How hard is it to be a fighter jet pilot?

You're going to get a better answer on R*ddit.com/r/canadianforces and it's Weekly Recruitment Thread.

Depends what kind of person you are. There are two kind of people who make it through the shit show. Overachievers and people who hate losing. There's more to it then that but that's a good start.

What else do you want to know

>STEM field bachelor's degree
>high level of fitness
>no eyeglasses, color blindness, depth perception problems, or field of view problems allowed.
>also good if you don't get motion sickness easily.

hooah bullshit for 4 years, still end up flying a logistics airplane. end up quitting after 6 to fly for an airlines.

>>33288920
The only problem I may have is that I have excellent vision in one eye and the other one is a little blurry but I have always been diagnosed with 20/20 vision

>>33288864
Can I still continue my full time firefighter job or do I have to drop everything during my studies?

Vision isn't an issue anymore they accept corrected now laser and conctacts.

I don't know about the degree but once in flight training you'll be posted away, portage, Moose Jaw then cold lake if everything goes right. Firefighting may not be an option. I recommend drinking and being social. The fighter stream eats up introverts like bats eat Mosquitos

>>33288920
"Fitness"

lol yeah sure

>>33288978
>Can I still continue my full time firefighter job or do I have to drop everything during my studies?

You drop everything, duh.

A RCAF Pilot is a full time job, and as an officer in the military, if you aren't flying, you get to push paperwork. YAY!

>>33289100

Not always true... you get to play sports and play crud... are you in the infantry? Infantry officers push a lot of paper

>>33289085
you need good cardio and a strong core to be a fighter pilot.

unless you want to pass out.

>>33289171

Not really, G isn't that obnoxious. We fly hornets not F-16s

Core isn't that important, good shoulder and neck muscles probably are... unless I've been doing it wrong this whole time,

>>33288342
A fighter pilot is a highly desirable and sexy job. Hence, the military can arbitarily put up artificial barriers of entry just to thin down the chaff. Hence the high everything scores and fitness required. Be prepared to be disappointed.

>>33288920
You forgot the other bare essentials.

>Need to pass a fitness test
>Need to be competent at math
>No allergies
>No hay fever
>No asthma
>No diabetes
>Sitting height between 34 inches and 40 inches
>Standing height range from 5'4 and 6'5 (within this range there are a lot of cut offs for certain planes as well
>Your thumbs need to meet a certain reach length as well
>Must not weigh more than 245 pounds or less than 103 pounds

Most of these requirements are pretty easy to meet, though. You're only going to DQ if you are super tall or super short.

>>33288342

Canada has Jets?? Since when!

>>33290570
I had some asthma as a kid but got treated for it, everything else is solid. Will it be a problem?

>>33288342
They have a program in the US navy for former bakers who want to become pilots.

Its actually one of the fastest track ways to be a pilot.

>>33288342
It's a dying field and pilots are quickly becoming replaceable. There really is no reason to be a pilot anymore.

>it doesn't pay well
>it no longer puts you into contact with attractive women (stewardesses)
>a lot of civilian pilots commit suicide because they are only earning like $30k or some shit

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>>33288978
They test your eyes very precisely. when I went it was an hour long test with eyes drops and many different tools. I left with those shades they give you. 20/15 I got.

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>>33290824
>brevity codes like HOT and COLD are actually due to the strong baking influence in fighter pilot populations

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>>33290857
>tfw only get 20/15 with contacts
>forever in the world of "just barely legally needs corrective lenses"

>>33290824
No way this is true. Wish Canada had something like this

>>33290849
I am not looking to become a civilian aircraft pilot. I will probably go for a STEM degree and maybe get back into firefighting

Is it too late? No, I know a couple of older guys (32 and 40 y/o) who are going through pilot training right now.
The deal is that when you sign up to be pilot in the RCAF, you dont exactly know what you'll be flying. Once you complete phase 2, you get selected to either go jets, mulitengine or helo. Generally, 25% go jets, 25% multi and 50% helo, so if you sign up keep in mind that you might not get what you want.

>>33290771
No asthma history after the age of 12 is the specification. You may get a waiver if it went away a year or so after that age.

>>33290869
If your eyesight is naturally 20/200 or better and correctable to 20/20, they will accept you.

>>33291546

Look into the Seneca program, takes you from nothing to wings in like 3 years with the forces.

It's not that unattainable, just as others mentioned it's half based on things that you have no control over.

>>33290857
I remember my eye test.

>Doc shines super bright light in my eye for one examination
>"Look here please"
>Can't see where "here" is because he just blinded me

>>33289171
A lot of doctors seem to think that you shouldn't have too good cardio as it lowers your blood pressure which will reduce your positive g tolerance

>>33290857
As a reference, I can't read the bottom line of the eye test thing with my left eye very well anymore but that didn't affect my med cat. So if you can read all the other lines with each eye youre probably ok

>>33288978
With your firefighting background you could go the civillian route and become an aerial firefighter

>>33288978
If you have to ask whether or not you can still keep a separate, full-time job while you're in flight school, then maybe you're not cut out for anything that requires a college degree.

