Ask a Flight School Student

[TheSmallLebowski]

I remember from the moment I was trying to put my packet together until I started ground school I was trying to figure out what actually goes on in flight school and how I could better prepare myself.

I am about to start my advanced airframe and would be happy to answer any questions people have about the whole flight school experience. I'm hoping this will be a good chance for people that are in the same situation that I am in to get some of their curiosities answered. I know there are a few other users on here that are also in flight school that can offer their opinion on things as well.

I got to Rucker in June of 2019, so the Scamdemic has certainly changed a lot of things, but I believe on a whole they should be the same as they were last year.

[nil5038]

What’s the PT schedule like at flight school

[TheSmallLebowski]

WOCS: Every day

WOBC: Every day

Flight school including ground school: on your own. I found there was ample time to workout on your own. If I flew PMs, I would workout early in the morning, visa versa for flying AMs. 

Honors and other hold sentences: varies, I've been at honors when it was every other day and I hear now it is on your own. Other taskings may be every day

[mike0331]

I actually think on the whole the good old ‘Rona has made flight school better. We can drive to the flightline instead of eating up an extra couple hours a day waiting on busses, most academics are online which means more time at home with the wife and baby, and at least until recently PT was all on your own during holds and wobc. 

[Bomberbasic]

Where do most students seem to struggle/get washed out? WOCS, WOBC, SERE, Common Core, Advanced?
 

I’ll be going as Geo-Bachelor, where do most of them live on base/off base?  

[Thedude]

1 hour ago, Bomberbasic said:

Where do most students seem to struggle/get washed out? WOCS, WOBC, SERE, Common Core, Advanced?
 

I’ll be going as Geo-Bachelor, where do most of them live on base/off base?  

Practically no one gets washed out unless you just quit, the Army pipeline is kept moving by a very large broom that will just push struggling students along into mediocre aviators. 

[mike0331]

1 hour ago, Bomberbasic said:

Where do most students seem to struggle/get washed out? WOCS, WOBC, SERE, Common Core, Advanced?
 

I’ll be going as Geo-Bachelor, where do most of them live on base/off base?  

Unless you really genuinely just can’t fly/obviously don’t care to try hard, I wouldn’t stress about washing out. The army is more than willing to work with students who put forth the effort who need a little extra help. I dunno how that impacts the final product — I’d like to think 300, 500, 1000 hours down the road the kids who needed an extra 5-10 hours here are doing just fine. Laziness is less likely to be tolerated. 
 

Living in base wins on the convenience front. With a baby, I’m glad we went that route. That said, the way to do it is find a place with a pool off post (plenty within minutes of the gate) and split it with some other students. Despite generally being happy we live on post, and being very happy I have lots of friends with pools, my wife does sometimes regret we didn’t get a place off post with our own pool. I wouldn’t bother staying in some shithole to save a few bucks. Splitting a nice newer house with a pool at 1400 bucks a month 3-4 ways, as many do, is worth it over splitting some dump. 

[TheSmallLebowski]

11 hours ago, mike0331 said:

I actually think on the whole the good old ‘Rona has made flight school better. We can drive to the flightline instead of eating up an extra couple hours a day waiting on busses, most academics are online which means more time at home with the wife and baby, and at least until recently PT was all on your own during holds and wobc. 

Totally agree. The Kung Flu has forced them to make changes that made everyone's life easier. 

58 minutes ago, mike0331 said:

Unless you really genuinely just can’t fly/obviously don’t care to try hard, I wouldn’t stress about washing out. The army is more than willing to work with students who put forth the effort who need a little extra help. I dunno how that impacts the final product — I’d like to think 300, 500, 1000 hours down the road the kids who needed an extra 5-10 hours here are doing just fine. Laziness is less likely to be tolerated. 
 

Living in base wins on the convenience front. With a baby, I’m glad we went that route. That said, the way to do it is find a place with a pool off post (plenty within minutes of the gate) and split it with some other students. Despite generally being happy we live on post, and being very happy I have lots of friends with pools, my wife does sometimes regret we didn’t get a place off post with our own pool. I wouldn’t bother staying in some shithole to save a few bucks. Splitting a nice newer house with a pool at 1400 bucks a month 3-4 ways, as many do, is worth it over splitting some dump. 

Agreed, I believe they want everyone here to succeed. Sure you may fail a test or check ride but the instructors will put in the extra time to get you to pass. Only people I have know to wash out were for random medical reasons, commiting a crime, and cheating (it really is better to fail than cheat).

+1 for getting a pool, especially if you have a family. I wouldn't try to look for a place to save money. Either live on post or close to it in a nice place. I'm crazy and live in Dothan, it's very nice but is lonely being the only flight student out here.

