When coming out of ROTC and aiming for a Pilot Slot, how important is it that you have Flight hours.

And if it is important what is the easiest/ cheapest way to obtain some.

Flight hours to into your PCSM score which is 15% of your total pilot score. The actual formula of how much the flight hours weigh the score is not released...but the lower your PCSM score...the more points will be added to the PCSM. The Max flight hours that can be added in is 250. I had 260...and ended up with a 99 on my PCSM. But I had a 97 on my AFOQFT and know I did well on the TBAS.

If you can get flight hours...go for it...it will help you. But there is no "easy"/"cheap" way to do it. You can get a hour or 2 with CAP flights...but that wont do much. I would suggest you try to get your private pilots lisence...but it will cost you $4,000 to $6,000 depending on where you fly. It isnt cheap...and if you decide to do it you have to be willing to fork over the money.

Flight hours aren't cheap. No sign of that changing either. But I was trying for a few years at a few different Units to get a slot, and it seemed like the interview inevitably always boiled down to flight hours. I took my written and aced it. I took a few extra classes and aced them. I jumped through all sorts of hoops minus actually getting some hours. Finally, I refinanced a vehicle, and put aside a grand JUST for flight hours, and I told the CFI that at this point I was interested in ONLY stick time. I don't know if it was because I had already taken my written or what, but he went for it and I got just over 8 hours of time total. I got offered slots at my NEXT 2 Interviews.... Also, and I found this interesting, they started applauding me on the other stuff I had done at that point, where before they just scoffed them off and asked if I had any flight hours. Also, I had had some previous hours with my cousin, but since he wasn't a CFI, they really didn't seem to care. Showing up with a logbook in my hand is what made the difference. It was explained to me as this; When they pick a person with minimal to no flight hours and send them, I guess it’s a no to uncommon occurrence for the individual to do really well in the academic side of the school and then get to the flying part and decide it just isn’t for them and quit. Then the Unit is out a UPT slot. So they like to see that you have indeed been up and in control of an aircraft and are still interested or like me, salivating to get back up there!