What do military pilots do when they are not flying? Or is that all they do?

Answer 1

from reading all the answers on hear I'm assuming I'm the only real pilot, but anyways. Studying is the main thing, I'm always constantly studying, even on my off time. Everyone gets an extra duty sometimes several, such as safty officer, nbc officer, tacops officer, training officer, ect ect. I'm the new guy to the unit so my duty is to keep the fridge stocked, which involves daily trips to walmart, lol, seriously. We'll usually show up several hours before a flight to plan it out and do the required briefings and preflights, and do all the debriefings and postflights, after the flight. While not in combat we generally on get around 20 hours of flight time, on average, a month. So as you can imagine we don't actually spend alot of time flying. We do pt with the rest of the company in the mourning, and show up to work the same time as everyone else. We do however all blow of work and go out to breakfast together on a regular basis. There is alot of just sitting around and bsing also. Its a pretty laid back lifestile, but like I said, studying is always a constant battle.

Answer 2

Being in the military is not what you see on TV or in the Movies. It is difficult and dangerous work. Being a military pilot,flyer,air crew member,aviator, what ever, is so dangerous that they cannot buy life insurance. You are required to fly a certian number of hours in a month to stay on flying status-- ie draw flight pay. Pilots also have another job in the squadron besides flying: saftey officer,gunnery officer,hazmat officer, and so on. Most of the work is actually done by a senior NCO but the officer is responsible for it being done correctly. They also spend a lot of time in school ( EEO, Survival, Rights and Responsibilities, and on and on) and flying simulators. You also have to spend a lot of time managing your career. Military pilots are officers and you must be promoted on a regular basis or you will be thrown out. There are civilian educational requirements which must be met for promotion. Theses requirements must be filled on your own time and out of your own pocket. While most of the degree are poor quality degree mill products, they suffice: the military does not differenchiate between an MS in operations research from MIT and a master's in HR from Central Texas College. A lot of career management is done on the golf course and in the officer's club. Never be a better golfer than the squadron commander! If the squadron commaner eats pie for brealfast you damn well better eat it too. If he hates motorcycles, sell yours fast. Never never take part in a "macho" or violent sport... shooting or martial arts for example. Do you get the idea.? Hope this helps.

Answer 3

As a former AF Flight Crew member, I took this from my log book for one year.
Actual flying time 845 Hrs
add 2 hours preflight and one
hour postflight, 191 flights 573 Hrs
Simulator and ground training. 186 Hrs
Altitude chamber and flight physical. 16 Hrs
Leave (If taken) 30 days including w/e 240 Hrs
Working squadron duties/details 422 Hrs
Deadhead time, Flying as non-crew 41 Hrs
Alert Time 24/7 480 Hrs
Total 2803 Hrs

This is only what I can actually account for from my log book. I'm sure there was lots more that I didn't account for. Such as preflight for a mission that gets scrubbed and doesn't fly. Sitting around waiting on broken aircraft to be repaired, or waiting on cargo to load or unload, etc.

How many hours a year do you work? Military doesn't get paid Overtime.

Answer 4

They also have other duties, such as being the Officer-in-Charge of some office/shop. In addition, they study, study a great deal! They practically memorize certain chapters in the books that cover their aircraft (Navy and Marines call it NATOPS, or "the big blue sleeping pill").
They brush up on their survival skills such as water survival training, land Nav, etc.
Like the other answerer said, "its not like the movies".

Answer 5

It depends if its a flight day, or if they're scheduled to be flying as there are specific requirements for sleep.

If you mean as a job function: maintenance and inspecting the maintenance done. It's about 24-48 hours of maintenance per hour of flight time.

Answer 6

They spend time in simulators, studying tactics, and doing their job in the sqaudron (for example, Maintenance Officer, Admin Officer, Operations Officer, etc...).

Answer 7

1

Answer 8

They are in training, or attend command briefings.

Answer 9

they attend countless meetings, plan for the next mission, paperwork,relax, give classes

Answer 10

have wild orgies in their hangers with all the strippers from down the street....