Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA/RPV/UAS/UAV)

Just started reading about this yesterday.... And there's not much out there about it. Can anyone please shed some light on this field and what's different (if any) from a regular RPA pilot vs AFSOC RPA pilot? What's the difference in their missions etc? I read so far that there are 2 Special Ops squadrons currently active with RPAs: the 3rd and 33rd SOS. Both based out of Canon AFB in New Mexico, flying Predators and Reapers. I'm a civilian RPA select so please excuse my lack of info.... What are the pros/cons to being AFSOC RPA pilot? How do you get in? Is day to day life any different? Any incentives? I was interested in AFSOC (enlisted) after not getting …

Hello all, I'm interested in applying for a rated board and selecting RPA. In order to get a good idea of what life that would lead to, I have a few questions: 1. Is it true that RPA pilots deploy less than others? I'm also considering ABM which deploys about 6 months a year. Is the tempo about the same? 2. Do RPA pilots usually work 12 hour days, have 24 hours off, then do another 12 hour day? What does a flying schedule look like? 3. Can RPA pilots get flight hours? Thanks.

Hi

For 13N's, 18X has been added to the Crossflow board. This means that every VML, Officers will Crossflow to 18X. This is a huge opportunity because an application is not needed for the November board. No AF 215, but a PCSM of 60 is needed and a current certified Flight Class Physical. Also, your TCSFD must line up. I'm not aware of how Crossflow is offered to non-13N's, but I would think this opportunity would be available elsewhere as well. A PCSM of 60 is very competitive if you do not have a PPL or hours. In comparison to the November board, a PCSM of 10 is the minimum requirement.

A warning to anybody looking at going to Fort Smith for the RPA mission. Unless you want to work every night for the rest of your life and have the current leadership take advantage of you. Go someplace else. You have been warned.

How many applied this year and got picked up for RPA? Talked to the civilian POC at AFPC in 2013 and he said that 32 RPA slots went unfilled that year. Has anyone heard anything similar this year? What are our numbers this year?

Hey guys, I am a RPA pilot selectee, I have my PPL/PPC, and I anticipate completing my instrument rating this fall. My date of commission is on 24 Apr 2014, after which my RPA training will begin that summer. 1. While digging around in the internet, I have found out that I am exempt from block 1 of training (IFS) in Pueblo, CO, and that I will go straight to IQC at Randolph instead. My ROTC Detachment NCO's were not aware of this policy (new as of Dec 2012), so be sure that yours know if you are a RPA selectee, so that they can work on getting a waiver from IFS early on for you. 2. Questions: From what "I think" I know, IQC is basically the civilian equivalent of …

Gentleman, After reviewing the forums I believe that most of the information I'll be asking in this post is several years old and, thus, almost certainly out of date. In an effort to gather sufficient information to make an informed decision about RPAs (information that my recruiter either a) doesn't have for b) isn't sharing) I'm hoping to find some answers here. I'll write my questions in a bullet format to make answering easier. If you feel that a particular question was answered in a previous thread (and that the information is still current and relevant), please let me know and I'll remove it. 1) Several threads have indicated that RPA training…

Border patrol is trying to stand up "drone surveillance" on the border using the MQ-9. They're running into major hiring problems with a lack of qualified aircrew in the workforce. Also, it turns out that running an MQ-9 CAP is far more expensive than they were expecting.

So I've been doing some research and found out about the URT course. Does this mean there are plans to stop taking UPT grads to fly drones? If so any idea when this is going to take affect or has it already. Sorry I'm a bit behind the curve here. P.S. Search function doesn't allow me to use 3 letter words and acronyms so I had to ask. -.-

I'm a Second Lieutenant in the Marine Corps and was recently informed that I will be attending IFS in Pueblo, CO followed by some school in San Antonio. Does anyone know what this process is like? Have there been many Marines that have came through this pipeline in the past? I understand what IFS is, but what is the curriculum in San Antonio geared towards? Any information on this topic would be very helpful. Thanks!

