Any real pilots here?

D

DyNaMiX

Spaceman
Hi all.
I was just wondering since we are all Wing Commander fans (isn't that obvious? :p ), is anyone here also a pilot in real life? I've been a long time Wing Commander fan and have always looked to fighting the Kilrathi as an inspiration to being a pilot for real, one day.
I was just wondering who here is a pilot in real life? Whether it be Military or Civilian. How did you get into this job? Did you too find inspiration from games like Wing Commander? :cool:
 
Well, I'm not a pilot yet... I'm getting my liscense next year at age 15 and then I'm going to the USNA to become a Naval Aviator. And yes, Wing Commander helped to inspire me to it.
 
DyNaMiX said:
Hi all.
I was just wondering since we are all Wing Commander fans (isn't that obvious? :p ), is anyone here also a pilot in real life? I've been a long time Wing Commander fan and have always looked to fighting the Kilrathi as an inspiration to being a pilot for real, one day.
I was just wondering who here is a pilot in real life? Whether it be Military or Civilian. How did you get into this job? Did you too find inspiration from games like Wing Commander? :cool:
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One of my friends who was pretty "well known" in the WC community back in the day (and infamous for the space submarine recordings) moved on to become a US Army heli pilot. I think he flies Blackhawks now.
 
I've got my pilot's license. My goal was to be an Air Force fighter pilot but my eye sight got me "shot down."

Wing Commander III, being my first Wing Commander game, inspired me to become a fighter pilot.

Being a private pilot is still awesome, though. I'm slowly working towards my aerobatic rating. Whilst it's extremely fun, it's also just as expensive. Well worth it, though!
 
Col.Dom said:
I've got my pilot's license. My goal was to be an Air Force fighter pilot but my eye sight got me "shot down."

Wing Commander III, being my first Wing Commander game, inspired me to become a fighter pilot.

Being a private pilot is still awesome, though. I'm slowly working towards my aerobatic rating. Whilst it's extremely fun, it's also just as expensive. Well worth it, though!
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Has the Air Force authorized the use of PRK eye surgery? I went from glasses since I was 8 to perfect 20/20 at age 22, plus the surgery I had was waivered by BuMed so I can join the NavSpecWar pipeline.
 
It is authorized but it's still a disqualifying factor for initial SUPT. I looked into getting a waiver and all but I've learned since that the military life just isn't for me. So I've dropped that whole idea.

When my enlistment's up (in five, short months, no less!) I'll still have my pilot's license, so I'm good-to-go :D
 
Space submarine recordings?

I dropped the pilot idea when my eyesight got really bad, but I had aspirations about the time I picked up computer gaming (SU-27, DooM, Half-Life, Wing Commander in that order)
 
I will be a pilot as of next summer and it was wc2 that made me wanna be a pilot and join Air Cadets(way back in 1999) to get my training for free(otherwise its tens of thousand bucks and I aint got that amount of money).
 
I too want to join. I was hoping to go to the Australian Defence Force Academy and come out with a Bachelor of Technology in Aviation. However my scores for end of school were not high enough to enter this university. There was a direct entry way where you can get recruited and then work your way in, however I'm told that is the most competetive way to enter and only the best of the best of the best can make it through. I've considered re-doing my last year of school just to get this degree... :confused:
 
WC made me want to fly. I wanted to join the Airforce, and my preference was to fly an A-10. I talked to a recruiter, however, and his report on my chances of flying one weren't encouraging, so I decided to be a rock star instead.

Now, in the aftermath, I'm in no physical shape to be a pilot, and I haven't completed enough schooling because I keep getting into too much debt to pay for classes. Still being a rock star, though :p
 
I wish. My prescription is 20/400.

So, I'm going to be the next best thing, (if they let me), manning a reactor console on a carrier.

That is if they let me get a waiver for my eyes.
 
Expendable said:
I wish. My prescription is 20/400.

So, I'm going to be the next best thing, (if they let me), manning a reactor console on a carrier.

That is if they let me get a waiver for my eyes.
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Get PRK eye surgery. It's waiverable. LASIK surgery is NOT
 
20/400. Wow. I can barely make 20/200, and I thought I was bad. (I know because I squeaked through my category 3 medical. In the end, it turns out that the clause limiting me to 20/200 was waiverable...).

Ah well, at the rate I'm going through my flight training, I'd probably be able to have surgery and qualify for a category 1 medical (required for commercial licenses) by the time I get through all the ratings to even start commercial flight instruction. Don't know how many times I need to renew my medical though :)
 
Worf said:
Don't know how many times I need to renew my medical though :)
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That depends on how long you plan on flying for :D

A category one needs to be renewed every year, a category two every two years and I'm sure you can guess when a cat 3 needs to be renewed :p

Cat 1 is only necessary for airlines and the military. For the basic commercial rating, you only need a cat 2, I'm pretty sure. It's all in the FAA regs, which I really need to hit again....
 
Followup question - of the people who responded saying they're pilots, how many of you are interested in learning more about the infinite glory of Allah?
 
Col.Dom said:
That depends on how long you plan on flying for :D

A category one needs to be renewed every year, a category two every two years and I'm sure you can guess when a cat 3 needs to be renewed :p

Cat 1 is only necessary for airlines and the military. For the basic commercial rating, you only need a cat 2, I'm pretty sure. It's all in the FAA regs, which I really need to hit again....
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That's in the US. In Canada, the medical certificates are slightly different.

There are only effectively 3 categories - 1, 3 and 4. (Transport Canada simplified the entire process...). Category 1 is required for pilots flying under a commcial license, and must be renewed every year. Cat 3's are for private pilots (and a bunch of other subcategories - gliders, helicopters, etc), valid for 5 years (under 40 years old), or 2 years (over 40). Cat 4 is reserved for recreational pilots (and subcategories) - same time limits, lower requirements. (To make things more interesting, if you wish to fly overseas, the validity periods are limited for cat 3/4 to 2 years.)

The great thing is, though, is the nice inconsistency all the Canadian regs have it - these new classifications took place July 2000, while the revision date of the pages I looked at are dated 1999 and earlier. Great fun when you're studying for your student permit!

I think maybe in 5 years I'd probably get enough ratings to go for a commercial, and in the meantime, get the requisite surgery so I won't be disqualified from that one clause.

BTW, any other pilots around here use LogShare to share their logbooks with the world? (E.g., mine). Nice service, bit easier to see my hours/etc at a date than referring to my logbook...
 
Worf said:
Cat 3's are...valid for 5 years
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Whoa, five years?? :eek:

That's awesome! An extra two years is always welcome.

When I was going through ground school and having to ingest all that info, I seriously considered only getting a recreational license. Even afterward, I rarely fly cross country or far past the practice area. Only enough to keep current. I like maneuvering too much! :D

Oh! That LogShare thing looks cool! I'll have to look into it....
 
First post here....been a huge WC fan since '90. Looking to get KS to play on my days off.

Anyway, to answer the questions from above, WC did not influece me wanting to be a pilot, but wanting to be a pilot made me grab WC when I was 10 years old.

The thing about the Medical Exams....a 1st class medical is good for 6 months (for use as an airline pilot) a 2nd class is good for 12 months (for regular commercial pilots), and a 3rd class is good for 36 months or 24 if you are over 40 years old, for use with a private pilot certificate. If you get a 1st class medical to use with your private certificate, it becomes a 2nd class 6 months after you obtained it, then downgrades to a 3rd class 12 months after its initial issuance. I used to be a flight instructor for Ohio University for a few years, now I'm a cargo pilot for a freight company out of Columbus Ohio. I have just over 1200 hours of flight time.

Klein
 
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