Best route to become a heli pilot through the military?

Tokosan

Tokosan

New Member
Hello,

I'm hoping someone here has some experience with my unique circumstances. I am currently an E-5 in the USAF, and I am completely sure I want to become a heli pilot as a career. There seem to be several options to me, I'm trying to decide the best one.

The Army WOFT program seems very enticing, because once my enlistments up I can enter directly into it. The only drawback seems to be that if I sign up and then somehow don't make it, then I will be required to serve time as enlisted in the army (not a very happy prospect). Also, I wouldn't have to go through normal basic, just the "blue to green" program, which has less training to get in.

There is always trying to get a commission in the air force and trying to get into flight school, but that's iffy because I will be 27 by the time my enlistment is up, and quite frankly I kind of hate college. Also, the air force doesn't exactly guarantee anything.

Then, there is the civilian route, but from what I read here, that seems to be exremely expensive, and I wouldn't even be able to compete with all the ex-military pilots. I could use my GI bill to go to embry-riddle or something, but then the same problem would exist once i graduated without alot of turbine time.


So, in terms of the WOFT program, assuming I pass the entrance requirements and get into the actual flight training, what happens if I "wash out" and get involuntarily removed? I'm really leaning towards this, but man, that would suck to get kicked into the enlisted force once again. I've had enough of that in the air force, can't imagine it in the army.


Thank you.
 
WOFT in the Army would probably be your best bet but it would suck to be enlisted in the Army. Just a risk you'll probably have to take.

If you were lucky enough to land a slot to UPT, helos are probably on the bottom of most people's list so it might not be too hard to get. You already have experience in the AF so that would definitely help and 27 isn't too old just yet, but it's cutting it close so you'll have to line things up quickly.

I personally wouldn't go the civilian route, at least not yet.
 
Superfly7XAF said:
If you were lucky enough to land a slot to UPT, helos are probably on the bottom of most people's list so it might not be too hard to get. .
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You'd be surprised at the paradigm shift with this one. Now, far more people wanting it, and much fewer slots.

When I was going through UPT way back in the day, your assertion was very true, generally speaking.
 
Don't dis' the US Army enlisted!

Being an enlisted soldier in the most powerful Army in the world is something to be proud of, not looked down upon.

Yeah, it's tough sometimes, so what.

Are you a chick? 'Cuz it don't sound like you got any balls. (Insert expletive for "hatchet wound" here!) - HINT: starts with a "p" and can't be spelled without "u".
 
Okay, look, maybe I overreacted. I was pretty angry and offended reading all that crap above. I've cooled down.

Here's the deal-e-o:

To the OP,

What is your concern with becoming Army enlisted? It's interesting that you mention you are fearful of the possibility of becoming Army enlisted but not being shot down or ejecting or crashing due to a malfunction and subsequently being captured. I think the latter would suck much more than the former.

You don't have to be an Infantryman if that is what you are worried about. Not everyone is cut out to be one anyhow. I NEVER had an opportunity to fly in the military because of their ridiculous discriminatory hiring practices, but if I was given an opportunity I would jump on it! Don't let the fear of what may or may not happen get in the way of your dream.

Superfly,

Don't talk about something you know nothing about. Sometimes you have a good day, sometimes a not so good day, but overall it was a phenomenally awesome experience for me. I loved being an enlisted Grunt and I have never been closer to any group of guys than my LRS team and seriously doubt I ever will be again.
 
MikeD said:
He'd be able to compete, but it is pretty expensive, comparitively speaking.
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About the same as going through something like ATP professional pilot program. Sure, it doesn't beat being paid to learn, but if a concern is washing out and ending up an enlisted soldier, chances are pretty good that won't happen if you go the civilian route.
 
modernicarus said:
Are you a chick? 'Cuz it don't sound like you got any balls. (Insert expletive for "hatchet wound" here!) - HINT: starts with a "p" and can't be spelled without "u".
Click to expand...

modernicarus said:
Superfly,

Don't talk about something you know nothing about. Sometimes you have a good day, sometimes a not so good day, but overall it was a phenomenally awesome experience for me. I loved being an enlisted Grunt and I have never been closer to any group of guys than my LRS team and seriously doubt I ever will be again.
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Just my opinion and I think you proved my point for me. You're overreaction and hotheaded nature are the exact reasons I said what I said. Always quick to shoot off at the mouth and the trigger; now enter the not a real man talk.

