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Fly Universal
11-22-2011, 10:08 PM
Now as some of you know I am 14 and working on my Gliders Liscence, and soon to go up to a private pilots liscence. :) Now my question is; I have glasses and I want to fly for the AF, how much will this affect me? I dont really care if I cant fly a fighter jet, Id actually much rather fly the big jumbo jets/cargo jets. Will there still be options for me if i have glasses? Or would I need to get Laser Eye Surgery to help me get in:confused:


Thanks for the help!:cool:

Fly Universal
11-22-2011, 10:10 PM
Another thing; Id actually love to fly bigger jets, like the B52, C5, or C130 + anything else I can get to. But my absolute favorite thign to do would be a test pilot?

Thanks for the info!

Tom Downey
11-22-2011, 10:48 PM
Ask your local recruiter about the requirements, and remember if you want a commission in the military, it requires a 4 year degree.

steveinindy
11-23-2011, 12:31 AM
Just remember there are easier ways to get to be a pilot of the categories of aircraft (except bombers) that you mentioned. Also there are a few civilian test pilot programs out there. You don't have to sign your life away for a few years just to get to do this sort of thing. Not that I discourage anyone who is truly interested in the military and all that it entails but just that I don't think one should pursue that career path without making sure it is the best option for them.

Matt Gonitzke
11-23-2011, 05:42 AM
I'm pretty sure you will need an Aerospace Engineering degree to become a test pilot, as well.

Joe LaMantia
11-23-2011, 08:51 AM
Check out the other Fighter Pilot Thread, there are some links to Medical requirements posted there. Back in the 60's you had to have 20/20 eyesight to qualify for flight training in the AF and the Navy, but I crewed with a lot of pilots who wore glasses. These were mostly field grade officers in their 40's and up who trained during WWII and Korea. Once they have invested a lot of training in someone they try to keep them around so if your eyesight starts to dim a bit they won't throw you out over glasses. Today with a smaller military there is a lot of competition for pilot training and they have raised the bar.

Joe
:cool:

Dana
11-23-2011, 12:06 PM
I believe you still need perfect vision to start military flight training. Once in, it only needs to be correctable, I don't know the exact specifications.

rosiejerryrosie
11-24-2011, 12:23 PM
You don't have to sign your life away for a few years just to get to do this sort of thing.

Sheeze....I can remember when that was known as volunteering to serve your country.....

martion007
11-24-2011, 05:43 PM
My nephew joined the marines and had thick glasses before. They gave Him lazor corrective surgury. I don't think it's a problem

steveinindy
11-25-2011, 09:08 PM
Sheeze....I can remember when that was known as volunteering to serve your country.....

As someone who served in the military, I just honestly believe that it's not a matter of being selfless or anything like that. It's a job: nothing more, nothing less. Most of the work done has very little different from working anywhere else except for the issue of deployment. There are plenty of jobs I have held (volunteer firefighter is what immediately jumps to mind) that have been far riskier than anything I did in the military and would be a much better description for "serving my country" than the years I spent serving at a backwater hospital.

Also, I don't believe everyone should be in the military. Doing it to further one's career beyond the military or out of desperation at not being able to find a job elsewhere are pretty poor reasons. Likewise, I question the motives and potentially the sanity of someone who claims to be doing it for entirely altruistic motives (love of country, etc). No, you're doing it because you like the way it makes you feel and the way people treat you because of what your job is. Nothing wrong with that but let's not blow smoke up anyone's butt over it. People need to stop and think whether they really want to be military instead of trying to find a job in the military that suits them. Just because the military has a job you might like to do, does not mean you would like doing that job in the military. That was my point and I hope this clarifies it a bit.

rosiejerryrosie
11-26-2011, 12:48 PM
It was the 'signing your life away' that irked me.... hope that clarifies my thinking as well....(Just bet you didn't retire)

steveinindy
11-27-2011, 01:25 AM
Nope, I did my time and got out. But the "signing your life away" is an accurate statement since you are effectively becoming government property and also because some people in the military (a minority of folks in the Air Force) are actually putting their lives on the line so you could be potentially signing papers that could put you in the position of getting killed. That's why I chose to phrase it the way I did.

