Helicopter Pilot Question (Coast Guard / Air Force)?

Question

Do you have to get 4.0's to be a helicopter pilot for the air force or coast guard?

What are some other requirements to be a pilot?

Answer 1

No, but the better you do, the more you draw the correct kind of attention to yourself. Aviation slots are extremely coveted by many, and you will be going up against some top students.

As far as flying helicopters, the Army may be the way to go, because everyone starts out in rotorcraft. You do not need a college degree because you have the option of flying as a Warrant Officer (more on this later), and have recently had several successful "High School to Flight School" WOFT (Warrant Officer Flight Training) graduates .

As far as flying for the Air Force; their main thing honestly is fixed wing. Kudos to the Jolly Greens of Vietnam because without them several Airmen wouldn't have come home, but now days they still have some rotorcraft but their mainstay is fixed wing.

Flying for the Coast Guard; Well the way it has been described to me, is that flying for the Coast Guard is some of the most rewarding and most challenging flying you will ever do in your life! A lot of places you will train and train and do scenarios, but Coast Guard trains and then you are at your duty station flying out to actually rescue people (every day even?). It has been described to me by an old Army aviator just like this: "If you want to make a difference, if you want to help people, and if you actually want to do your job instead of training for it, fly for the Coast Guard".

Allbeit that times have changed, and all roles are executing missions now, Coast Guard may seem to be the most rewarding and humanitarian role (as well as Army MedEvac etc).

Back to the Warrant Officer thing. The Warrant Officer does not have to put up with what the Commissioned Officer has to put up with. Commissioned Officers (RLO's for Real Life Officers haha) have a secondary responsibility that they have to attend to, but Warrants have a specialized trade, and that is all they know and do, but they MUST know it inside and out. Yes a butterbar outranks you as a Warrant, but many a Colonel ask the Chief Warrant their opinion and course of action in matters relating to the Warrants trade, because again, they know it inside and out, and that's if it's aviation or motor pool.

I'll follow up with some requirements for flight school a little later! :-D Cheers!

Answer 2

Air Force Helicopter Pilot

Answer 3

The Navy trains all Coast Guard pilots both rotary and fixed wing. The Air Force does have some Helo squadrons, but not many. Only the Army or National Guard offers Warrant Officer flying programs. I have been in Naval aviation for 20+ years.

Answer 4

To become an Air Force helicopter pilot, you have to have a college degree and apply to OTS or go through ROTC or the Air Force Academy. Applying ot OTS, you have to be less then 30 when you start pilot training. You don't have to have a 4.0 GPA; I had a 2.9 GPA in electrical engineering. However, you do have to be competitive. If you're in college, talk to the Air Force ROTC instructors; if they're not at your college they might be at one close. If you're still in high school, talk to them and look at www.usafa.af.mil about the academy. If you're already done with college, call the air force recruiter and ask them about OTS.

For other requirments, vision must be correctible to 20/20 with glasses, no color blindness, heart disease or diabetes. You must be able to pass the physical fitness test (1.5 mile run, pushups, situps and the stupid waist measurement). The requirements aren't really that bad.

I fly air force tankers refueling helicopters and they helicopter pilots are all nuts. They've got awesome stories of crazy **** they've done all over the world. If you're interested in that career, I'd certainly encourage you too look at it.