Hi

I'm a Freshman in high School And im thinking of being a fighter pilot for the United States Air Force. As I start high school i"m starting to see that its time for me to start finding out i need to do to become what i want. One of the thing i need to find out is what are the educational requirements i must met? What classes or courses must i take? what exams must i take?

If anyone has any answers to any of these questions please go ahead and post them.

Thank you,
S~ Fireball

Hi Fireball


Check out the following thread: <post>1848</post>

Run

First off, you MUST become a commissioned officer.

Your best bet for that is to get into a service academy.  Talk to your guidance counselor and do all you can to make yourself competitive to get into a service academy.  But to put it into a nutshell, you need to take a heavy math and science load while in High School AND you must get good grades with that load.  GPA of 3.7 or better to be competitive.  It helps to have plenty of extra curricular activities you can point to to prove you are not just an academic geek, but well rounded.  Sports helps, but is not required.  If you are especially athletic and have good grades, you're a shoo in.  The service academies recruit athletes just like any other college.  Joining the Boy Scouts and earning your Eagle rank can also be a BIG plus.  Then start applying to the USAF Academy (USAFA) while in your junior year at High School.

If you get into the USAFA, you're well on you're way.  If you don't, well, don't forget to also apply for the USNA, and maybe even USMA.  You can cross-commission from ANY service academy into the USAF.  Even if your cross commison attempt fails, if you're a USNA graduate you can become a Navy pilot with wings of gold rather than a zoomie pilot with wings of lead.  Afterall, everyone knows Navy pilots are hotter than USAF pilots

You can also get a USAF commission through an ROTC program.  The chances of getting a commison through ROTC just go down relative to a service academy, and the chances of getting a pilot slot once commissioned also go down.  But ROTC is still a good way to go about getting a pilot slot in the USAF or USNA.

If your grades are not too great, you can join the Army and fly for them.  The Army's pilots are warrant officers, not commissioned officers and no college degree is required to become a warrant.  But in the Army you are probably only going to get a chance to become a rotory wing pilot.  The Army has LOTS of helos and few fixed wing aircraft.  And absolutely no fighters at all.

Good luck with your ambitions.

Fireball,

Most of the requirements are slightly different depending on the service, the program, and when you join the program. You will find, however, that the Air Force has some of the tightest requirements on grades and scores.

I get asked a lot about engineering and math. Here is the scoop, those courses really matter for the AF, matter a little for the Navy, and don't matter at all for the Marine Corps.

I wrote a pretty long summary of all of these considerations, so if you want it in more detail go to my website for guy like you: http://www.fighter-pilot.org. Or, e-mail me at ace@fighter-pilot.org.

Semper Fi,

Ed
http://www.fighter-pilot.org

if u want to be a fighter piolt in australia all u need is a average grade of C in yr10 science and a pass in yr12 maths and english and then u can be a f-18 horet piolt or a F-35 JSF

I noticed that about you Aussies...jk...actaully I would have loved to do the exchange to Tyndal / Darwin.

http://www.air-force-pilot.com

Ed

Hi, my name is Chris, i am going into my junior year of high school, at winter park high school in Fl. I would like to know how to become a marine corps fighter pilot. I would also like to know the requirments needed to become a usmc fighter pilot.

I also want to join the United States Naval Acadamy once i graduate high school in 2009, i know it will be very tough to get accepted but its been my dream ever since i was 13 years old. I would like to know what requirments need to be met inorder to be excepted into the acadamy.

        If anyone knows the questions that i ask please write back, it will be greatly appreciated. Thank you

                                               Chris S. 

Find the USNA website...Then the NROTC one.  Those will have the official requirements. 

For USNA, you'll need grades/test scores, sports, clubs/activities, leadership (much like any service academy) 

You need to apply to USNA, plus get your DoDMERB physical, and a nomination (check your Congressman's, Senator's, and the Vice President's offices/website for thier applications)

Like I said, the Naval Academy's website should have specific steps to take.  The Navy ROTC site will also.  CHECK FOR THE MARINE OPTION on both.

What if I don't do school athletics and sports will that hurt my chances getting into OTS after college. I however do martial arts at the local YMCA since it has a karate program and if I can run a mile a day on a treadmill at home, will that make up for the absence of school sports???

I don't know.  You should ask a ROTC commander or OTS recruiter.

My brother is in Australia and he want to be a fighter pilot. so thank you very much for all your information regarding be a fighter pilot. this information will helpful to my brother for fulfill his dream.

To be a fighter pilot, I think there are so many requirements for candidates. Physical requirements are more important as well as knowledge about aironotical science.

Thanks for the post, a lot of useful information

It's funny... everyone always thinks it's impossible to become a FP, but not at all...

You've picked a very exciting career choice! But it takes hard work and genuine determination.

But becoming a fighter a pilot isn't impossible at all... my brother has just completed his final training and is being relocated next month following his graduation.

He wasn't the most naturally gifted by any means - fairly good at sports, really creative, enjoyed video games, liked to hang out with his friends.

What I suppose I'm saying is do your research, get a feel of what it will involve. And then if you're still interested in it after that - put your heart and soul into making sure it happens. Don't half ass it. Don't expect it to come to you (because it won't).

Work hard now and it will pay off when you're flying some of the most amazing machines known to man!

Following my brother's graduation he's put a pack together with a sponsor on everything you need to do it - a step-by-step guide if you like... If you really want it, take a look. If not then never mind. You'll find what you're meant to do eventually.

Here's the link: http://tinyurl.com/hy8brtx

All the best of luck with your future - it's worth it I promise...

Best regards,

Maverick

I really wish I thought about this career path earlier. Anyway I still have lots of relatives in Aussie. Would you like me to learn something for you?