Fighter Pilot Shortage

I know it's DuffelBlog, but not all fighter jocks are lookers.
 
So, pudgy people with sagging man breast and flabby stomachs are encouraged to apply..???

Maybe I have a chance now.....:rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
Zeldman said:
So, pudgy people with sagging man breast and flabby stomachs are encouraged to apply..???

Maybe I have a chance now.....:rofl::rofl::rofl:
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An F-15 pilot told me that the USAF had done a study and found that short, chucky, smoker pilots made the best fighter guys. This was before female fighter pilots. I think if I recall it had something to do with the Gs and which type of body/person handle it better.
 
mscard88 said:
An F-15 pilot told me that the USAF had done a study and found that short, chucky, smoker pilots made the best fighter guys. This was before female fighter pilots. I think if I recall it had something to do with the Gs and which type of body/person handle it better.
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You mean like this guy?

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A friend's son got rejected for fighter training for a stupid reason medically. They wanted him to fly in another capacity. He decided if he couldn't be up front he wanted to be an infantryman. About a month later he got a call and they told him they would waive the medical issue, now he is training.
 
Well, they just keep tempting me, dont they? Grew wanting to do nothing but fly fighters.

Pretty sure ill age out soon anyway.

Also, why are so many guys getting out of the military and going to the regionals? I have a few in my class and had a few more that interviewed with me. You'd think they would have a direct line to the majors... unless flight time is an issue...
 
Cpt_Kirk said:
Also, why are so many guys getting out of the military and going to the regionals? I have a few in my class and had a few more that interviewed with me. You'd think they would have a direct line to the majors... unless flight time is an issue...
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Many aren't that current, been behind a desk for awhile. Some don't have the hours as you say. So, regionals for a short time hoping they can move on. Then some are trying to stay in one base airport also, risky these days.
 
Cpt_Kirk said:
Well, they just keep tempting me, dont they? Grew wanting to do nothing but fly fighters.

Pretty sure ill age out soon anyway.

Also, why are so many guys getting out of the military and going to the regionals? I have a few in my class and had a few more that interviewed with me. You'd think they would have a direct line to the majors... unless flight time is an issue...
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Quality of life. Pay. Flight time. Moved to drone pilots. Lots of reasons.
 
Cpt_Kirk said:
Also, why are so many guys getting out of the military and going to the regionals? I have a few in my class and had a few more that interviewed with me. You'd think they would have a direct line to the majors... unless flight time is an issue...
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A lot of places put value on 121 experience, and we're still not to the point where a military guy can *count* on going straight to a major immediately. Many do (I fly with them all the time), but some head to a regional first just to check the 121 box. The last guy I flew with was only at his regional for two months before being picked up by us.
 
I think having a human in a fighter is obsolete. By eliminating all the human required things I can make the aircraft lighter, faster and less complex. With no human on board I can out G anything with a human pilot. If a pilotless fighter gets shot down over enemy territory - who cares - it's just stuff. I don't have to risk more lives by launching a CSAR mission. It just makes sense.
 
Art VanDelay said:
I think having a human in a fighter is obsolete. By eliminating all the human required things I can make the aircraft lighter, faster and less complex. With no human on board I can out G anything with a human pilot. If a pilotless fighter gets shot down over enemy territory - who cares - it's just stuff. I don't have to risk more lives by launching a CSAR mission. It just makes sense.
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Sensors haven't fully replaced human capabilities yet. That element still provides a level of judgement and decision making not possible from a remote location.

Edit: Need to add observation and discernment to the list. And I'm assuming by fighter you're including the air to ground role as well.
 
Cpt_Kirk said:
Well, they just keep tempting me, dont they? Grew wanting to do nothing but fly fighters.

Pretty sure ill age out soon anyway.

Also, why are so many guys getting out of the military and going to the regionals? I have a few in my class and had a few more that interviewed with me. You'd think they would have a direct line to the majors... unless flight time is an issue...
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Low flight time, currency and ATP. I know of some guys who went that route because the ATP/CTP is paid for and its the easiest way for them to get it.
 
Cooter said:
Sensors haven't fully replaced human capabilities yet. That element still provides a level of judgement and decision making not possible from a remote location.

Edit: Need to add observation and discernment to the list. And I'm assuming by fighter you're including the air to ground role as well.
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I'm willing to bet you had an ancestor that said "they'll never make a car that can go up a hill".......
 
Cpt_Kirk said:
Well, they just keep tempting me, dont they? Grew wanting to do nothing but fly fighters.

Pretty sure ill age out soon anyway.

Also, why are so many guys getting out of the military and going to the regionals? I have a few in my class and had a few more that interviewed with me. You'd think they would have a direct line to the majors... unless flight time is an issue...
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They need that recent 121 experience. I had a guy in my new hire class that flies P-3s in the Navy and was with us for a month just off of OE before he got picked up by Delta.
 
Art VanDelay said:
I'm willing to bet you had an ancestor that said "they'll never make a car that can go up a hill".......
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I'm not saying it won't happen, I'm saying we're not there yet. Especially in the air to ground role. If the weather is CAVU, the enemy stays sufficiently away from the good guys and there is only the need to work preplanned targets, then ok. I agree with you. But that isn't guaranteed on the battlefield and in today's warfare is rarely the case.
 