>>33291846
Ok understood. How long do studies last before going phase 2?

>>33293138
I could but it doesn't pay as much

>>33293193
I was just asking out of curiosity. I was wondering if it was at a specific university or I could attend to classes here in Montreal. I took the job as a firefighter as some kind of safety net because schedules are very flexible, I could attend classes during the day and study during night shift at a fire station with low traffic. I chose this job especially if a situation like that arises.

You might say it's impossible but in my fire department, it is very common practice for anyone that wishes to go to college

>>33293967

Just go talk to a recruiter for the schooling options. You can even get them to pay for it.

As far as making it to phase 2

There's a million steps before that so try to sort out the early steps before you worry about selection in phase 2

>>33293967

It all depends on what route you're taking to take your degree. If you are going as direct entry, then you go to a civilian university (concordia, mcgill, uqam,etc..) and get a bachelor in whatever for 4 years. During that time you can work as a firefighter or whatever. Once that is done, you do the whole recruitment process which can take up to a year, then basic training, phase 1 and phase 2, etc.

You can go through Seneca, which is a program that takes people with no degrees and within 4 years youll get your degree and your wings. You go through basic, phase 1, 2 semesters in seneca, phase 2 and 3, and then back to toronto for 3 semesters. If you take this route then the govs pays the tuition plus you get a 2Lt pay until ph3, so theres no need to have an outside job. However, I heard that they will change the program in the future but the principle stays the same.

>>33294074
Thank you, an excellent answer. I think I will do the former, firefighting is fun and gotta make use of my 3 years of studies

>>33288342
major difficulty is selection.

as in >3.5 GPA, excellent physical fitness and zero waivers.

>>33288342
It's really easy

Does
>A FUCKING LEAF LAND
Have more than one fighter, or do they still have the F/A-18?

>>33294262

GPA has zero to do with it. I had marginal marks in college and I made it through just fine. It's not more restrictive to be a fighter pilot in the RCAF then any other kind of pilot. Once you are in the training system it's just up to your skill, likability and timing of your selection. They are picking tons of people for Ph3 "jets" not everyone makes it to FLIT from there though

>>33288342
Don't you need to be a regular flyer by the age of 25?

>>33294355

No, as long as you can fulfill your contract by mandatory retirement age it doesn't matter

>>33294239

Yea its a good choice. I don't regret going to seneca but I do miss being able to simply say fuck it and go somewhere on vacation without having to go through a lot of trouble.

>>33294319
We basically don't have a military now due to the faggot liberal government.

>>33288342
Consider this: You will need a university degree in order to become a pilot / officer in the canadian military.

>>33294489

Not true, Seneca program.

>>33294508
Enlighten me, what is that?

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Pic related is from the recruit bathroom stalls from CFLRS (Canada's basic training base for both NCMs and COs)
You will fit in with the rest of the retards here.

>>33294519
Gets you flight qualified. And Seneca has agreements with the RCAF iirc.

>>33294733

>pen marks from 2 guys
>entire Military

>>33294519

Basically you show up from high school get commissioned on enrolment (pissing off all the RMC guys in the process) and then you got from taking clssses at Seneca to doing the flying qual phases with the airforce. Gets you wings as fast as humanly possible.

>>33294733
fuck off
no way
shit

and here I was about to go into the reserves thinking "oh shit new people n stuff and none of the 4chan bullshit"

god damn it's going to be a weird time

I forgot to mention that I have flat feet, is that a deal breaker?

>>33295800

As far as I know it shouldn't, one pilot I knew had flat feet and he managed to get in. The only issue was that his feet hurt a lot during all the marches.

>>33295800

Can't guarantee anything until AC medical... just man up and go to the recruiting centre

>>33288920
I meet all requirements besides motion sickness :(
I fucking die of motion sickness if I read or do something similar in a moving transport.

>>33288342
Canadian fighter pilot selection and training is quite literally the hardest on the planet. It's the same training across the board that F-22 pilots got/get, if not harder since it actually takes longer.

Most of the Canadian Fighter Jet pilot's I've met had the potential to be SOF if they spent less time sucking dick and learning math they'll never use (literally if you know or have taken calc 2 you're fine, and calc 2's piss easy) and more time running and using their arms for once.

>>33296745

None of what you said is true

>>33294262
Untrue, at least for Navy pilots hopefuls.

I had a 3.3, average pt scores, and 2 waivers. One for LASIK, and one for higher than acceptable red blood cell count in my urine.

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So what happened with the Super Hornet deal, is that still going ahead?

>>33299051

Unfortunately, Yes

At least for the USAF/USN, does anyone know of you get your physical before or after you commit?

One of my fears is that I get in and then fail the flight physical and now I'm stuck in the airforce doing a job I don't want to do, again.

I'd rather get out and fly helos in the Army then do some cushy AF job.

>>33301889
Depending on your commissioning path, you commit before the physical. I've been contracted for a few years, just took my physical last year. If you fail, you typically get shunted to some admin career or something.

