What are my chances?

[Judgesmails]

Hello all, I am interested in becoming a pilot for the USAF and looking to apply in the near future. I am 19 years old. I will graduate college next spring with my 4 year degree in Aviation Flight Science from Western Michigan, current GPA is about 3.5(think I can get it up to 3.7 by the end). I have my Private Pilot's License, Instrument rating, commercial license, and will soon have my multi and CFI. I have 150 hours of flight time.  I have not taken TBAS or AFOQT, so I do not have a PCSM score for you guys. I have absolutely no criminal record or anything like that. I'm a healthy individual that is in decent shape. I currently hold a First class medical, I have had very infrequent heart palpitations, cardiologist said they were nothing to worry about, he said I have very healthy heart and these are normal. Would this cause any problems on getting a pilot slot? Anyway, based on this info what are my chances at getting a pilot slot? Thanks.

[Switch408]

2 hours ago, flyguy4723 said:

I have had very infrequent heart palpitations, cardiologist said they were nothing to worry about, he said I have very healthy heart and these are normal. 

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. 

[Judgesmails]

1 minute ago, Switch408 said:

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. 

Understood. According to the doctor and many medical websites they are very common, everybody has at least one a day, it's just that some people notice them and some don't. But I can see how this could quickly lead down a slippery slope. 

[Uncle]

Your chances are HIGH of getting selected I was selected in 2016 with 3.7 GPA and an 86 PCSM.  Flying hours towards your PCSM score are maxed at 200 so get at least that many.  Read up on the pilot shortage, it is not expected to be fixed for at least 3-4 years out.  When you start the process I would not be shy about second guessing what the recruiter tells you do your homework and double check paperwork.  They tried to tell me to "list all 4 rated jobs because it shows I am a team player and will give me a better chance at a pilot slot"??? I listed pilot only and was selected. I was also told there was no way to study for the TBAS because it was "just an aptitude test" however you can practice on a flight sim with an inverted stick, find flash cards for the directional orientation task online, play multitasking games.  Bottom line don't take no for an answer and take control of your own destiny, good luck.

[Judgesmails]

Your chances are HIGH of getting selected I was selected in 2016 with 3.7 GPA and an 86 PCSM.  Flying hours towards your PCSM score are maxed at 200 so get at least that many.  Read up on the pilot shortage, it is not expected to be fixed for at least 3-4 years out.  When you start the process I would not be shy about second guessing what the recruiter tells you do your homework and double check paperwork.  They tried to tell me to "list all 4 rated jobs because it shows I am a team player and will give me a better chance at a pilot slot"??? I listed pilot only and was selected. I was also told there was no way to study for the TBAS because it was "just an aptitude test" however you can practice on a flight sim with an inverted stick, find flash cards for the directional orientation task online, play multitasking games.  Bottom line don't take no for an answer and take control of your own destiny, good luck.

Thanks man, good to hear some current info. Have you heard anything about people getting rotors or RPAs, I want to stay away from that crap as much as possible.(I guess I could live with rotor if it came down to it.) Also, how does the OTS selection differ from the pilot Slot selection? Is one harder than the other? Thanks.


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[Uncle]

4 hours ago, flyguy4723 said:

 

Thanks man, good to hear some current info. Have you heard anything about people getting rotors or RPAs, I want to stay away from that crap as much as possible.(I guess I could live with rotor if it came down to it.) Also, how does the OTS selection differ from the pilot Slot selection? Is one harder than the other? Thanks.


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Rotors drop at about a rate of 1 per class and usually someone marks it as their top choice so you dont have to worry about that too much.  RPAs havent dropped in quite a while I think atleast over a year or two.  So you will apply to a rated OTS board and will choose which careers you would be willing to do if selected Pilot, RPA, CSO or ABM pilot is the most competitive so if you only mark down Pilot like I did it lowers your overall chances of selection just based on that.  But dont let the recruiter tell you to check boxes you arent ok with.

[Judgesmails]

2 minutes ago, Uncle said:

Rotors drop at about a rate of 1 per class and usually someone marks it as their top choice so you dont have to worry about that too much.  RPAs havent dropped in quite a while I think atleast over a year or two.  So you will apply to a rated OTS board and will choose which careers you would be willing to do if selected Pilot, RPA, CSO or ABM pilot is the most competitive so if you only mark down Pilot like I did it lowers your overall chances of selection just based on that.  But dont let the recruiter tell you to check boxes you arent ok with.

Got it! Thanks, do you have any recommended study guides for AFOQTC and TBAS? Also, did you have a lot of volunteer/extracurricular time? I also would assume that the AF is handing out a couple extra fighter slots per class because were about 1500 short on pilots. Thanks. 