Cooter said:
I'm not saying it won't happen, I'm saying we're not there yet. Especially in the air to ground role. If the weather is CAVU, the enemy stays sufficiently away from the good guys and there is only the need to work preplanned targets, then ok. I agree with you. But that isn't guaranteed on the battlefield and in today's warfare is rarely the case.
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which technology have you "seen" in action?
 
Checkout_my_Six said:
which technology have you "seen" in action?
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I'm not very familiar with the 5th generation fighters, but I am familiar with much of what's being used today. What technology are referring to?
 
Cooter said:
I'm not very familiar with the 5th generation fighters, but I am familiar with much of what's being used today. What technology are referring to?
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you said it ain't ready....why and what did you see?
 
We have a shortage of fighter pilots???

Over here! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME!
Miss teacher, pick ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME! ME!

A buddy of mine trains with the Air Force. He gets to fly cool planes, do aerobatics, dogfights, formations .... while I cry myself to sleep every night.
I've said too much already.
 
Checkout_my_Six said:
you said it ain't ready....why and what did you see?
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It's what I see, not only what I've seen. I don't share my personal details with the masses, PM me if you like. If you disagree, I'd like to hear your thoughts and experience.
 
Cooter said:
It's what I see, not only what I've seen. I don't share my personal details with the masses, PM me if you like. If you disagree, I'd like to hear your thoughts and experience.
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Let's just say....those that have "operated" a Ku band system are deeply disappointed in the response/delay and performance of that system...vs those that have "operated" line of sight C band systems. I have done safety assessments for both. They are vastly different.

Let's just say....AirForce systems as of a few years ago....were of the Ku band type.
 
Checkout_my_Six said:
Let's just say....those that have "operated" a Ku band system are deeply disappointed in the response/delay and performance of that system...vs those that have "operated" line of sight C band systems. I have done safety assessments for both. They are vastly different.

Let's just say....AirForce systems as of a few years ago....were of the Ku band type.
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I've never worked on the test side. I've not seen anything operationally available that would replace a pilot in all TIC engagements, or even fulfill many of the support request. Not even close. I don't deny that we may get there one day, but it's not on the battlefield yet.
 
Cooter said:
I've never worked on the test side. I've not seen anything operationally available that would replace a pilot in all TIC engagements, or even fulfill many of the support request. Not even close. I don't deny that we may get there one day, but it's not on the battlefield yet.
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you may not have "seen" it....but the technology is available in certain circles. C-band is darn near real time (it does have limitations) but is very capable and able to reduce risk to the warrior while engaged in battle.

Those that poo-poo this technology typically have experienced the Ku-band systems with large response delays.....i.e. Predator like performance.
 
Checkout_my_Six said:
you may not have "seen" it....but the technology is available in certain circles. C-band is darn near real time (it does have limitations) but is very capable and able to reduce risk to the warrior while engaged in battle.

Those that poo-poo this technology typically have experienced the Ku-band systems with large response delays.....i.e. Predator like performance.
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We need to make a distinction between technology that's available, and technology that has been integrated into the tactical environment. There is potentially a large gap between the two. When speaking of a single system, the gap is narrowed. When your talking about a platform that hosts multiple systems, the difficulty increases and the gap widens. New tech hits the operational side all the time and usually shows up first in the spec ops teams. There's all kinds of cool stuff that wasn't available 10 years ago. But when you look to replace a pilot, you are doing way more than introducing a new technology or a single system. The combat environment is dynamic and simply evaluating and approving the reliability of new technology is not the same as saying it is a fully capable replacement in that dynamic environment. It takes operational approval and success in order to make that judgement confidently. There is a reason the A-10 is still flying. The leadership tried hard to get rid of it but he reality on the battlefield wouldn't allow it.
 
Cooter said:
I'm not saying it won't happen, I'm saying we're not there yet. Especially in the air to ground role. If the weather is CAVU, the enemy stays sufficiently away from the good guys and there is only the need to work preplanned targets, then ok. I agree with you. But that isn't guaranteed on the battlefield and in today's warfare is rarely the case.
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Granted but I thought we were talking fighter missions not ground attack.
 
I was too stupid in my teen years to make the right decisions. Never even thought about being a fighter/bomber/cargo pilot, was too busy putting notches in my bedpost but that is another story.

I have always laughed at the Air Force(no not like that) because I have always been a big history buff, especially about ww2 and if you read books, most of the greatest pilots of the war were just folks with a desire to fly, they weren't doctorate students, they weren't the high school quarterback, they weren't from a line of military brass. They were just normal folks. Many of whom had to cheat just to get into flight school as well. You use that kind of data and use it today and the Air Force is choosing the wrong pilots! Just thought I would throw that in.
 
Art VanDelay said:
Granted but I thought we were talking fighter missions not ground attack.
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I was thinking of fighter pilots in general. It's a broad term and the air to ground role made my point better. I agree the actual fighter role is a different story and I'm not completely sure where that stands. Evil Eagle is a better source to answer that question. My initial thought is that for BVR, no problem. But in close would provide some challenges with the maneuvering and PID.
 
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