ecugringo

Marine pilots have an 8 yr commitment for jets and turbos, 6 yrs for helos. That time starts after you get your wings which is about 2 yrs after you get commissioned. Maybe longer in some cases. You also have to go to The Basic School for 6 months after OCS. Then you go to flight school.

That Marine movie The Great Santini is good one on how to raise your kids and be a good husband.

Well I was there about 5.5 yrs ago, that was the case when it was explained to me. anyway I didn't mean to spread innacurate info. It's just how things change from time to time.

You are right that it is the individual that makes how their attitude is, and you are right on where it comes from. I dont know how the ROTC selection works....But the vast majority of the cadets wanted pilot slots and I'm pretty sure the vast majority didn't get them. And for a school with only 4500 students and have something like 400 in a ROTC unit makes for stiff competition. I know at ECU the unit was somewhere around 75 students in ROTC from a school of 25,000. And very few of those cadets were after pilot slots. I couldn't do ROTC I wish I did. The Lt Col of the Det told me if I had time to do it, and with my ratings, if I wanted it I would have no competition. That's how it was explained to me from cadets and the Lt Col. I knew a lot of cadets at ERAU that were going in teh AF and wanted to be pilots and spent a lot of money there, but were never going to fly for the AF.

There are actually several out there that have programs. Auburn, Western Michigan has a good one i hear, Middle Tenn state, Ohio State. Theres more I just can't think of right now. Before I went to ERAU I was warned by several instructers and former students that it sucks, I didn't listen and found out the hard way. But I'm not gonna totaly bash it, it does have a good program that is over priced. But I think it's safer to go to a big school near an FBO and do it that way. Another thing about ERAU is you compete with a hell of a lot more people to get a pilot slot through ROTC. AT ECU our ROTC unit gave them out to whoever wanted them. I also knew a US Air capt that went to Daniel Webster. He had a lot of good things to say about it.

I tried the ERAU thing for a year and hated it! My brother went to Penn State so I saw how good a normal school can be, and how much fun you can have. I have a degree in something other than flying yet I still have all my ratings. At all the FBO's I've been to, there were instructors from ERAU, UND, Purdue, and those that just learned from the side along with comair types. I've flown with them all and I can't say anyone is any better than the other, although I can say which type I didn't like drinking beers with. Sorry ERAU.

ok i think i got it...but yeah ive heard many ad pilots would prefer guard if they could so thats why im goin this way. anyway thanks for the info. oh yeah and do guard still retire with the pension as well?

well do the pay and benefits vary at all if youre a part timer? can you serve 20 yrs part time and still retire on a pension?

Hey i was just wondering if you can be in the guard and be full time? i have heard stories that you can and other stories that contradict this. can anyone clarify this for me? thanks

well like i said there are several guard units i was applying to, but there are two reserve units that interested me. one was a c-130 unit in pittsburgh where i live now. the other was an f-16 unit in fla. i figured it might be worth the shot. i didnt realize in the reserve you could get moved to a different unit. thanks again

hey thanks guys, i know how to get in touch with the guard units, i was just curious about the reserve. are they about the same or is the one better than the other? is there a way fo find their info online? or just through the bookd?

im currently applying to several ang units. i was wondering if anyone off the street can apply to the reserve as well the same way one does to the guard? if you can where can i find info on the process? thanks

oh ok my bad...sorry.

hey thanks a lot. i recieved a 90 i guess thats considered good. i had a 70 on my pilot score on my afoqt, 270 flight hrs with a commercial/instrument and a 2.8 gpa.

hey im new here and i just took the bat test and the examiner gave me a web page to check my score. however i cant seem to open the link. can anyone help me out? also what is considered good scores on the test to qualify for a pilot?