rosiejerryrosie
11-27-2011, 11:50 AM
Nope, I did my time and got out. But the "signing your life away" is an accurate statement since you are effectively becoming government property and also because some people in the military (a minority of folks in the Air Force) are actually putting their lives on the line so you could be potentially signing papers that could put you in the position of getting killed. That's why I chose to phrase it the way I did.

And you still maintain that it is "just a job"? The four years that you commit to are, in actuality, pretty inexpenxive when measured against the training you receive. (Wonder how much a C5 rents for, wet?)

steveinindy
11-27-2011, 05:09 PM
I guess it goes to a quality of life issue. I don't see four years of military lifestyle being viewed by everyone as a fair trade for a skill that can be gained by other means (maybe not C5 PIC time, but you see my point right?). To each and to their own, which was the crux of my entire statement to begin with.

Ernie
11-27-2011, 05:22 PM
Snip

Likewise, I question the motives and potentially the sanity of someone who claims to be doing it for entirely altruistic motives (love of country, etc). No, you're doing it because you like the way it makes you feel and the way people treat you because of what your job is.

I suggest you speak for yourself. That's a pretty broad generalization. I guess patriotism is out of fashion for a lot of people, maybe most, but not all.

Ernie

Eric Page
11-27-2011, 07:41 PM
I guess patriotism is out of fashion for a lot of people, maybe most, but not all.

Amen, brother!

steveinindy
11-27-2011, 09:40 PM
I suggest you speak for yourself. That's a pretty broad generalization. I guess patriotism is out of fashion for a lot of people, maybe most, but not all.

Ernie

There's a difference between blind allegiance to a political ideal and patriotism. I wore my country's uniform, did my little part and got out when the time came. There's nothing unpatriotic about that. There's a lot of guys walking around with shrapnel in their bodies who could have stayed in but decided not to. Would you call them unpatriotic for not deciding to stay in? If you dared to, a lot of them would have you picking your teeth up off the ground. We have one of the best military forces in the world because people can decide to join or not and to separate or not when their enlistment is up. Taking the negative choice for either does not make one unpatriotic. It simply means you're exercising your rights as an American.

I'm not suggesting the kid not go into the military. Far from it....I just want him to really think it through and consider the implications of it, all of them- good, bad and vaguely indifferent. You would think someone who lectures another on 'patriotism' would welcome someone suggesting that another use the rights guaranteed to us as citizens. Then again, the definition of 'patriotism' has been co-opted and corrupted in the past decade or so to simply mean being willing to be cannon fodder and to march in lock step without so much as a second thought.

Ernie
11-27-2011, 11:34 PM
There's a difference between blind allegiance to a political ideal and patriotism. I wore my country's uniform, did my little part and got out when the time came. There's nothing unpatriotic about that. There's a lot of guys walking around with shrapnel in their bodies who could have stayed in but decided not to. Would you call them unpatriotic for not deciding to stay in? If you dared to, a lot of them would have you picking your teeth up off the ground. We have one of the best military forces in the world because people can decide to join or not and to separate or not when their enlistment is up. Taking the negative choice for either does not make one unpatriotic. It simply means you're exercising your rights as an American.

I'm not suggesting the kid not go into the military. Far from it....I just want him to really think it through and consider the implications of it, all of them- good, bad and vaguely indifferent. You would think someone who lectures another on 'patriotism' would welcome someone suggesting that another use the rights guaranteed to us as citizens. Then again, the definition of 'patriotism' has been co-opted and corrupted in the past decade or so to simply mean being willing to be cannon fodder and to march in lock step without so much as a second thought.

