Hello all,

  I was just curious if anyone was familiar of the training course differences between the F-15 and F-16? I see the course length for the F-16 is 9 months compared to the F-15 which is 6 months. Which makes sense since it does not have an air to ground mission. Does one of them have a higher washout rate than the other? I've heard a fair amount of talk on here about washing out of F-15 but not so much F-16. 

Thanks!

Can't speak too much about Eagle B-Course but for the Viper side in my year-ish at Holloman I saw 2 people wash out and 1 DOR over 4 or so classes.  So not every class has one, but it's not that uncommon.  As for why, it typically revolved around SA and decision making.  The IP's expect you to not be good at the mission but to be able to handle small things like staying visual and making a relatively informed decision when something goes wrong in your jet.  That being said the learning curve is pretty steep, 5 flights then your checkride, each phase after that is only 3-4 flights for you to gain a basic level of proficiency and understanding before the next phase which builds off the previous.  Again, the expectation is not that you are a hyper lethal guy ready for WIC, but that you can be decently lethal while doing the basics correctly.  Best words you can hear in the debrief are "nothing for ground ops, departure, recovery, admin in the airspace, and no TR's observed."

I have heard Eagle B-Course has a higher washout rate but that's purely rumor only.  If you're trying to decide which to pursue based on difficulty I recommend you don't do that.  One, that's just weak.  Two, they are different aircraft with different missions, pick a mission that you believe in and pursue that no matter how tough. Three, fly the Viper.