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Hopefully some of the current US Army warrants can shed light on this. Besides individual mission of your assigned unit (attack/Recon). How much actual hands-on flying do NEW warrants get straight out of flight school with the Apache? Is it mostly front seat/gunner-focused for new guys? I understand the front seat has a collapsible cyclic, but is it ever really utilized if you occupy the forward cockpit? If not gunner focused for new guys, do most guys switch back and forth? And finally, How often are you guys doing XC flights to regional airports for a bite to eat? lol - I used to see 12th AvB's 60s at my regional AP's FBO/Diner during civilian flight school all the time before I got into WOFT. Thanks

Hi, I posted on a separate thread and was able to get a very helpful response, however now I've done more research and I have more questions related to a civilian applicant and certain conditions so I wanted to get feedback on my questions and the specific process all in one place. So I just turned 28, civilian, have a college degree, Eagle Scout and a varsity runner in high school. No arrests, a few speeding tickets. Health wise, I'm pretty healthy however, there are the below items: Eyes: Currently 20/200 correctable to 20/20 with glasses, my prescription is pretty low. The reason my eyesight is off is bc of my astigmatism. I called Rucker and spoke to a flight surgeon there...very helpful actually. The "MedStandards" app is a goldmine, it's got the phone number there and a lot of useful info. I read my prescription to the doc and explained to him I've been evaluated for bladeless lasik and should be corrected to 20/20 no problem. He said it shouldn't be a problem for my flight physical. In my understanding, in speaking with an army recruiter (who actually is helpful) we uncovered that although it's only 3 months after lasik for a flight physical, MEPS requires 6 months before screening you after a surgery like that. Just wanted to see if anyone else as a civilian applicant, has gone through this? I checked to see if I'm a candidate for PRK, but apparently my cornea is too thick. It seems to me based upon all of my research that LASIK shouldn't be a problem. As a kid, I was told that I had flat feet because I didn't have enough of an arch. I have an arch but I suppose it's not as much as it's supposed to. I was never prescribed orthotics and have never had pain in my feet. I have backpacked over 50miles with a backpack, ran as a XC runner in high school and ran a half marathon 3 years ago and I have never had pain that stops me from doing those activities. Now I'm hesitant about dedicating all this time because I don't want to get dinged at MEPS over something that isn't even a problem for me. I have a few friends in the Army and they said just to keep my mouth shut at MEPS and I'll go right through especially as it's not a problem. My research seems to indicate that if you can prove it's never been a problem or never prescribed...it shouldn't be a problem. I would just hate to get LASIK and study for the SIFT to get dinged on this. Any thoughts? Waivers? 4 years ago, I had minor surgery on my elbows to move a nerve around. Just a few stitches. All they did was snip a small nerve and move it around so it wasn't rubbing up against other things. I haven't had any problems since. Will this be a problem at MEPS? Keep my mouth shut? Obtain the paperwork from the surgeon? How much time should I dedicate to the SIFT and ASVAB to get a score of 70? Seems to me like I should use the 6 months I have to study. I got 2 study guides for SIFT off of Amazon, they seem to be pretty good from reading so far. Finally, would anyone who's a current pilot mind me messaging them? I'd like to get a conversation going and if you think I'm a good shot I'd like to ask for a LOR down the road. I've accomplished anything I wanted to in my life and I feel this would be a challenge that pushes and stimulates me and I like that. One more thing, how likely is it if I ask for an apache slot that I'll get it? I'll push my self to do the best I can at all stages to make me a good candidate. Thank you for reading and I appreciate your feedback. Thanks to those who have served or are currently serving.

To break some of the traditional "selection" and "what if" posts monotony (nothing wrong with those, in fact they have been tremendously helpful) and to get to know some of you, what was it that attracted you to military aviation? Since this is a helo forum, what was it about RW that attracted you over FW? Every time I speak to someone about about helos I repeatedly hear about the inherent dangers of RW aircraft and countless other negatives. Obviously most of you all pressed on despite that, but why? Unlike on your selection board interviews "because it's cool" and "I wanted to blow stuff up" is a perfectly acceptable answer here, though feel free to elaborate. Also feel free to share a few war stories, exciting moments in your career, what you loved/hated about your career, and anything else you feel like adding. One thing I love about being in the ops (flying) side of the Air Force is the atmosphere and camaraderie of fellow aviators and their experiences flying the mission, so I would love to hear more of aviation life from other perspectives. Also, since this is a "General Military Helicopter" forum, are there any other service branches represented here, past or present? I came here for the WOFT stuff, so I appreciate the presence, but has anyone flown for anyone else?

Hi everyone I hope you are well, I am looking for some advice regarding a project I am working on. My project is to look at several iconic machines for transport and then provide some details about what quirks or faults they may have. I have picked the Apache Helicopter. So naturally I am looking for an Apache Helicopter expert and I thought this would be the place to find someone who can help me with my project. The information I would like is; A few common faults of the Apache. How these faults can be fixed The approximate cost of fixing these faults The average cost of an Apache Helicopter Any other interesting, lesser known quirks of the Apache While I am sure there are things I can google in order to get some of these answers I would much prefer to be in contact with an expert. There may be a few questions that arise while I put this data together. I would of course like to attribute full credit to yourself if I were to use the information for my project. If you have an questions please not hesitate to ask, Daniel

Hi everyone I hope you are well, I am looking for some advice regarding a project I am working on. My project is to look at several iconic machines for transport and then provide some details about what quirks or faults they may have. I have picked the Apache Helicopter. So naturally I am looking for an Apache Helicopter expert and I thought this would be the place to find someone who can help me with my project. The information I would like is; A few common faults of the Apache. How these faults can be fixed The approximate cost of fixing these faults The average cost of an Apache Helicopter Any other interesting, lesser known quirks of the Apache While I am sure there are things I can google in order to get some of these answers I would much prefer to be in contact with an expert. There may be a few questions that arise while I put this data together. I would of course like to attribute full credit to yourself if I were to use the information for my project. If you have an questions please not hesitate to ask, Daniel