard question: for a Guard fighter slot, you will compete against a hundred highly qualified and motivated people just to get the interview. If you get hired, all you have to do is do really well at UPT, IFF, RTU and you'll get your fighter. For an AD fighter, you have to get the nod for OTS, then you will compete against 30 highly qualified, motivated people for T-38s, then against 6-9 even more motivated people for your fighter. Neither road is easy.

In my opinion, the advantage of the Guard is in the stability--you are likely to stay in the same location and fly the same jet for a while. On the other hand, you don' t have the chance to fly fighters in England, Germany, Italy, Japan or Korea.

If you have contacts in the Guard community, or you are already enlisted, and have a couple of years then I'd try that route first. If you don't have any luck, then go Active Duty and work your tail off to get what you want.

 

[Toro]

Originally posted by Mad Dogg

Is it true active duty works all week to fly once?

Not for Strike Eagles. I'm scheduled to fly four days this week and one of those days is three sorties with hot-pit refueling in between.

 

[Dave]

Toro-

You must be at Lakenheath...

 

[Zulu]

Is it true active duty works all week to fly once?

During my 14 years in it went in cycles flying light grey Eagles. Worst was in Iceland back in the early 90's during the drawdown -- averaged 2 sorties a week for a while, but 3 years later, instructing at Tydnall there were quarters where I averaged 6 flights a week (due to an IP shortage we'd double turn student support Red Air sorties).
So, like every answer in the fighter pilot busniess: IT DEPENDS ;-).

Good luck in your hunt,
Z

 

[Toro]

Originally posted by Dave

You must be at Lakenheath

Good guess. Been there? Send me a PM - where are you now?

 

[ShaggyF16]

Got some words for you...

Mad Dogg -

Check your PM

Good luck either way you go.

Shaggy