Thomas Ewing wrote:
To start off, I am 18 years old and graduating from high school. I am
very strong academically and intellectually, with scores of 1560 and 32
on my SAT and ACT, respectively. Hopefully this means that I am suited
to handle the mental tasks of being a pilot.

As cliché as it is, I have wanted to fly Army Helicopters since I was
a young child.

Any information is appreciated.


Hi Thomas. I read through the answers to your question and they were
very good. I went high school to flight school back in 1972 through the
Warrant Officer route and have never regretted it. I retired in 1995 so
any advice I would give would surely be outdated. But first, find a
flight surgeon near you and pay to have a Class 1 flight physical to
make sure you are ok to fly. After the first class 1 physical you only
have to pass yearly class 2 flight physicals from then on.

You *may* be able to take the physical as a condition of enlistment so
you can walk away if you fail it.

Part of an enlisted Warrant Officer packet is recommendations from
people the Army places confidence in. A chaplain and your congressman
are good. I have been approached quite a few times requesting a
recommendation from me by an Enlisted Soldier who were trying to
complete all the paperwork to attend flight school. I can tell you, it's
a hard lonely road to flight school once you are already in the Army.

My advice is to complete at least a College Associate degree before
applying. You will then have to complete a 4 year degree withing 10
years or so if you want to remain in the Army. But if you just want the
training and all the hours you can get during your 4 or 6 years in the
Army don't worry about any degrees.

There are many jobs out there in the civilian world that you can get
flying helicopters but all start off at low pay but with increases if
you stay with them for years. There is a big turn-over rate in most of
the flying jobs I looked at after retiring.

But the main thing I would advise is get with a recruiter and don't sign
anything. If they can guarantee flight school right now and you plan
only to stay the few years get the recruiter to pay for the flight
physical and go from there. Just make sure it's in writing. Once in the
Army won't negotiate and the Enlisted packet take a long time and is
often not successful.

Wow!!! I just realized I've been out for 11 years. My advice is
certainly old.......

--

boB
Wing 70

U.S. Army Aviation (retired)
Central Texas - 5NM West of Gray Army Airfield (KGRK)