Look, though I don't appreciate the insults in your post above, I respect your opinion and I would hope that you would respect mine. I'm technically an E-5 in the DEP at the moment awaiting my BOT class date and will be such until I leave for OTS. Though I'm not enlisted in the same sense that you are, I'm about to give no less than the next 10 years of my life to the Air Force and my country so don't be so quick to make accusations.
 
Just don't do what I did and enlist because some enlisted recruiter told you you can't go straight into the WOFT program off the street.

Dur.

(Enlisted recruiters only get quota credit when they get somebody into an enlisted MOS, not an officer program.)

Good call on asking the JC crowd- there's lots of serious experience here.

I'm a former Blackhawk Crewchief.. nearly nine years working on and flying in UH-60s in all sorts of scenarios. Got fairly familiar with the flight school application stuff until I decided that civilian flying beat out spending any more time in the Middle East.

Read all you can, and talk to some actual Warrant Officers (both newly minted and old and crusty) about the program, the life, and "Do's and don'ts".

You'll need a recommendation from a senior aviation officer (commissioned or warrant) so this'll be a good chance to start making those connections.

Oh- real aviators fly Blackhawks. Take notes.
 
Yeah, I don't mean to offend any army enlisted here, its just that I have no desire to stay enlisted even in the air force, let alone the army.

Another route I could take is using the GI bill to complete a college degree that also has flight training as part of it. I know that Embry-Riddle has helicopter school up in Prescott, and I could attend for a fraction of the cost that regular students pay, and definately way less than going through non-college flight school.

It's looking more and more like this is the route I will take, unless I figure out that for sure, you cant get kicked into the enlisted side for washing out of flight school.
 
MikeD said:
And thats just likely for the PPL plus some, not the full monty that you'd get from a FW program.
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If you can only get your PPL plus some hours with 50-60k, then I don't know what to say except you got completely, 100% ripped off, or you've been doing your training on a 412 or some other twin (maybe that's why we're thinking different times?). If you go through all r22/s300 training like almost every other student, you really should be able to get your PPL through CFI, if not II for that much. Then you do whatever one else does which is instruct till you get 1000TT, and transition to something else. Hopefully an operation with a turbine aircraft or two so you can get the transition.

OP, look into the pilot "factories" too, like Bristow. They do a lot more than train students, and their grads can go on to bigger and better things within the Bristow umbrella. Now that Silver State is gone, there don't seem to be any new pilot scams...at least none that I've heard of.
 
Superfly,
Recognize that what I initially wrote was written in anger (never a good idea), and that I apologized several minutes later when I had cooled down. I'm not normally "hot-headed" at all, pretty laid back and quiet actually. Sometimes, maybe too laid back.

Your uninformed opinion appeared to be based on false assumptions and undeserved stereotypes that I have had to put up with for many, many years and it frustrated me. For the most part I really enjoyed being an enlisted Army Airborne Infantryman and haven't served with anyone that regretted being Army enlisted. Even some of our officers that were formerly enlisted said they missed it.

It's great that you feel a desire to serve in the United States military, but don't look down your nose at those that choose to be enlisted and/or Army, they also made the choice to serve. You should respect them as you expect to be respected for the same. It's a two way street. Arrogance and ignorance are not attractive qualities and only add to the stereotype that many put on pilots and officers.

I chose to be enlisted because, other than pilot or physician, nothing else interested me on the O side and I was ineligible for either of those career choices. However, there were LOTS of cool enlisted jobs and the Army seemed to have the coolest ones. After I enlisted, they kept trying to get me to become an officer, (they started "recruiting" me during Basic Training) but I just wasn't interested. I have never regretted my decision to stay enlisted, and still don't.

For me, serving my country was never about money or power, or obtaining job skills for future employment. I already had an engineering degree at the time and I have always had a pretty good sense of adventure. I figured that I'm only young once and I wanted to live it to the fullest that I could and experience adventures and special training that I could not otherwise afford or have time to do. The Army provided me a way to serve my country in a satisfying and very unique capacity while giving me an adrenaline fix on a regular basis along with some excellent professional level training. I have seen and done things that I never dreamed of doing. One of my big regrets is that I didn't take many pictures when I could have. I have lots of amazing pictures/memories in my head that I would love to share if I could.

