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if accepted, what can i fit in? physically


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there is no way i can lose 40 pounds. not because im not motivated, because im simply not built to be on a 220 frame. i was 226 when i got out of bct and i was very sick looking, halucast style. like seriously my neck was rail thin, my spine was popping out, and my collarbones were sunk in. i just worried if i was too tall for anything.

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Well, apparently I am missing something and I certainly don't want to go into body fat percentages but from your statement it sounds like you are already in the Army so I am guessing you meet the weight/body fat percentages you need to meet because at 6'3" My max allowable weight was about 220 lbs. It still is in my current service. I weigh about that now and I am a big guy. I certainly don't look holocaust like. But if the Army says you meet the standards who am I to judge.

 

With that said, you will fit in most aircraft but the OH-58 may be a problem depending on other height measurements. It might be for weight as well since they often operate close to max gross wt and and extra 40 lbs will not be something that is desired. At one time they would put prohibitions on pilots due to certain measurements and it would be documented they could not fly the OH-58. I don't know if that is still the case. I was measured and told that I would not fit in the OH-58 but have since logged flight time in the venerable OH-58 but it was pretty tight.

Edited by dolphindriver
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I'm 6'2 6'3 depending on the day and who you ask and weigh 220 now. The 67' is a bit snug but I fit ok, there are some boys that have me by an inch or 2 and 20lbs easy here and they are ok. A few actually have notes saying they are medically disqualified from the 58 and are flying the 67, they just kinda make it work.

 

I'm sure there is some sort of cutoff but it's got to be really high, my IP has told me about guys much much bigger than me able to handle the 67. Hell, a few of the IP's are 300+ and can manage somehow in the trainer.

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I can feel for you dude. Unlike a lot of guys in this industry who hear you are over 200 lbs and just assume you are fat. Quite honestly, these are the same little twerps driving up to their jobs in big, jacked up Ford F350's, just to prove how tough they are.

Small man's syndrome persists throughout the industry, however, that said, here is the truth of it (although they may just get the last laugh). . .

 

#1 The military probably isn't going to take you. Maybe as a helicopter mechanic, that's it.

 

#2 Your best chance of learning to fly a helicopter is going to be in a Schweizer 300C (they don't have a seat weight, only a cabin weight). But even then you will probably be power-limited.

 

#3 Second best chance is in an R-44, but if you want to do it affordably find one of the Raven I schools (I think there is one in the Boston area), however, take this advice with a grain of salt. I DID MY PRIMARY TRAINING IN THE R-44 and right now, I'm back in a Schweizer school to get my CF-I & II due to the fact that if I finished up my CFI in the R-44. I would be virtually unemployable, until I hit 300 hrs total helicopter time (due to insurance norms with that aircraft, in the industry) and even then most employers that fly Robinson's also instruct in the R-22. My butt is too big to make seat-weight and so is yours. Seat weight in the R-22 is only 240lbs, minus any equipment you stow under your butt.

 

#4 Finally. . . So you got your CF-II. Congrats! You've flown a 1,000 hours! Good for You!!! Unless you can get below 250lbs, most operators in the gulf won't even talk to you (that would be platform jobs). The tourist industry isn't going to want you either because they won't be able to stick fat Uncle Louis and Aunt Sally in the back of that EC-120 if you weigh 100 lbs more than the next pilot, because the next pilot could take Louis and Sally up. . . With you, you're going to turn that whirlybird into an expensive ground fan and even if you get off the ground you are probably going to be flying heavier, pulling more power and creating more wear and tear on the airframe than that 21 year old hotshot that weighs a 160lbs soaking wet. . . with a ballast belt. Bottom line - You are less safe! Does that make sense?

 

#5 What are you going to weigh when you get older? How hard will it be to keep it off then? This is the boat I am in. I worked hard over the last couple of years to keep my weight down and I was floating around 250-260lbs. If I would have seriously committed to losing weight I totally believe I could achieve about 230lbs (and that is my goal now) as that was my college weight when I played football, but I was much more muscular then. That was also before Silver State went backrupt in February and I lost motivation right after finishing my commercial ride.

 

I'm now 39, and thanks to a spring and summer out of the gym (and drinking my Silver State sorrows away) I'm now learning to fly the Schweizer at 290lbs. I realize what I'm up against.

I took the time to tell you guys all of this for one simple reason. . . If I had it to do all over again, I'm not sure that I would.

I also feel Silver State discriminated against me because of my size, passing me over for flights, to push the skinnier guy through the program ahead of me. But rather than bitch about it, I sucked it up and made the best of it.

