Tag Archives: pilot training

High School to Flight School

The first response to “How do I become a fighter pilot?” in the US military is always the same:  get a bachelor’s degree.  Both the Air Force and Navy require their pilots to be commissioned officers; in order to be an officer, candidates must have college degrees (though it matters little which one they have).

By contrast, the Army has a program that can take applicants directly from “high school to flight school.”  Many Army helicopter pilots are Warrant Officers, which Read more

Military Aviation, God Willing

Stars and Stripes penchant for finding religion in a story continues with its headline “Wing and a prayer.”  The title is evidently a reference to the Islamic “cultural view” cited in the article:

The members of the air corps are “the cream of the cream of the crop” when it comes to the Afghan army, Rennell said. Still, an “inshallah” (God willing) mind-set dominates the ranks, a cultural view that clashes with the strict protocols required for operating highly technical aircraft.

While insha’allah is traditionally compared with the Southern Baptist “Lord willin’,” others have considered it more a statement of realism or fatalism.  In what may be an urban legend based on stereotype, stories have been told about Islamic pilots Read more

Yearning for the Wild Blue Yonder

The Washington Post chronicles the story of Colin Banks, a high school senior who dreams of going to the US Air Force Academy and becoming a fighter pilot.

While the article has the unfortunate tendency of focusing on race, Banks’ story is a good one.  He has an avid interest in all things aeronautic and has an unbelievably supportive mother.  His mother has taken him to Air Force Day at the National Air and Space Museum’s Dulles annex (a pilot heaven, and home of the space shuttle Enterprise), researched Air Force jobs, and drives him to his flight lessons.

As a result of a Tuskegee Airman program called Youth in Aviation, Read more

Military Cadets Receive Rhodes Scholarships

Three military academy cadets have been selected as Rhodes Scholars. This will provide them the opportunity to study for a Masters degree at Oxford University. All three of the cadets are women; two from the US Military Academy (West Point) are from New York and Washington. One from the US Air Force Academy is from California.  That the academies represent nearly 10% of the Rhodes Scholars speaks to the prestige of the education at the military institutions.

Since the intent upon graduation from a military academy is to serve as a military officer, opportunities to do other things are limited. Read more

Is There a Cultural Shift Occurring in the Air Force?

The culture of the Air Force is in many ways like high school. Fighter pilots are the jocks, the cool kids who rule the campus. And drone pilots? They’re the AV club.

As has been frequently said here (and as described in the book), the stereotype is that Air Force fighter pilots are the glorious rulers of the Air Force.  A Stars and Stripes article says that the Air Force cultural dominance of the fighter pilot may be at an end, just as the dominance of strategic nuclear bombers passed on to fighters decades ago.

While the dominance of the fighter pilot may be fading in some people’s estimation, the cultural stereotype lives on:  Read more

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