Military Aviation Training
The United States military has three main aviation training programs that produce pilots for all five of its branches--the Air Force, Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. While each program has its own criteria and syllabus, they all aim to produce highly trained and experienced pilots that are prepared for service in combat.
Other People Are Reading
-
Medical Requirements
-
In order to become a pilot in any branch of the armed forces, candidates must be in excellent medical health and will often be subjected to additional physicals to ensure that they are physically prepared for the rigors of flight. In order to qualify for service, all candidates must meet the basic criteria laid out in Department of Defense Directive 6130.03. This list of medical requirements applicants must meet is lengthy, however as a general rule applicants should be free of any conditions or ailments that would affect their completion of military duty.
Applicants must also pass service-specific physicals, such as an Air Force Class I Flying Physical, an Army Class I Flying Duty Medical Exam or a Naval Class I Flight Physical.
Commissioned Officers
-
In general, most services require military members to be commissioned officers in order to enter aviation training. The only exception to this is the Army, which assigns most of its flying to warrant officers.
-
Air Force
-
The Air Force trains its pilots through its Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training (SUPT) program. This program is broken up into three phases and begins with academic training where students learn the basic principles of flight and military aviation. In the second phase, students take to the air in the T-6 Texan II for primary flight training to learn basics such as taking off, landing, basic maneuvers and flying in formation. Students who complete primary training will then advance to the third phase for advanced training in a new airframe that will prepare them to fly a specific type of aircraft (such as a fighter, cargo plane or helicopter).
Upon completion of the third phase, students earn their wings and graduate from the SUPT program. SUPT can take place at either Columbus Air Force Base in Columbus, Mississippi; Laughlin Air Force Base in Del Rio, Texas; Vance Air Force Base in Enid, Oklahoma; or Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas.
Army
-
The Army's aviation training program, Warrant Officer Flight Training (WOFT), takes place at Fort Rucker, Alabama and is centered around teaching warrant officers to operate rotary-wing aircraft. The WOFT program begins by teaching students basic maneuvers in the TH-67. Training then progresses to the instrument phase, which focuses on teaching pilot candidates how to fly in low-visibility environment with the use of cockpit readouts. Finally, students enter the final phase of training in either the OH-58A/C or the UH-1 that focuses on teaching combat skills such as flying with night-vision goggles or low-level flight.
Navy/Marine Corps/Coast Guard
-
Pilot candidates in the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard all go through the same training program, beginning at Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida. Here, students complete the academic phase of training known as Aviation Preflight Indoctrination (API). Once API is completed, student aviators proceed to either Whiting Field in Florida, Naval Air Station Corpus Christi in Texas or Vance Air Force Base to complete primary flight training in either the T-34 Turbomentor or T-6 Texan II. Following primary training, students will proceed to advanced training in an aircraft that will prepare them more specifically to fly a certain class of aircraft (such as a fighter, cargo jet or helicopter).
Once advanced training is complete, aviators graduate from the program and are considered fully rated pilots by their service.
-
References
Resources
- Photo Credit air force thunderbirds image by Jorge Moro from Fotolia.com