It's not all bad though, I know a guy that spent his 4 year commitment in contracting, then got out and immediately scored a $150k+ job on the civilian side.

>>33302470

This worries me. Does it work the same for OTS? I know people go in with pilot contracts, do they not do their physical before going?

>>33297067
Are you in now, or at pilot training?

Im curious about how many pilots do we have in here.

Respond if you've at least been selected for IFS/IFT

>>33304176
Just started flight school. Waiting to start API.

>>33289085
You have to pass selection.

Selection is academic, skills and fitness.

>>33301889
Like >>33302470 said, it depends on your commissioning source. I commissioned through NROTC, so I was committed after the first day of my sophomore year of college ( I could have dropped, but would either owe time as enlisted or a lot of $$$).

>had my first flight physical my junior year
>failed it, b/c my vision was 20/200 (I knew I was going to fail, but needed it for my summer cruise to get an up chit
>got lasik the summer going into my senior year, right after I got back from my 1/C cruise
>failed 2nd flight physical, because it hadn't been 6 months since the operation for LASIK
>since I failed flight physical, it in all likelihood sunk all chances for being selected for aviation

So I got nuke drafted, due to a probable combination of not passing my flight physical, and needs of the navy.

Two months before commissioning, and a week or so before my nuke interview in DC, our admin guy (retired chief) sent me down to Pcola one last time for a flight physical (but also to mainly get my dive physical since I was going nuke).

Due to a lot of luck, and my CO knowing the right people, I ended up getting pilot at literally the last second.

So, moral of the story is, NROTC is a shot in the dark. Theres a good chance you will get what you want (most of the people in my unit got what they wanted), but its not 100%.

>>33304243

I'm guessing those are American terms.

I'm winged in Canada

>>33304738
Nice. What was your major, and what extracurriculars did you have? I'm a sophomore right now, hoping to go aviation.

>>33306546
Comp sci, and I didnt have any extracurriculars (I'm assuming you mean college, right? Had plenty in HS).

>>33288342
If you really want it you will do it. I'm in the same boat as you brother. You can. Forget about your feelings unless they are feeling that drive you into that cockpit. I'm personally starting in the reserve in another branch getting my flight time up in a helicopter and private plane licence as well. To make myself more more marketable, aviators and fighter pilots especially look out for each other. Push it. No excuses. You can't connect the dots going forward, only backward. Trust yourself, god, the universe whatever. Again the confidence by working for it. I will see you up there brother. Never give up. We got this

>>33306654
Yeah, college. I'm planning on econ/math major. Had a bad fall semester this year (2.55), but I'm looking much better this spring. One bad semester won't sink me, right? I've got a few extracurriculars, as well.

>>33306654
>>33306732
Oh, also, LASIK is okay now for SNA, right?

So what about "piloting" unmanned drones? What hoops does one have to jump through to do that?

>>33288342
Pretty hard yo

>>33306770
Yes, LASIK is accepted now, but you need 6 months recovery before your flight physical.

>>33306732
I never had a bad semester per say, but I had a semester w/ a D, and my junior year I was just generally a shitbag Midshipman who tried skating on everything, and staff hated me. Then I fixed my shit and got made the MIDN CO, so yeah I'd say 1 bad semester wont sink you. If anything you could argue it might help.

>hey, here I fucked up
>but I realized my mistakes, and turned it around
If I hadn't have fixed my shit, I probably wouldn't have been given the MIDN CO billet, which was what allowed me to be on such good terms w/ the CO, which was what inevitably helped contribute to getting switched to pilot

>>33307633
And the LASIK waiver is handled by NAMI and my recruiter, right? My school doesn't have ROTC, so I'm going the OCS route.

>>33308135
LASIK is handled by NAMI yes, not sure about the recruiter part.

>>33290583
They're in Winnipeg dontchaknow, eh?

>>33307471
Pls respond

>>33308164
Since you got LASIK, can you tell me about the waiver process?

>>33309355
>got LASIK
>asked for all related paperwork from eye surgeon who performed it
>put said paperwork in medical jacket
>go to Nami for flight physical
>get examined
>Talk with a flight surgeon
>as long as it's been 6 months, and your within standards (20/20, no complications from surgery, etc), flight surgeons recommends the waiver

That's it. I didn't really have to do much.

>>33309611
Sounds straight forward. Thanks, anon!

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>>33288920
You can get waivers for PRK/Lasik. It's pretty common AFAIK . Also, neither the Navy or the Air Force really care about your major, GPA factors in much more for the selection process in ROTC/OCS/Academy. Having a STEM major only matters if you want to be a test pilot.

>>33304833

Yeah everyone knows I want to be a pilot and they're like "dude rotc lmao" but everything I've heard makes it sound like it's not really up to you what job you get, plus you commit before knowing, fuck that.

I'm enlisted in the AF as an ATC, getting out in a year. Going to finish school and apply for OTS/OCS. Gonna be stubborn, not accepting anything other than pilot contract. Not sure of you can even do that, but you can on the enlisted side.

If that don't work I'm saying fuck it and going to try for an Army helo spot and get shot down by some rwghead with a strela.