Want to fly the Raptor? Get in line

[unhappycamper]

68 percent of F-22A community has flown F-15C.


Want to fly the Raptor? Get in line
By Bruce Rolfsen - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Nov 28, 2007 12:33:14 EST

Got dreams of becoming an F-22A Raptor pilot? If you do, your best bet for the near future is learning to fly an F-15C Eagle or scoring high in undergraduate pilot training so you can go into the F-22A pilot pipeline.

The Air Force is in the early stages of assigning first lieutenants straight out of the introductory fighter fundamentals course to F-22A training at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. But the Air Force is limiting F-22A training slots for veteran pilots to aviators cross-training out of F-15Cs.

While Air Force leaders want about 388 Raptors, Congress has capped the Air Force’s F-22A buy at 183 jets. If the limit sticks, that means the service will need around 230 to 275 F-22A pilots at any given time.

Today, the Air Force has two operational F-22A combat squadrons at Langley Air Force Base, Va., and a training squadron at Tyndall. A fourth squadron is building up at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, and more squadrons are pegged for Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., and Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii.

At Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, seven student pilots and one first-assignment instructor pilot are vying to become one of the four pilots assigned to the F-22A as their first fighter.

The eight officers are taking an introduction to fighter fundamentals course at the 435th Fighter Training Squadron, designed to prepare pilots for the F-22A.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2007/11/airforce_raptor_training_071128w/



uhc comment: As soon as our Raptors get out of the shop, we'll start that line again --> http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=259&topic_id=5726

[MADem]

1. Wanna fly the Tilt Roter--come on down!!!! nt