I question only the quote I indicated. You can parse your words anyway you want, but you seemed to indicate that patriotism (yes I know you didn't use that word but "altruistic motives" "love of country,etc" cover it for me) are cause to question motives or sanity. Add a sense of responsibility to those words and you pretty much cover my reason for joining. When I was in, the way people treated you for "doing your job" generally involved spitting on you. Not much incentive there was there? And I certainly don't and didn't imply that there was anything wrong with joining, serving, and leaving. I did exactly that.

Ernie

steveinindy
11-27-2011, 11:43 PM
When I was in, the way people treated you for "doing your job" generally involved spitting on you. Not much incentive there was there? And I certainly don't and didn't imply that there was anything wrong with joining, serving, and leaving. I did exactly that.

Fair enough. No offense intended on my end either. By the way, I'm sorry folks spit on you for doing your job. I always make it a point to tell any Viet Nam era veterans I meet thank you because a lot of them never heard it when they came home.

battplatt
11-29-2011, 06:40 PM
I will leave my opinions on the "why people serve" comments out of this, however, it seems no one has fully answered your question so:

The full list of medial requirements to be a pilot and/or navigator are listed here:
http://wantscheck.com/PilotSlotResources/MedicalTips/tabid/68/Default.aspx

The requirements are the same for a fighter pilot and a heavy pilot (medically speaking of course...). Having glasses does not limit you from being a pilot provided your uncorrected vision is within the listed tolerances. There are even possibilities of having laser eye surgery done to help, but be careful, because if done incorrectly it can permanenty limit you from flying in the USAF.

As far as TPS, i an tell you that they prefer an engineering type background from the degree standpoint, additionally most people i know that end up there have been fighter type guys who have flown more than one aircraft in the USAF. This is tuff to do in today's environment within the USAF, but not impossible.

Do not let any comments here sway your decision to serve or not serve. If you want to fly B-52s for the USAF then good on you, go do it. You must follow your own path and not let comments from strangers sway you. Do what is right for you. Personally, joining the USAF and "signing my life away" for ten years has been a rewarding and interesting life experience. I wouldn't do anything else and dread the day i have to figure out what i will do after this...Yes there are civilian avenues to accomlish the same goals, however, realize that the training an aviatior recieves in the military is excellent and speaks volumes within the civil aviation industry if and when you pursue a job after the military.

I recognize that i say all these things from a biased position, so do your due diligence by researching every facet of this decision before you make it.

Fly Universal
11-29-2011, 09:46 PM
I will leave my opinions on the "why people serve" comments out of this, however, it seems no one has fully answered your question so:

The full list of medial requirements to be a pilot and/or navigator are listed here:
http://wantscheck.com/PilotSlotResources/MedicalTips/tabid/68/Default.aspx

The requirements are the same for a fighter pilot and a heavy pilot (medically speaking of course...). Having glasses does not limit you from being a pilot provided your uncorrected vision is within the listed tolerances. There are even possibilities of having laser eye surgery done to help, but be careful, because if done incorrectly it can permanenty limit you from flying in the USAF.

As far as TPS, i an tell you that they prefer an engineering type background from the degree standpoint, additionally most people i know that end up there have been fighter type guys who have flown more than one aircraft in the USAF. This is tuff to do in today's environment within the USAF, but not impossible.

Do not let any comments here sway your decision to serve or not serve. If you want to fly B-52s for the USAF then good on you, go do it. You must follow your own path and not let comments from strangers sway you. Do what is right for you. Personally, joining the USAF and "signing my life away" for ten years has been a rewarding and interesting life experience. I wouldn't do anything else and dread the day i have to figure out what i will do after this...Yes there are civilian avenues to accomlish the same goals, however, realize that the training an aviatior recieves in the military is excellent and speaks volumes within the civil aviation industry if and when you pursue a job after the military.

I recognize that i say all these things from a biased position, so do your due diligence by researching every facet of this decision before you make it.

Thanks! Really Appreciate it!


Everyone, thanks for all the help! This should help me!:cool: