What exactly do Air Force Navigators do besides "navigate"?

Question

I think the best person to answer this question would be a USAF navigator.
I'll be entering Air Force Officer Training School (OTS) pretty soon. My PCSM score was near-perfect and my recruiter says it gives me an excellent chance of getting a navigator's slot in the USAF (I probably wouldn't qualify for a pilot's slot due to my eyesight which is below the required 20/20 correctable and 20/70 uncorrected cut-offs). My question is: can a navigator go on to become an airline pilot? What is it that a navigator does besides navigate the aircraft and act as the co-pilot? Does he/she actually alternate flying the plane with the pilot? (and can he/she log these flight hours the same as the pilot?).

Answer 1

I flew F-16C (and also the -D model) in the US Air Force. My advice, like some given here, would be to get your eyesight corrected, and go for a pilot slot.

Unless you are going to be in a F-15E, or in a B-1, might as well forget about the navigator slot. Most of the time logged in are pretty much navigator, which amounts to nothing really, because you are not really piloting the plane, you are merely helping the pilot, nothing more. Unless you really like operating all the electronic suites and weapon systems on-board.

Answer 2

Well in case a Nav doesn't see your question, maybe I am next best thing. I am a USAF flight engineer. The aircraft I operate on has 2 pilots, an FE and a NAV in the flight deck. Flight Engineers and Navs are going the way of the dinosaur. As far as becoming an airline pilot, you could, but you would have to do a lot of private flying during your off time. Airlines aren't at all concerned with "Navigator" hours. You would probably be better suited to being a Dispatcher with an airline after your Nav experience. If you do good enough in Nav school, you might get sent to something like a B-1 or F-15E, cool, but still no pilot time. If you were thinking of making the military a career for 20 yrs, it will be unlikely you will do all of that as a Nav. Your career may be cut short involuntarily or you maybe cross trained to another career. If you really want to be an airline pilot there are other options than the military. Oh yeah, don't believe 85% of what a recruiter says, they have diarrhea of the mouth.

Answer 3

Wel in the Navy they are called Naval Flight Officers. They are usally RIO/WSO(radar interterceptor weapon systems officers), the so called "guy in the back seat." Now in the Air Force where you have large planes like Tankers, B52's, C-5's , etc. A Navigator does just that, navigate.... In two seat fighters, your the guy running the ecm, the radar, and other gizzmos. So it depends do you want to be "Maverirck" or "Goose" ? ANd no you never pilot the plane..... On big jets they have co pilots to do that. So who knows? In a few years you might be flying on Air Force One trying to figure the best route to some G8 summit.

Answer 4

A navigator is someone who wasn't good enough to become a pilot, so gets to ride along, plot navigation, and sometimes control the weapons systems.

You'll never meet a navigator who didn't wish he was a pilot.

It's annoying at the officer's club, when navigators try to act all cool and talk like they were doing something.

Have you consider lasix for your eyes? Being a pilot is what it's about.

Answer 5

With the new technology we have today, GPS, etc, navigators are being phased out of aircraft duties. It is a dead end position and the butt of many many jokes. Try Lasik and pilot training.

Answer 6

Please become a Nav! Someone has to buy the beer from losing dumb bets at TDY locations.

You can also get the coffee for the other crew members.