[Uncle]

My recruiter emailed this to me in 2016 its a year out of date but the AFOQT just switched to a new version when I took it so it should still be relevant.  This gives you a better idea of selection rates out of total number of applicants, but only compare the recent AFOQT scores to yours as the test version changes and averages fluctuate.

p.s. give me some rep trying to get out of the red lol.

AFOQT AVERAGES_PERCENTAGES BOARD15OT01 8 May 2015 2015.pdf

Edited April 2, 2017 by Uncle

[Uncle]

5 hours ago, flyguy4723 said:

Got it! Thanks, do you have any recommended study guides for AFOQTC and TBAS? Also, did you have a lot of volunteer/extracurricular time? I also would assume that the AF is handing out a couple extra fighter slots per class because were about 1500 short on pilots. Thanks. 

I dont have a specific study guide for the AFOQT to recommend just order the top hit on Amazon.  As far as the TBAS goes google it and find what you can, And the Assignments threads post the drops from all three UPT bases within a day or two of the drop night usually about 5-8 fighter per class of 25-30.

[Judgesmails]

12 hours ago, Uncle said:

I dont have a specific study guide for the AFOQT to recommend just order the top hit on Amazon.  As far as the TBAS goes google it and find what you can, And the Assignments threads post the drops from all three UPT bases within a day or two of the drop night usually about 5-8 fighter per class of 25-30.

Ok thanks. Did you have any guys wash out of your UPT class because they got sick? I've been known to get sick occasionally on some aerobatic flights and what not. Just wondering how the AF handles that. Thanks. 

[Uncle]

1 hour ago, flyguy4723 said:

Ok thanks. Did you have any guys wash out of your UPT class because they got sick? I've been known to get sick occasionally on some aerobatic flights and what not. Just wondering how the AF handles that. Thanks. 

I just started day 1 of UPT on Friday, however it was addressed in Aerophys and it is common for people to get Airsick the first time they pull G's.  They say you get used to it the more you do it and the flight doc will work with you I am assuming showing you techniques to prevent it.  Get Bob Hoovers book Forever Flying he was a legendary pilot and started off getting airsick.  I woudnt worry about it too much.

[Judgesmails]

12 minutes ago, Uncle said:

I just started day 1 of UPT on Friday, however it was addressed in Aerophys and it is common for people to get Airsick the first time they pull G's.  They say you get used to it the more you do it and the flight doc will work with you I am assuming showing you techniques to prevent it.  Get Bob Hoovers book Forever Flying he was a legendary pilot and started off getting airsick.  I woudnt worry about it too much.

Ok thanks, I don't think it will be too big of a problem for me. That's awesome, tho, how's UPT goin so far? Good luck with it.

[Heavywanabe]

On 3/31/2017 at 10:02 AM, flyguy4723 said:

Hello all, I am interested in becoming a pilot for the USAF and looking to apply in the near future. I am 19 years old. I will graduate college next spring with my 4 year degree in Aviation Flight Science from Western Michigan, current GPA is about 3.5(think I can get it up to 3.7 by the end). I have my Private Pilot's License, Instrument rating, commercial license, and will soon have my multi and CFI. I have 150 hours of flight time.  I have not taken TBAS or AFOQT, so I do not have a PCSM score for you guys. I have absolutely no criminal record or anything like that. I'm a healthy individual that is in decent shape. I currently hold a First class medical, I have had very infrequent heart palpitations, cardiologist said they were nothing to worry about, he said I have very healthy heart and these are normal. Would this cause any problems on getting a pilot slot? Anyway, based on this info what are my chances at getting a pilot slot? Thanks.

Wait., How'd you pull off a commercial with only 150 hours? 

[Heavywanabe]

Ahh Gotcha, I knew it was less than the 250 needed for 61 but didn't know it was that good of a deal.

And as far as the original post, GPA and flight hours look great. And as the guys above said, go hit the 200 hour mark and max that portion of the PCSM out. If you hit 90's for the pilot and nav part of the AFOQT and do decent on your TBAS, you shouldn't have an issue getting in the 90's for a PCSM. From the first time I talked to a recruiter to my package getting to the board was 10 months, but I went reserve so I had to rush, and get hired with a unit during those 10 months before the board.  So my advice would be to start the process your last year of college, so when you graduate you will have less time for hurry up and wait. And if you have a healthy heart and no issues then there is nothing to report when they ask, But once you mention something (even if it turned out to be nothing) it opens up a whole new can of worms and more hoops to jump through.