I'm also sure it won't be the last time it happens in my career. This industry is run by little people. It's not the place for large football or basketball player types. It's just something I am going to have to learn to live with.

It also means a future where, the gym (or exercise) is always a part of my life and other things I enjoy, like a beer with my Sunday football is going to be exchanged for a treadmill.

I'm not telling anyone I naively signed up without knowing any of this - there were warnings! But now I understand the implications and the limitations of those warnings. I hope this helps you make up your mind. . . Or maybe anyone else in my shoes.

 

Good luck!

Edited by Buckethats
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I can feel for you dude. Unlike a lot of guys in this industry who hear you are over 200 lbs and just

#1 The military probably isn't going to take you. Maybe as a helicopter mechanic, that's it.

 

Good luck!

 

 

Buckethats, And you base this statement on what?! What facts are you using? He's in the Army now and meets the height/weight based on body fat % his issue will be anthropometric measurements.

 

To the originial poster, look in AR 40-501 Chapter 4-16 a. & b. I pasted the excerpt below but don't take anyone's word here on the future of your career.

 

4–16. Linear anthropometric dimensionsThe causes of medical unfitness for flying duty Classes 1/2/2F/3/4 are the following:

a. Initial Classes 1/2/2F. Failure to meet linear anthropometric standards. Total arm reach equal to or greater than

164.0cm. Sitting height equal to or less than 102.0 cm. Crotch height equal to or greater than 75.0 cm. (See ATB,

Anthropometry.)

b. Class 3. Linear anthropometric measurements and body composition not compatible with aviation or crew

member safety, or operational effectiveness at the Class 3 aircrew member’s workstation.'

 

 

In fact I suggest downloading it from USAPA and flipping through it to find out anything you want and not have random folks tell you what you can and can't do. A bunch of people told me I'd never get in to Flight School. Funny thing was that most had NO experience, only opinion.

 

Good Luck

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I had a buddy in Army Flight School who was atleast 6'3'', I'm not sure how much over that he was, but I know he was atleast that. He had a hard time in the TH-67, but hell... he made it work. Now he's flyin' 47's out in Ft Lewis, WA.

 

 

CHAD

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Buckethats, And you base this statement on what?! What facts are you using? He's in the Army now and meets the height/weight based on body fat % his issue will be anthropometric measurements.

 

I based my statement more on civilian choppers if you read the rest of my post. Besides, I had a buddy that was a recruiter who thought he knew everything - but then he was always shooting his mouth off anyways.

 

Believe me, as a big guy myself, I am the last one that would discourage someone on the basis of size. I wish him all the best.

Edited by Buckethats
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very cool. i love the advice, it lets me get a loomk at diff perspectives. The only way i will know is get sumbitted. i am not concerned with the army standards or anythign like that. I put everythign in Gods hands, and just do my best and i know that i will succeed at whatever is in store for me. But i do know 100%, that if i never apply there is noway that i could ever get accepted.

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Just to point out again to hit all the naysayers, I am 6'3" weigh about 220 and was qualified in the UH-1, the AH-1, the AH-64, and have logged quite a few hours piloting in the OH-58 (Even though I had the paperwork that says I am too big to be an OH-58 pilot). I currently fly an aircraft that is pretty cramped as well (MH-65), I have to use a can opener to get out. So height is but a minor issue. I questioned his weight because it sounded like he was just trying to get into the service, but he is already in so that isn't an issue.

 

I have never flown the TH-67 as it was after my time but it has already been established how big it is. Since it is a trainer, the Army and the Navy (since they use a similar version) have two options, either make every pilot meet the height standards for the trainer or allow the students to be cramped for training as long as they meet the standards for other airframes. I am guessing they are doing the latter.

 

As for height limits in the Apache, I have no idea what they are but they are taller than 6'5" as I know one pilot who flew Apaches who was at least that tall and had played as a scab for the KC Chiefs before joining the Army. He was a big dude and fit in there just fine. He also learned to fly in the TH-55. I had plenty of room in the Apache at my height.

 

By the way, I drive a F150, you got a problem with that? ;)

Edited by dolphindriver
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Well, to beat a dead horse, you're good. Don't worry about how big you are, they'll lube up the doors and push you in the 67. It will probablly suck while you're in IERW (Initial Entry Rotary Wing). You'll fit fine in all the A/C except the 58. Not saying you won't fly it, but it'll be a little tight. Doesn't matter, you want to get in a 64D anyway. We do everything the do, except we do it in air conditioning

Put in you're packet and start flying, it's amazing. The most exciting thing you can do sitting on your ass.

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