[zaurus]

BomberBasic

The most difficult part of the IERW (IEFT) program is being selected. In the Army's mindset, by being selected you will be an aviator. The Army has no money to waste in the Army's most expensive training program.

In the 1950s a third of the class would washout. Had to solo by a certain hour. Did I say SOLO? 

Besides, every Army aviator graduates as a COPILOT. Your gaining unit will determine your true worth as an aviator.

You proved what it takes in being selected. Go have some fun in being paid to fly.

[Crash7051]

How long do you get in between to make your move?

[Fox 21 Alpha]

How time consuming did you find hour studies in IERW/IEFT? I’ve read some people saying the barely had time for laundry and dinner after getting home and studying and hardly any free time during weekends, and then I’ve also read people who make it sound like you go over a few things at night but it’s not that bad. I imagine it’s probably somewhat dependent on the student and what portion of training but any insights from your experience or what you saw?

[Thedude]

5 minutes ago, Fox 21 Alpha said:

How time consuming did you find hour studies in IERW/IEFT? I’ve read some people saying the barely had time for laundry and dinner after getting home and studying and hardly any free time during weekends, and then I’ve also read people who make it sound like you go over a few things at night but it’s not that bad. I imagine it’s probably somewhat dependent on the student and what portion of training but any insights from your experience or what you saw?

It's 100% dependant on the person. I went to the library and friend's houses to study probably less than five times and studied an hour or so each night except for Friday and Saturday when I wouldn't open any books. Other people rode the struggle bus the entire time and studied nonstop to feel confident they'd make it through. 

[mike0331]

As stated, you’re mileage may vary. Good study habits improve studying efficiency as well.

That said, at least at the outset there is a ton of information and, while I didn’t find any of the concepts individually that difficult to learn, there simply is a lot of it. As a crammer the only time I really study intensely is the day before an exam, and I have yet to score below the 90s on one. The rest of the week it’s probably an hour or two total a day going over information beyond the time spent at the flightline or in class. Keep in mind the workday can be long at 10+ hours between flying and class. 

Overall I’d say this is a similar time investment day to day of any respectable grad program. There are a spectrum of people here  who range in the effort they put in from the bare minimum to full burnout mode, and the material is such that performance ranges wildly on either end of the effort spectrum. Some people do very well with little effort, some get brutalized despite pouring in their heart and soul, and everything in between. If you were a good student in the civilian side you shouldn’t have too hard of a time here, though expect an initial information shock due to the range and quantity. 

[TheSmallLebowski]

On 9/16/2020 at 2:01 PM, Crash7051 said:

How long do you get in between to make your move?

Are you referring to before WOCS? I believe I had 10 days from leaving home to reporting in with HHC.

8 hours ago, Fox 21 Alpha said:

How time consuming did you find hour studies in IERW/IEFT? I’ve read some people saying the barely had time for laundry and dinner after getting home and studying and hardly any free time during weekends, and then I’ve also read people who make it sound like you go over a few things at night but it’s not that bad. I imagine it’s probably somewhat dependent on the student and what portion of training but any insights from your experience or what you saw?

I agree with what everyone else has said. I was one of the cram the night before and morning of the test guys. Except for one exam it worked out well for me haha. Looking back I wish I had spent 30 minutes to an hour studying every night. I feel that would have been plenty of study time while keeping stress low. 

Now that I'm in advanced, the situation is different and I feel like I need to put in 1-2 hours per night.

[GM1]

Do you get to choose AM or PM flights and do you stick with the same throughout school when assigned to one? If you do get to choose for someone who is married with two kids under two which would you recommend? My wife is a nurse and works three 12 hour shifts a week 6-18 so I’m trying to figure out what will work best with on base daycare. Do you happen to know the daycare prices? I believe I read somewhere it’s five bucks an hour per kid, just trying to confirm this. 

[StockTrader]

1 hour ago, GM1 said:

Do you get to choose AM or PM flights and do you stick with the same throughout school when assigned to one? If you do get to choose for someone who is married with two kids under two which would you recommend? My wife is a nurse and works three 12 hour shifts a week 6-18 so I’m trying to figure out what will work best with on base daycare. Do you happen to know the daycare prices? I believe I read somewhere it’s five bucks an hour per kid, just trying to confirm this. 

You rotate between AM and PM.  The cost of daycare full time is Based on total household income.  Sucks because the more you make, the more you pay.  

[GM1]

19 minutes ago, StockTrader said:

You rotate between AM and PM.  The cost of daycare full time is Based on total household income.  Sucks because the more you make, the more you pay.  

