Welcome to the Heavies discussion blog. The purpose of this blog is to foster discussion between future Air Force officers interested in becoming pilots and flying heavies (strategic airlift/tankers/etc.) and active duty officers currently flying such planes. views expressed in this blog are solely the opinions of the individual authors and not of the United States Air Force nor the Department of Defense.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Differences
What do you see as the biggest difference(s) between flying heavies vs. flying fighters?
The biggest difference is probably the culture between the two career fields.
Fighter squadrons tend to live up to their reputations as confrontational and aggressive. Heavy squadrons tend to be more laid back. The airlift culture stems from having enlisted crew members and having to work in a cooperative environment. The fighter culture stems from the idea that the pilot must be an independent decision maker in the air.
Both cultures have their places, but they are distinctly different.
Another difference is deployment rates. Flying cargo aircraft generally means you'll be away from home more often. Especially in the C-17 and C-130. Check out the 22 January Air Force Times for the full list.
There is no way to tell what the future holds...after Desert Storm, fighters were continuously deployed for Northern and Southern Watch.
Have somebody explain AEF buckets for you...then if you're going to be a cargo pilot, forget everything you heard about being in a bucket because you're deployable every day.
A recommendation about culture: When you're at pilot training, evaluate the instructor pilots and determine who you'd like to emulate. Try to discover what personality traits you'd best fit in with. Not to say that culture is the only reason to choose an aircraft type, but it certainly makes the career and family decisions much easier on everyone.
I don't have experience with dedicated spec ops airframes, but I have flown spec ops missions in the C-141. Most airlift airframes have a spec ops mission (even the C-5).
Some generalities about the missions... First, you spend a lot of time on alert status. Second, the training requirements are high. You spend a lot of time training for a mission. However, when you finally get to execute the mission it is very exciting and rewarding.
6 comments:
The biggest difference is probably the culture between the two career fields.
Fighter squadrons tend to live up to their reputations as confrontational and aggressive. Heavy squadrons tend to be more laid back. The airlift culture stems from having enlisted crew members and having to work in a cooperative environment. The fighter culture stems from the idea that the pilot must be an independent decision maker in the air.
Both cultures have their places, but they are distinctly different.
Another difference is deployment rates. Flying cargo aircraft generally means you'll be away from home more often. Especially in the C-17 and C-130. Check out the 22 January Air Force Times for the full list.
There is no way to tell what the future holds...after Desert Storm, fighters were continuously deployed for Northern and Southern Watch.
Have somebody explain AEF buckets for you...then if you're going to be a cargo pilot, forget everything you heard about being in a bucket because you're deployable every day.
A recommendation about culture: When you're at pilot training, evaluate the instructor pilots and determine who you'd like to emulate. Try to discover what personality traits you'd best fit in with. Not to say that culture is the only reason to choose an aircraft type, but it certainly makes the career and family decisions much easier on everyone.
Does anyone have any information about flying in SPEC OPS? Particularly the gunships/helos.
We're working on getting some AC-130 pilots & Helo pilots to respond. Check back tomorrow for updates.
Regarding Spec Ops...
I don't have experience with dedicated spec ops airframes, but I have flown spec ops missions in the C-141. Most airlift airframes have a spec ops mission (even the C-5).
Some generalities about the missions... First, you spend a lot of time on alert status. Second, the training requirements are high. You spend a lot of time training for a mission. However, when you finally get to execute the mission it is very exciting and rewarding.
Chad,
we now have a spec ops pilot blog site. Go to it from the AFSC blog home.
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