ive been hearing that your chances of getting a flight slot are greatly affected by your "officers rank".  Forgive me if this has been answered already, but what is this?  Right now im 17 (junior in hs) and plan on majoring in Aerospace Engineering while attending AFROTC at IIT in Chicago.    What would you guys say are the most important factors that contribute to you getting a flight slot?  Also, how big of a difference do flight hours make?  I could probably reach 6-8 hours if I wanted before its time for slot picks (not sure what they are called exactly)

Also, what is this "FT" I keep hearing about?  It has something to do with being in the "Third half" or "bottom half"?  Is this the fitness test you guys are talking about?

Thanks man that's what I was looking for.

Yeah I plan on going all out in college.  Im REALLY hoping I get accepted into IIT, which might be hard.  They said students that enter IIT usually get an act between 25-30 and on my practice ACT (which I took in sophomore year) I got like a 21.  Then again, I didnt do any studying for that AND I was only a sophomore.  Im gonna study my ass off for this act. 

In college, im seriously gonna bust my ass and do whatever it takes.  The reason I want IIT is because it has bother Aerospace Engineering AND AFROTC.  Now I know what you may be thinking: "Oh great, another kid taking Aerospace just because he thinks it will make him a better pilot."  This couldnt be further from the truth.  Before I even began considering AF I decided that Aerospace Engineering is what I want.  The Universe and Aviation are some serious passions of my (AKA they take up more than 6 hours of my day in terms of research and flight sim ).  I did hear that in a year, they will begin taking cadets for UAV's as a direct track instead of pulling them from UPT.  This is ok with me i suppose, although it is my dream to become a pilot, the other half is just how amazing the Air Force is to me.  I love what they wear, I love the environment they operate in, I love the WAY they operate.  I know it is right for me, and im gonna do whatever it takes to get there. 

"The call to serve; it has no sound, yet I have heard it in the whispered re-telling of honorable sacrifices made by those who have served before me. The call to serve has no form, yet I have seen it in the eyes of the men and women infinitely more courageous and more driven than most."

Robert,

I was just like you are now when I started out. Motivated as all get out trying to figure everything out. All I can say is just take it one semester at a time. Field Training is still far off for you, but to start preparing I would say just do well in most everything around your detachment. However, DO NOT burn yourself out!

Good Luck!

The whole reason im doing ROTC instead of OTS is so i can avoid the 12 weeks of hell at OTS.

Posted By Robert on 28 Oct 2009 10:28 PM
Also, it said in speed and angels that to become a naval pilot its like a 1 in 10,000 chance? I know this is navy, but i mean air force must be the same. That simply does not sound right.

Realize that these kind of statistics don't really say what you might think they say.  Essentially they look at the total number of officers and compare that to the total number of aviators -OR- they look at the total number of ascessions (commissions) each year, and compare it to the number of pilots who get winged.  They're impressive sounding, but don't really state the real statistical chances.

In the AF, about 1,000 pilots have been produced each year for the last 10 years or so.

FYI, Field Training is now 4 weeks long, so not quite the 15 weeks for OTS