Yeah we will only need it 2-3 days a week because of her schedule. And a W1 over 8 will be the pay so hopefully not much 😬

[mike0331]

Covid has made everything a challenge as far as childcare goes. My wife is also a nurse and is working on her NP/Midwifery masters. She has had to forego a semester of clinicals given our baby. As of now we pay a babysitter for about 10 hours a week so she can get her school work done. Other than that she’s staying at home (and going a little crazy). 
 

For flightline in primary it flip flops. AMs definitely mean you’ll have more time at home, but less sleep.

 

[Gun Chief Wu]

23 minutes ago, mike0331 said:

Covid has made everything a challenge as far as childcare goes. My wife is also a nurse and is working on her NP/Midwifery masters. She has had to forego a semester of clinicals given our baby. As of now we pay a babysitter for about 10 hours a week so she can get her school work done. Other than that she’s staying at home (and going a little crazy). 
 

For flightline in primary it flip flops. AMs definitely mean you’ll have more time at home, but less sleep.

 

I gonna slid into your DMs. 

[StockTrader]

6 hours ago, GM1 said:

Yeah we will only need it 2-3 days a week because of her schedule. And a W1 over 8 will be the pay so hopefully not much 😬

They factor her income as well

[GM1]

9 minutes ago, StockTrader said:

They factor her income as well

Well crap... she makes a lot...

[StockTrader]

19 hours ago, GM1 said:

Well crap... she makes a lot...

Im in the same boat lol.  Just ridin the gravy train flyin helicopters.

[TheSmallLebowski]

On 9/18/2020 at 9:11 AM, GM1 said:

Do you get to choose AM or PM flights and do you stick with the same throughout school when assigned to one? If you do get to choose for someone who is married with two kids under two which would you recommend? My wife is a nurse and works three 12 hour shifts a week 6-18 so I’m trying to figure out what will work best with on base daycare. Do you happen to know the daycare prices? I believe I read somewhere it’s five bucks an hour per kid, just trying to confirm this. 

I am in the same boat and when we had to physically go to class, things were pretty tough, but when the classes moved to online it actually made family life 100X better. To give you an idea of what your schedule could look like. When you fly AMs you get to the flight line well before your family wakes up but you are back home around lunch. If they are still doing distance learning this means you can take care of the kids the remainder of the day. If you fly PMs then you have online class in the morning and go to the flight line around lunch time.

During class I would have my phone or computer logged into class, I would listen, but would be primarily doing stuff around the house and watching my kids while my wife worked. It worked out really well for us.

Hopefully your wife's schedule can be flexible because the odds of you getting to have a flexible schedule as far as when you have class and when you fly are pretty slim. 

I don't know what the daycare situation is like on base but you can call the Child Development Center (334-255-2262) for specific questions about prices and enrollment.

[GM1]

20 hours ago, TheSmallLebowski said:

I am in the same boat and when we had to physically go to class, things were pretty tough, but when the classes moved to online it actually made family life 100X better. To give you an idea of what your schedule could look like. When you fly AMs you get to the flight line well before your family wakes up but you are back home around lunch. If they are still doing distance learning this means you can take care of the kids the remainder of the day. If you fly PMs then you have online class in the morning and go to the flight line around lunch time.

During class I would have my phone or computer logged into class, I would listen, but would be primarily doing stuff around the house and watching my kids while my wife worked. It worked out really well for us.

Hopefully your wife's schedule can be flexible because the odds of you getting to have a flexible schedule as far as when you have class and when you fly are pretty slim. 

I don't know what the daycare situation is like on base but you can call the Child Development Center (334-255-2262) for specific questions about prices and enrollment.

Rgr sounds good! I’m classing up in Apr so there is no telling what things will be like then. I’ll be a hooker as well but on the guard side! Its the best airframe in my eyes! 😁

[Ragnar]

On 9/17/2020 at 8:51 PM, Fox 21 Alpha said:

How time consuming did you find hour studies in IERW/IEFT? I’ve read some people saying the barely had time for laundry and dinner after getting home and studying and hardly any free time during weekends, and then I’ve also read people who make it sound like you go over a few things at night but it’s not that bad. I imagine it’s probably somewhat dependent on the student and what portion of training but any insights from your experience or what you saw?

One thing you will learn in flight school is priorities. It’s not hard. If you keep your head in the books all day, everyday, you will only make your time here sickening. That’s not to say, don’t study. You just gotta know when enough is enough. The instructors will give you all the tools to make it through. If you f**k off you could still pass with at least a 70 average...... and you’ll fly Blackhawks for sure (eww).