FAIP Q&A

[HossHarris]

54 minutes ago, ZR-1 said:

Thanks for the reply. If your UPT class drop looks not so hot, is trying to FAIP a legit strategy to try and essentially get another drop?

Yup. Another swing at bat. 

Just be aware that being a faip May close some doors further down the road.

For example, Fighter WIC is/was much more of a challenge to get into as a former faip. 

[mcbush]

54 minutes ago, ZR-1 said:

Thanks for the reply. If your UPT class drop looks not so hot, is trying to FAIP a legit strategy to try and essentially get another drop?

Good friend of mine did exactly that. Really wanted A-10s, but it wasn't going to happen out of his student drop, so he put FAIP near the top of his list. Got picked for it, did a couple years at Columbus, and is now out flying A-10s and loving life.

That said, this is the ultimate YMMV. There's obviously no guarantee that your FAIP drop is going to be any better than the drop you saw as a student, and it could be significantly worse. All comes down to the same factors as everything else: luck and timing (and a little hard work and being a good dude).

[SurelySerious]

40 minutes ago, Desk Jobs Suck said:

Why is being a FAIP limiting? 

Time. While there are waivers for everything, things like TPS and WIC have TIS windows, and typically FAIP puts you behind the curve. 

[Danger41]

I currently teach at WIC and it’s not completely unheard of to have a FAIP go through while still Active Duty, but it’s definitely uncommon in fighter WICs. I can think of two Eagle guys that were AD FAIPs in the last few years that did it, as well as a couple of Viper guys. Much more common to see former FAIPs come through as ANG/Reservists. 

I wasn’t a FAIP and don’t have anything against them, but going FAIP to hopefully end up in your dream jet is damn risky. Hopefully it works out but there’s no guarantee and you could miss out on 4 years of real world experience and kick ass times for something that may not happen. At which point you’ll learn that whatever you fly is the best jet in the AF anyway but just be 4 years behind your peers in everything but saltiness.

And how do you have any SA about what the drop will be as a UPT student? I just remember filling out a dream sheet and seeing what showed up on the screen at assignment night.

 

[viper154]

3 hours ago, ZR-1 said:

Thanks for the reply. If your UPT class drop looks not so hot, is trying to FAIP a legit strategy to try and essentially get another drop?

I guess. If your going to consider FAIP, I would consider other reasons than just “I don’t like what’s in my drop” 

If you like teaching and helping people, having a thousand+ instructor hours under your belt out of the gate, enjoy the trainer flying, like your location (although it seems occasionally FAIPs get PCSd to other bases) then it might be for you. As with anything, bust your ass, do everything you can (without being a dick/blue falcon) to be at the top of the Rack n stack for your FAIP drop. 
 

if your attitude is “f it, I don’t like this drop so I’ll stick around for 3-4 years in this shithole and hook em all to wait for  another drop” then you probably are going to hate life, be a shitty IP, and end up somewhere you don’t want to be anyway because you are going to be in the bottom of your FAIP drop rack n stack. 
 

As Danger said, most people end up loving where they end up even it wasn’t what they wanted. And if not, work hard, bust your ass, and try for things like U-2, B-2, and cross flow opportunities, they are out there, we have a bunch of crossflows, including myself in my current corner of the AF world. I also love where I ended up from my crossflow opportunity. 

Edited July 29, 2020 by viper154

[brabus]

Personally I can only understand a desire to FAIP if you have family reasons driving the decision. I know many FAIPs who are great dudes and kicked ass/gone far after their FAIP time. So it’s not really a career killer by any means, but I also can’t imagine choosing to miss out on at least 3-4 years of operational flying, especially as a young guy (assumption). I also know tons of dudes who have never taught at UPT, so I wouldn’t use the logic of “get it over with now because it’ll just happen later if I don’t.”

[YoungnDumb]

Former FAIP here, when my UPT dream sheet came out I listed fighters first, FAIP next, bombers, then everything else.  I looked at it as a second chance and a way to keep the dream alive.  Ended up working out for me as I fly Vipers now.  I will say that trying to forecast your drop is one of the worst things you can do.  List your desires, don't play games.  Trying to play the "well I think this guy did well and he'll get X so I should put Y," is stupid.  Yes there are people who clearly did well and those who did bad, then there are a bunch in the middle and guessing who is where is near impossible unless you're staring at the MASS.  Also trying to game the system is stupid.  As a FAIP I saw a student who really wanted helos (nothing wrong with that) and thought that he was somehow gaming the system and put T-38's #1 and then was shocked when he got 38's, essentially shot himself in the foot.  Point is list your desires, don't try and game the system.  You earn your right to choose so do well and let the chips fall where they fall.

[YoungnDumb]

Also as some others have mentioned being a FAIP can limit you in some programs such as WIC/TPS but lately I've been seeing an increase in the number waived/admitted.  Who knows where the AF will be in a few years.  Just remember there is a waiver for everything and if you want something make them tell you no.

[jazzdude]

Just remember timing is everything, better lucky than good, and there's no justice.

From what I saw of the FAIP drops, it seemed like the best chance of getting what you wanted is straight out of UPT. FAIP does give you a chance to reattack if what you want isn't there, but the competition increases. But there's no guarantee that what you want will be there in 3 years.

And if you get deployed, then it's rough competing for the assignment you want ("what have you done lately for me"). My sq got around this by reclama-ing all the FAIPs, which unfortunately meant the MWS guys picked up the slack for deployment taskings. However, the toner sq didn't do this, and it seemed like the deployed FAIPs weren't happy with what they got in their drop.

YMMV

[LiquidSky]

For aspiring heavy dudes (to include afsoc) your gucci white jet tours (C21s) don't have any of these shenanigans. Upgrade to AC in a year, IP in another few months and a 2-4 year stress free assignment. Normal vml process for your mws follow-on. 

[Simpleton]

Would it be possible for a T1 FAIP to get a B1 or would the B2 route be more of a common move?