41–50 of 175 posts
country doesn't need that many pilots if it doesn't wage endless wars, though.
country doesn't need that many pilots if it doesn't wage endless wars, though.
Except they do. Pilots also fly in humanitarian aid, fly out civilians and medical casualties, carry out Search and Rescue, and perform reconnaissance during natural disasters.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's interesting. I'm curious how much of your college costs that ROTC participation covered. Just tuition, or housing too, or also a stipend?
When I was accepted into the Army's ROTC program in 1998 (which I ended up declining), they were willing to pay up to $14,500 per year. I assume the other programs were about the same.
Seems like the Air Force is trapped in a vicious underhiring/overhiring cycle. When I was in college I did Air Force ROTC. A lot of my peers had pilot slots; I was poised as a 17D (Cyber Ops). After graduating, my training date was put on hold virtually indefinitely. Eventually I got an email that the Air Force had commissioned way too many officers and were looking for people to voluntarily leave with no commitment/…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I am guessing when you say "I do" you must have a pretty good idea of the person you are marrying.
Weren't we talking about people in their twenties? Do you people often get married at that age? I thought it was more common to delay marriage and kids to later in the career nowadays?
> A recent RAND study found the cost of training a basic qualified fighter pilot ranges from $5.6 million for an F-16 pilot to $10.9 million for an F-22 pilot. Those numbers seem outrageous to me. Why does it cost so much? Are there frequent plane crashes?
Cost of flying F-22 for an hour is reported anywhere between $33k and $70k, with most estimates in the $60k range. Let's assume $50k/hour to be safe - 200 hours of flight time gets you to the $10 million figure on its own, with no other costs accounted for. Pilot still ends up the cheap part of the equation, given ~$200mil+ per airplane cost. Whee - are we having budgetary fun yet :-)
To put what you said in another way, every hour an F-22 flys costs the same as hiring someone at a middle class wage for a year.
Seems like the Air Force is trapped in a vicious underhiring/overhiring cycle. When I was in college I did Air Force ROTC. A lot of my peers had pilot slots; I was poised as a 17D (Cyber Ops). After graduating, my training date was put on hold virtually indefinitely. Eventually I got an email that the Air Force had commissioned way too many officers and were looking for people to voluntarily leave with no commitment/…
That's interesting. I'm curious how much of your college costs that ROTC participation covered. Just tuition, or housing too, or also a stipend?
1) Full tuition and fees OR $10k/year to cover room and board. Cadet chooses. I'd expect at most schools the tuition+fees is worth more, but some cadets have other scholarships that might cover all or part of tuition.
2) $1200/year for textbooks
3) $300-$500/month (depending on year) living stipend
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Cost of flying F-22 for an hour is reported anywhere between $33k and $70k, with most estimates in the $60k range. Let's assume $50k/hour to be safe - 200 hours of flight time gets you to the $10 million figure on its own, with no other costs accounted for. Pilot still ends up the cheap part of the equation, given ~$200mil+ per airplane cost. Whee - are we having budgetary fun yet :-)
I hadn't thought about the cost of flight time. That makes sense. To put what you said in another way, every hour an F-22 flys costs the same as hiring someone at a middle class wage for a year.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's interesting. I'm curious how much of your college costs that ROTC participation covered. Just tuition, or housing too, or also a stipend?
Currently, ROTC cadets who are offered a scholarship (not all are), receive: 1) Full tuition and fees OR $10k/year to cover room and board. Cadet chooses. I'd expect at most schools the tuition+fees is worth more, but some cadets have other scholarships that might cover all or part of tuition. 2) $1200/year for textbooks 3) $300-$500/month (depending on year) living stipend
In addition to the offer I described above, it looks like a "Type 2" scholarship is the same, but with tuition+fees capped at $18k/year, and "Type 3" is the same, but with tuition+fee capped at the in-state rate at a public university.
An Anecdotal "I quit" I read a couple of years ago about the (then impending) pilot shortage: https://www.jqpublicblog.com/punching-out-latest-dear-boss-l... Dear Boss, I’ve fucking had it. I’m finally giving up on my Air Force and I’m throwing in the towel. Flying fighter jets is no longer cool enough to outweigh the bullshit, and so I’ve broken the mach for the final time. You’re going to believe that I’m leaving b…
I'm a former Air Force pilot and was going to writeup a long post about my experience. But, this pretty much sums it up. I loved the people, and LOVED the flying. Some of the best times of my life. But, the organizational bloat, bureaucratic BS, and constant deployments just became too much. As you can imagine, it really wears on you to be gone 6 mo's every year risking your life for a counterproductive endless war t…
Yet the American public happily votes for these wars over and over.