I just got out this past October. I came to a point in my life where it was time for me to move on. It was not a decision that was taken lightly, it was very tough for me to leave. I even considered other MOSs, but ultimately, it was just time for me to go. I do miss my team, but I talk with them every now and then and I will never forget any of them.

Anyhow, you should know that I don't have any bad feelings toward you at all, I just felt attacked and offended at the time, and felt a need to defend myself and my enlisted Army brethren. If you are still upset, I apologize again. Good luck with your future.
 
Tokosan said:
...It's looking more and more like this is the route I will take, unless I figure out that for sure, you cant get kicked into the enlisted side for washing out of flight school.
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The Army has other WO slots besides pilot. If you fail out of Flight School and don't want to be enlisted, and don't have the college to be an officer yet, maybe you could get one of those. Just another option to consider.
 
AndrewT said:
If you can only get your PPL plus some hours with 50-60k, then I don't know what to say except you got completely, 100% ripped off, or you've been doing your training on a 412 or some other twin (maybe that's why we're thinking different times?). If you go through all r22/s300 training like almost every other student, you really should be able to get your PPL through CFI, if not II for that much. Then you do whatever one else does which is instruct till you get 1000TT, and transition to something else. Hopefully an operation with a turbine aircraft or two so you can get the transition.

.
Click to expand...

My point was, hour to hour, RW is far more expensive than FW is. Hence, you'll pay more. Just be prepared for that.
 
modernicarus said:
Superfly,
Recognize that what I initially wrote was written in anger (never a good idea), and that I apologized several minutes later when I had cooled down. I'm not normally "hot-headed" at all, pretty laid back and quiet actually. Sometimes, maybe too laid back.

Your uninformed opinion appeared to be based on false assumptions and undeserved stereotypes that I have had to put up with for many, many years and it frustrated me. For the most part I really enjoyed being an enlisted Army Airborne Infantryman and haven't served with anyone that regretted being Army enlisted. Even some of our officers that were formerly enlisted said they missed it.

It's great that you feel a desire to serve in the United States military, but don't look down your nose at those that choose to be enlisted and/or Army, they also made the choice to serve. You should respect them as you expect to be respected for the same. It's a two way street. Arrogance and ignorance are not attractive qualities and only add to the stereotype that many put on pilots and officers.

I chose to be enlisted because, other than pilot or physician, nothing else interested me on the O side and I was ineligible for either of those career choices. However, there were LOTS of cool enlisted jobs and the Army seemed to have the coolest ones. After I enlisted, they kept trying to get me to become an officer, (they started "recruiting" me during Basic Training) but I just wasn't interested. I have never regretted my decision to stay enlisted, and still don't.

For me, serving my country was never about money or power, or obtaining job skills for future employment. I already had an engineering degree at the time and I have always had a pretty good sense of adventure. I figured that I'm only young once and I wanted to live it to the fullest that I could and experience adventures and special training that I could not otherwise afford or have time to do. The Army provided me a way to serve my country in a satisfying and very unique capacity while giving me an adrenaline fix on a regular basis along with some excellent professional level training. I have seen and done things that I never dreamed of doing. One of my big regrets is that I didn't take many pictures when I could have. I have lots of amazing pictures/memories in my head that I would love to share if I could.

I just got out this past October. I came to a point in my life where it was time for me to move on. It was not a decision that was taken lightly, it was very tough for me to leave. I even considered other MOSs, but ultimately, it was just time for me to go. I do miss my team, but I talk with them every now and then and I will never forget any of them.

Anyhow, you should know that I don't have any bad feelings toward you at all, I just felt attacked and offended at the time, and felt a need to defend myself and my enlisted Army brethren. If you are still upset, I apologize again. Good luck with your future.
Click to expand...

Fair enough, I didn't mean to offend with my comment but as it's obvious I did, please accept my apology and know that I hold our service members in the highest regard, including enlisted soldiers of the Army. Thank you for your service; I can only hope mine will be as memorable.
 
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