Air Force (the steeps it takes to become a pilot)?

Question

I am in high school and I have been thinking of joining the Air Force. I want to be a pilot in it but I know that is hard so what steps should I take to increase my odds.
1-should I go to college and for what type of degree and where
2-should I take flying lessens while in college
3-and is there any thing else that would help me

PS: I have a flight simulator and I play almost ever day and I am pretty good at for being my age.

Answer 1

First off, if you join the Air Force you have a good chance of being a UAV pilot, which means you will be in a 'camper' in the middle of Nevada flying something that is thousands of miles away. The Navy may be a better choice if you want to fly fighters.



1- You need a Bachelor's degree to even be considered as a pilot

2- If you have enough money to do that, sure.

3- Straight 4.0s through college, high test scores on the entry tests (ASVAB, AFAST), and good physical fitness.



Flight sims can only do so much, and when it comes down to it aren't really anything like the real thing.

Answer 2

A study done by the Pentagon confirmed that candidates who've had significant time on flight simulators before Undergraduate Pilot Training had an easier time familiarizing themselves with instruments and basic concepts than those without it.



Familiarization, even though it's a consumer game, will help. There are many realistic flight simulators out there.



One that has helped many pilots in the past is Falcon 4.0. Real F-16 pilots will attest that it has helped them immensely when they're not actually in a real cockpit.



You can practice how to deploy weapons in a realistic manner, how to do all those maneuvers from a high/low yo-yo to a split-S to an Immelman and learn the relationship between energy and geometry, what a 1 circle or 2 circle fight is, how to work the avionics suite (it's VERY realistic)...how to do in-flight refueling and find out what PIO is (pilot induced oscillation) when you're trying to get fuel...



You won't get a feel for how the aircraft handles...(unless you get a modified Thrustmaster Cougar HOTAS which behaves exactly like a real F-16 stick/throttle).

Answer 3

You need to be an officer to be a pilot, therefore you need a degree. It doesn't matter in what.



Flight lessons may increase your chances of being accepted but your branch is not a guarantee, you don't go to OCS "as a pilot" you need to do very well and select Aviation. (Or join the guard or Reserves and get a pilot slot, they function a bit differently, you still need a degree though)



Do very well academically, get involved in various leadership positions, prove that you deserve it over the large amount of other people that want it just as bad.



EDIT



Flight sims suck for everything but instrument flight. If you don't have a basic understanding of what you're looking at and trying to do instrument wise then they wont help you much with that either. As far as aircraft "feel" and control imputs, they are useless.

Answer 4

flight sims are a good starter to familiarize yourself with instruments



any kind of degree works but a B.S. is best and propulsion type degrees really work as well. You should take flight classes and try to obtain a pilot's license. A license is not required but if you have one then you it is truly one notch above the rest.

Answer 5

1. learn how to spell -- steeps ???

2. learn how to use spell check, if you refuse to learn how to spell.

3. Go to college and earn a BS degree- technical majors prefered, but not required

4. yes, having previous flight training helps when applying for flight school

5. Make great grades

Answer 6

If you don't like rollercoasters then I doubt you'd make it through training. Part of it is coping with much higher G forces IMO