https://www.boston.com/business/news/2013/02/13/pentagon-creates-new-medal-for-cyber-drone-wars/D265C91RrHasLVzjFNdz6J/story.html

https://www.amazon.com/Maisto-Fresh-Metal-Tailwinds-Endurance/product-reviews/B004JFMOGK/ref=cm_cr_dp_see_all_btm?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending Here is a sample: "Listen, I get that us humans are meant to be imaginative beings, but my daughter, Cheryl, was so upset that this toy had no sound affects, no victims included in the packaging, and no burnt and wounded bits of bodies to add authenticity to the product. I suppose I was setting my sights too high, but Cheryl has literally devoured the news about drone attacks since she was about 3 years old. Yep, I know - a prodigy. Whereas other kids are obsessed with sharks, guns and Bar…

Hello everyone! I figured I'd finally attempt to get acquainted with the community rather than just lurk the boards endlessly. I came into the service last year as one of the first 18X officers behind the beta classes for the RPA pipeline. There is not a lot of information on what potential and impending 18X'ers will face in the training process, outside of the guys that got non-vol'd or didn't go through the entire program. I figured I would at least cast the thread out there and attempt to shed any light on questions others might have on it. I'm by no means an expert, but finishing up the training program here at Holloman right now, I'm pretty fresh out of the Randolph …

SNC is hiring sensor operators for overseas work. 20K + a month. I do not work for them but work with them...

29 May I start the four month long RIQ/RFC training and some classmates and I are looking for alternatives to living in VOQ at Randolph. I have heard some rummors about furnished houses or PIT pads that are setup for guys going TDY there. Anyone know a good resource for finding a place for longer TDYs or own a place they need to rent for a few months? How about any info on the minimum information the AF will need to reimburse us for renting a place durring TDY? Special way the lease would need to look? ect.

Without getting into specifics, what is the basic schedule like during the 4 month school at Holloman? Particularly looking for the average duty day/class length. Thanks.

Hearing rumors from semi-reliable sources that ACC is going to pay for 4 hours a month at the aero club. Guess AFSOC guys will have to continue to let knowing that they're "doing a great job, we're proud of you, what you're doing is important, you are all future cols and gens, etc" be their reason for carrying on. Anyone want to set the point for over/under on number of crashes per year as well as the point for date of the first crash?

Today's announcement is the first time I have heard this. Are both operated within the same squadron? I thought they were two different quals? Can you be dual qualed?

Hi, I have searched everywhere for the answer to my question and left many messages to recruiters to no avail, so I'm hoping you guys can help. Do Guard units hire RPA pilots from the outside or do they only pick from current flyers/trained RPA pilots? I'm specifically interested in the 163d Recon Wing if anyone happens to be with them. And since we're on the topic of recruiting, is poor vision (-7.50, correctable to 20/20) waiverable for RPA pilots? I couldn't find the vision standards for FC II "U" online. Thank you.

Predator operators, I am conducting an online survey for my masters project. I am researching a change between 8-hour shifts to 12-hour shifts for predator operations. The survey is only 13 questions and should only take two minutes of your time. https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Q8HQXGD For folks outside Creech please PM me if you are willing to forward the survey to your squadron. Any help would be greatly appreciated in my never ending quest to finish my masters degree.

Question - what are the qualifications for an RQ-4 Global Hawk pilot? Given the weapons system is fully autonomous I would have thought the new UAS/RPV pilots would be the first option.

Hurlburt Field preferred for MQ-1 remote split-operation unit. Wow, I almost can't believe this. Is the AF finally getting the idea that you can put control stations at non-shitty bases and have them operate UAVs physically based in other locations? Yet another good deal for reserve bubbas...come on down and enjoy the emerald coast.

I'm working on a capstone project for my masters. Currently my research topic is to study the differences between working 8 and 12 hour shifts and how they effect fatigue, mishaps, quality of life, etc for predator ops. I'm not asking for folks to fill out a survey yet. I just need to know what schedules units are working 8s,12 and how many days on/off are in their work week. Private message me if you have time to help me out and I'll give you my NIPR email address. Thanks!

I received a email about two days ago that the air force is looking for about 55 soon to be LT's and 10 alternates from rotc to begin the new UAV pipeline which will then cease the pulling of pilots out of UPT completion. Its about a 10 month pipeline which includes IFS and 40 hrs of T-6 sim followed by UAV core training. so i ask, any of you non rated folks out there like myself considering this?