Switch408

You have no idea how much I was worried about that.

Fire away.

Some people will tell you that you should go Guard/Reserve to guarantee a certain airframe. There's certainly a lot of truth to that. But if you are making the decision between AD and Guard/Reserve to avoid being an RPA pilot, I would offer that your odds are similar if you make either decision. If you earn an AD pilot slot, you have 'guaranteed' that you won't be an RPA pilot based on the current situation in UPT in which no one is dropping RPAs. That could change. Similarly, you could be hired by a Guard/Reserve unit and be 'guaranteed' that you will fly a certain airframe and that you won't be an RPA pilot. But I have heard more than one story of an individual being hired by a unit only to be halfway through UPT and find out their unit is switching airframes. And yes, that switch has been to an RPA. There are certainly plenty of caveats and dynamics that play in to those situations, but the bottom line is that I would caution you to be making a decision on AD vs Guard/Reserve because you don't want to be an RPA pilot. There are plenty of other worthy reasons to be making that decision. Can't say I blame you for your line of thinking though! Just checking your blind spots.

Words fail me when I try to describe how good of a dude he was. There are few people I can think of both in and out of the Air Force that I’ve met that have zero character flaws personally and professionally. Even I would scoff a statement like that, but he was definitely one of them. I just can’t believe it. Anyone who got the chance to fly with him is a better aviator for it. Cheers, Graz 🍺. I’ll miss you brotha.

I fly with a Citizen Skyhawk in a high G airframe, as do many other pilots I know. Haven't noticed the timing get thrown off, but it hacks itself every night via radio signal so it's always spot on.

You and I have had enough conversations to know there is no "fun" one

Semantics, but it was actually the C-17 guy that was coming from a white jet tour. The 135 guy did a requal in 38s at Randolph, then IFF. Great dude.

One of them was a T-38 IP at the time he was selected for crossflow. The other MAF guy went through a T-38 spin up. One was a Maj select and the other had already pinned on.

Once you have wings on your chest (RPA or otherwise), I believe the rule is to wait 2 years to apply, and 2.5 years to actually leave the career field. At least that's the way it was when I applied a couple years ago if I recall correctly. Good luck

If all you're worried about with regard to applying next year is that you won't get the 2-star to sign an LOR, can you not just ask your leadership to send it up with the understanding that the LOR will be used for an application to next year's board?

PM'd

Thread bump. I'm a few months away from filling out a dream sheet, but I'd love the most up to date info I can find. I'll be selfish and put in a request for things that tend to drop from the 38 side of the house, especially those that haven't been talked about in this thread yet (35s, C Models, etc). Please brag/bitch about whatever comes to mind. Also, drops from 38s have been pretty great lately, but I've been slightly curious as to how the respective B Courses are handling what would appear to be a larger than normal influx of studs (sts). Lastly, I'm a late to rate guy, so if anyone has any additional wisdom to pass on with respect to choosing an airframe, please let me know. Thanks

XL Track Select 18-03 8 x T-38 (includes 2 Saudi, 1 Guard) 1 x Helo 13 x T-1

If they are indeed nothing to worry about, I would never mention them ever again, especially to an Air Force flight doc. A quick scan of the Air Force Waiver Guide will reveal that anything more than a single episode of Atrial Fibrillation is non-waiverable for FC1. Seriously, if your doctor has no kidding told you that you have a completely healthy heart and you believe him, do not bring it up when you go in for your FC1 with the Air Force.

Once again, this is not confirmed, but a guy I was talking with at a drop night a couple nights ago apparently knows the guy running the board, and he said upwards of 75 slots this year. The dude could be blowing smoke, but you asked if anyone heard anything...

There's no way to know for sure (i.e. I don't know anyone that was on the board), but yes bluedevil is correct that everyone picked up on last year's Active Duty board had a PPL. See below for the source document he's referencing. High PCSM seemed to be another indicator, and good news for you that having/not having a PPL doesn't influence your PCSM, which I would hope is fairly high with that many flight hours. Either way, as with anything, timing plays a huge role in these situations. Good luck...

When I took the AFOQT at the Academy, they made us come in on a Saturday, told us our scores wouldn't influence our AFSC selections, and as soon as we were done we could carry on with the rest of our weekend. So you can guess how much effort I put in to that test. Just get a study guide and rock it.

Someone who knows someone at AFPC. So just like any rumor on this website, take it with a grain of salt. Either way, its not hard to increase from the 15 slots they offered last year.

Highly recommend retaking the AFOQT after getting a study guide. If you scroll up on this thread, you'll see that on last year's board, the average PCSM was a 92 and the absolute lowest was a 78. Additionally, everyone that got picked up had a PPL. It's all but a requirement these days. Your PCSM should go up a bit after you input your flight hours, and the PCSM website should tell you about how much it will raise (https://access.afpc.af.mil/pcsmdmz/PCSMscores.html). Also, here's the AFOQT study guide I used before I retook it: Study Guide . My pilot score went from a 77 to a 97 after using it, so it definitely helps. I did hear through the grapevine that they'll be offering more pilot slots this year, so YMMV. You've got plenty of time between now and next year's board to get your ducks in a row, but do not waste time with the medical issue. As I'm sure you're aware, waivers can take a while to process, especially if you run in to any hangups along the way. Good luck.

The search function will be your friend. This may surprise you, but you're not the first person to ask that question on this website.

Saw this gem the other day...

I hope they were crushed by IPs on gradesheets and bros over a beer accordingly. I have no intention of rolling in to any flying squadron pretending my drone hours mean anything. Just happy to be going there dude.

One of the lucky few... But as is true with most people getting those types of orders, it's a unique situation.