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i'm 21 now and was wondering what the requirements were now days to fly a airplane in the Airforce, or really any branch of the service.

thank you

Cole

The basics: College degree, commission as an officer, good eyesight (used to be 20/20 but now is something like 20/70 as long as glasses can make you 20/20), good physical shape and good health. Be prepared for a few years of intense training before you are a mission capable pilot.

If it is something you are interested in then I recommend talking to a recruiter or if you are in college go down to the ROTC office. They can tell you all you need to know.

is it still a 4 year degree required? i have an Associates in electro-Mechanial Engineerin, but that's just 2 years. the idea of 4 more years doesn't really appeal to me.

I could be wrong, but I *think* an Associates is acceptable, but a Bachelor's is preferred...

--Raven

"Work Hard, Party Hard, Hardly Sleep"

Bachelor's minimum, Associate's not acceptable.

Ok...so I was wrong...not the first, and not the last time..

--Raven

"Work Hard, Party Hard, Hardly Sleep"

Won't the military pay for the rest of your college if you enlist?

If you can actually find time to attend courses while you are a soldier, yeah.

Trample the wounded- hurdle the dead.

There are various prgrams for enlisted personnel that allow them to finish their degree and apply for a commission, but I am unsure of the details at this point. Check the web or with a recruiter.

--Raven

"Work Hard, Party Hard, Hardly Sleep"

Cole, The courses you took to get your Associates Degree will surely transfer to a 4-year school to count towards your Bachelor's Degree.

But, if more studying scares you then don't even think about becoming a pilot. The Bachelor's Degree is just the price of admission. I studyed much more during the 13 months of pilot training than I did in college. Once you get your wings, you will spend another 6-12 months learning to fly the plane you are assigned to. All of that studying is just the price of admission to get to an operational squadron where much of your first year will be spent studying threats, tactics, and learning all the stuff you have already forgotten.

...and you will spend a while working on upgrades, too! But hey, work is work...

Keep in mind, you do a lot of studying on the enlisted side too...so be prepared either way if you join the USAF...

--Raven

"Work Hard, Party Hard, Hardly Sleep"

The bachelors itself is what i wouldn't like. the studying tactics and other stuff seems interesting to me.

I'm a student now, and trust me the studying is a pain. A lot of it IS interesting, but even more is just tedious details. A lot of memorizing lists of numbers (what airspeed you fly on final normally, with no flaps, single engine with 16 knots of cross wind, if you're inverted and it's a Tuesday, <img src=icon_smile_tongue.gif border=0 align=middle> etc) and it seems like there's a different procedure for every possible situation. Not any one thing is difficult, it's just that it is a ton of stuff to have on instant recall all the time.

It's not that we're telling you not to go for it, just that you should know what you're getting into before you do. And as far as branch of service, the Army only flies helicopters and the Navy flies almost only helicopters so if you want to fly a fixed wing you should go Air Force.

Just curious poke...am I safe to assume by your presence on these boards you want the A10? When is track select and when is graduation. I could end up in your RTU class....