I’ve heard it is really hard to get into military (army) flight school to be a helicopter pilot. I also want to know what steps you take to get in and what all you need
Depends on what route you take and your background. If you go as a commissioned officer through ROTC and go Guard/Reserve, it is almost guaranteed as long as you can find a unit that will take you in. This is also assuming that you have passed both the AFAST and Class I flight physical which is what weeds many people out. If you go active duty and try to get in through aviation, it will be a hit or miss and whether or not you get it will also depend on how well you do in ROTC and school.
If you go warrant, it will be near impossible to get without prior service. About 95% of warrants are prior service and not "street to fleet" meaning they just joined the Army.
EDIT: To guyjones. Actually you yourself are mistaken about the regulations for medical standards for aviation. You actually need uncorrected vision of 20/50 in each eye and not 20/200. If it is 20/50 or better, then it must be correctable to 20/20
To aaronb. You do not need ANY previous flight experience in order to fly helicopters for the Army. In fact, about 90% of new Army aviators have zero previous flight experience.
#1 by sportsfreak01234 on July 28th, 2009
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its a walk in the park. seriously you probably have to be the best of the best to get in.
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#2 by Cpl John M, USMC on July 28th, 2009
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US Army.. So easy, a caveman can do it!
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#3 by Eagle1 Fox2 on July 28th, 2009
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Depends on what route you take and your background. If you go as a commissioned officer through ROTC and go Guard/Reserve, it is almost guaranteed as long as you can find a unit that will take you in. This is also assuming that you have passed both the AFAST and Class I flight physical which is what weeds many people out. If you go active duty and try to get in through aviation, it will be a hit or miss and whether or not you get it will also depend on how well you do in ROTC and school.
If you go warrant, it will be near impossible to get without prior service. About 95% of warrants are prior service and not "street to fleet" meaning they just joined the Army.
EDIT: To guyjones. Actually you yourself are mistaken about the regulations for medical standards for aviation. You actually need uncorrected vision of 20/50 in each eye and not 20/200. If it is 20/50 or better, then it must be correctable to 20/20
To aaronb. You do not need ANY previous flight experience in order to fly helicopters for the Army. In fact, about 90% of new Army aviators have zero previous flight experience.
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#4 by Guy Jones on July 28th, 2009
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NO its not as easy as some of your friends before me would have u to believe it is to get into flight school you first must be either a warrant officer or a commisoned officer ( sorry no enlisted boys in this part of the house ) also u must at least 20/200 vison without glasses or contacts or laser vsurgery. And meet all the other requirements to get into the army. you can;t of course be afraid of heights or have any toher mental issues that would enable u to pilot an aircraft. THE steps u would go to college or warrant officer school afterwards u would apply to the army flight school and than they would most likely evaluate u based on there requirements a
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#5 by Krust on July 28th, 2009
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Get in physical shape. Like you should be able to run two miles in less than 14 minutes, and do at least 70 push ups and sit ups in two minutes. It sounds hard but you can do it in a few months if you go on an exercise regimen
You need at least to have an associates to get into Warrant Officer School. Many people I have seen have their bachelors, it looks better on the application. You can also become a commissioned officer but I hear they don’t get as much flying time, Warrant Officers are the kings of helicopters.
You should have no legal or financial problems.
Basically, you then go to your recruiter and tell them you want to be a Helicopter pilot. They will then give you a list of stuff you need to do. Be prepared for lots of paperwork.
You will need to take the ASVAB and score high on it. Buy a study guide. There might be another test for pilots, I’m not sure. your recruiter will fill you in.
It sounds tough, but if you take the steps to prepare, you’ll be fine.
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#6 by aaron b on July 28th, 2009
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Everyone else here seems to have forgotten about the requirement for flight hours in a rotor wing aircraft in the neighborhood of 2,000 hours. If you are wanting to go the flight school route you have to know how to fly if you want to increase your odds of being picked up for the program.
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