I wouldnt wanna sit at a desk and fly this

[Low&Slow]

It always sort of blows my mind that my favorite Naval Aviator has not, to my knowledge, flown since his time in the Service, or at least, has not converted his qualifications to civilian.

My dad flew all kinds of USAF fixed wing aircraft all over the world and logged over 30,000 hours from 1962 until his retirement in 1985. After he moved us all back to his hometown, he drove to the airport and talked with some airline person and was offered a job.
He was going to take it, but after they told him he would need to convert his military pilot qualifications to civiian pilot certificates, and it looked like a lot of hassle, he decided he would rather just chill at home and hang out at the beach and be truly retired. He never flew again and he never worked again. Always had time for his kids and grandkids after that.
To be honest, it was kinda weird for a couple of years after he retired because he was almost never home when he was in the AF, and then he was always home. It took a while for us all to get used to it.

 

[QXDX]

My dad flew all kinds of USAF fixed wing aircraft all over the world and logged over 30,000 hours from 1962 until his retirement in 1985. After he moved us all back to his hometown, he drove to the airport and talked with some airline person and was offered a job.
He was going to take it, but after they told him he would need to convert his military pilot qualifications to civiian pilot certificates, and it looked like a lot of hassle, he decided he would rather just chill at home and hang out at the beach and be truly retired. He never flew again and he never worked again. Always had time for his kids and grandkids after that.
To be honest, it was kinda weird for a couple of years after he retired because he was almost never home when he was in the AF, and then he was always home. It took a while for us all to get used to it.

He flew an average of over 1300 hours a year, for 23 years?

 

[Maximilian_Jenius]

He flew an average of over 1300 hours a year, for 23 years?

You don't fly that much in the armed forced. Especially if you promote to high ranks. I think airlift pilots get the most hours in the careers, far more than pointy end pilots.

 

[Flyinthrew]

I was going to answer the question of why commissioned officers are the ones with weapons release authority in aircraft, but then I realized 4 out of 5 posts came from the same really weird guy, so I'm going to call skip it.

Also, as if it matter anymore, I just got done working alongside an active Army Grey Eagle crew. That was one of the most painful, PITIFUL operations I've ever experienced. A huge waste of space and money on a below average group of people.

 

[Skåning]

I just got done working alongside an active Army Grey Eagle crew

I had to google that cus I assumed that was like a bunch of geezers flying choppers or something

 

[Pilot Fighter]

Which, of course begs the question... why are officers typically the only ones privileged to fly those big expensive weapons platforms? (Leading question hint to consider in your anaylsis: "Do you really think it's because college graduates with the correct pedigrees typically display better airmanship and stick skills, or are the ones who can do more situps or run the OC faster??")

There's actually pretty good data on this question.

The Navy NavCad program commissioned thousands of Naval Officers before the program was ended in 1968. The program was terminated because NavCad's, as a group, were pretty mediocre. When my father made O-4, he was the only remaining NavCad from his OCS class. When the Navy lowered its standards, they got a bunch of mediocre officers for their efforts.

The data is there. Compared to their peers, they struggled at OCS, struggled in flight training, struggled at the RAG, and failed to promote in an era when it was almost guaranteed.

So, it's not that college degrees make better pilots, college grads make better officers and better officers make better pilots. And, there's extensive data to prove it.

 

[///AMG]

To dog hump on what PF said, I think the reasoning is that successful completion of college is a good predictor of what success someone will have in flight school and beyond. It is really challenging and is about much more than just stick and rudder skills, particularly if you end up flying aircraft with a complex tactical mission set. Could hard charging E's make it through without having attended college? Absolutely. They have done so in the past, without a doubt. My dad flew with WWII era enlisted aviators who were still around, and he himself was an original NavCad in the 1950's (though that still involved completing 2 years of college I believe). Those also weren't the aircraft or mission sets of today.

We could go around endlessly with this discussion, because of course there are exceptions to every rule, and of course I don't truly think that college grads are superior to their counterparts in innate intelligence or abilities. But they have found over the years, and lots of failed initiatives to do just this, that the percentage answer is college grads are more likely to succeed in their program. And even among college grads, which is a broad category, it is pretty competitive. It is an indicator that someone has the self-study habits and work ethic to succeed in a multi-year program that basically consumes your entire life, Monday-Sunday, 24/7/365. Flight school and the FRS were much more challenging than university engineering school was, and only a couple other flying quals/courses I completed after that were harder, in terms of the biggest life challenges I've faced.

 

[JordanD]

multi-year program that basically consumes your entire life, Monday-Sunday, 24/7/365.

Seeing what's expected of military pilots in order to get your wings was pretty eye opening. Mad props (or jets, or helos) to anyone that can put up with that for years and not go insane.

 

[Low&Slow]

He flew an average of over 1300 hours a year, for 23 years?

My guess is that it was probably more than that, he was almost never home. I remember when he came back home from a TDY in England he crossed the 30k mark somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean. His Squadron threw him a 30,000 hour party and gave him a special patch to commemorate it.
He started out in Air/Sea rescue flying a HU-16 in Goose Bay, then transitioned to A-1E Skyraider, then C-121, then C-130E, then KC-135, then turned down transfer to B-52 and retired.

 

[Low&Slow]

Also, as if it matter anymore, I just got done working alongside an active Army Grey Eagle crew. That was one of the most painful, PITIFUL operations I've ever experienced. A huge waste of space and money on a below average group of people.

I just picked up a guy in my Aircraft Structure Repair section who spent the last 6 years as an AD Army Grey Eagle structure repairer. This guy is a Michaelangelo at composite repairs. Maybe some of the crew are pitiful, but this guy is definitely above average and does amazing work.

 

[Flyinthrew]

I just picked up a guy in my Aircraft Structure Repair section who spent the last 6 years as an AD Army Grey Eagle structure repairer. This guy is a Michaelangelo at composite repairs. Maybe some of the crew are pitiful, but this guy is definitely above average and does amazing work.

Must be from all the times the dumbs ran them off the runway or taxi'd them into parked aircraft.

 

[Low&Slow]

Must be from all the times the dumbs ran them off the runway or taxi'd them into parked aircraft.

Good point. Maybe he's been given LOTS of opportunity for practice.