USAF Pilot Physical Requirements?

[Jeremy]

Lately I've been thinking about joining the Air Force to help pay college expenses and such. I was looking at the Physical requirements on this site, and it said that a pilot needed to have 20/20 UNCORRECTED near sight vision. I'm near sighted, and wear contact lenses. Is there an exception for contacts? Does this mean anyone without perfect near sight vision can't become a pilot in the Air Force?

Also, it says no allergies after the age of 12... I have several food allergies and airborne allergies. Is this what they are talking about?

[bunk22]

For both AF and Navy, you don't need 20/20 uncorrected. For the AF it's 20/70 correctable to 20/20 and for the Navy, 20/40 correctable to 20/20. There is a certain dioptec measurement/maximum in that as well. I'm not a flight doc or eye doc so I don't know. Try searching at www.baseops.net for the AF and www.airwarriors.com for the Navy. However, search first before asking. The question has been asked over and over on those sites. Might find the answer with the allergy thing as well.

[Jeremy]

Ok, thanks.

[germb747]

Awhile back I posted a link to the regulation that spells out all the requirements. See if you can find it; if not I'll try to find it this weekend. Many things are waiverable.

[PGT]

There extra requirements for fighter guys, arm curls, leg press, etc. They take a percentage of your body weight and you have to do at least X amount.

[bunk22]

Originally Posted by PGT

There extra requirements for fighter guys, arm curls, leg press, etc. They take a percentage of your body weight and you have to do at least X amount.

What? Not in the Navy, very bad gouge. Never even heard of that in the Air Force. AF fighter types might be able to enlighten us but as far as the Navy goes, thats BS!!.

[Getzen2]

Originally Posted by bunk22

What? Not in the Navy, very bad gouge. Never even heard of that in the Air Force. AF fighter types might be able to enlighten us but as far as the Navy goes, thats BS!!.

Its called the FACT (Fighter Aircrew Conditioning Test). You can read more about it if you search google but it's only a requirement if you are gonna fly fighters. On Thursday 17 Nov 05 this UPT stud talks about it and has some pictures of the equipment used:

http://www.hamletthouse.com/html/supt__phase_1.html

[///AMG]

Originally Posted by Getzen2;1259013[URL

http://www.hamletthouse.com/html/supt__phase_1.html[/URL]

Sounds like I missed out on a lot of their "fun" going through Navy flight training

[germb747]

Originally Posted by Getzen2

Its called the FACT (Fighter Aircrew Conditioning Test). You can read more about it if you search google but it's only a requirement if you are gonna fly fighters. On Thursday 17 Nov 05 this UPT stud talks about it and has some pictures of the equipment used:

http://www.hamletthouse.com/html/supt__phase_1.html

When I went through in '04-'05, they made everyone take it at the beginning of UPT; not sure if they still do. It's NOT a difficult test; hell even I passed it.

[bunk22]

Originally Posted by Getzen2

Its called the FACT (Fighter Aircrew Conditioning Test). You can read more about it if you search google but it's only a requirement if you are gonna fly fighters. On Thursday 17 Nov 05 this UPT stud talks about it and has some pictures of the equipment used:

http://www.hamletthouse.com/html/supt__phase_1.html

So this AF thing is once in the program I take it, prior to UPT? Then this has nothing to do with his question. Navy doesn't have it as far as I know (I could be wrong...which is rare ). Problem with the net is you get responses from folks who find their info on the internet as opposed to have done it.

[PGT]

Originally Posted by bunk22

So this AF thing is once in the program I take it, prior to UPT? Then this has nothing to do with his question. Navy doesn't have it as far as I know (I could be wrong...which is rare ). Problem with the net is you get responses from folks who find their info on the internet as opposed to have done it.

AFAIK it's during UPT, too lazy to go back and check.

[bunk22]

Originally Posted by PGT

AFAIK it's during UPT, too lazy to go back and check.

I'm sorry but you've been to UPT? Otherwise, another internet wannabe giving information?

[MikeD]

Originally Posted by bunk22

So this AF thing is once in the program I take it, prior to UPT? Then this has nothing to do with his question. Navy doesn't have it as far as I know (I could be wrong...which is rare ). Problem with the net is you get responses from folks who find their info on the internet as opposed to have done it.

I took the FACT during UPT, where it was given post-T-37 phase. It was for the fighter-track selected guys going to T-38s and a pre-requisite to insuring that you went that track post-selection. Don't pass, and you get sent a different track before even starting the -38 track.

This was the late-90s, so it may have changed.

[germb747]

Originally Posted by MikeD

I took the FACT during UPT, where it was given post-T-37 phase. It was for the fighter-track selected guys going to T-38s and a pre-requisite to insuring that you went that track post-selection. Don't pass, and you get sent a different track before even starting the -38 track.

This was the late-90s, so it may have changed.

May be base specific--I dunno. At Laughlin, everyone in the class (AD, Guard, Reserve) took the test in Phase 1 (Academics).



BTW, here are the Air Force regs that apply to medical standards; Vol. 3 applies specifically to flyers.

http://www.e-publishing.af.mil/share...FI48-123v1.pdf

http://www.e-publishing.af.mil/share...FI48-123v2.pdf

http://www.e-publishing.af.mil/share...FI48-123v3.pdf

[PGT]

Originally Posted by bunk22

I'm sorry but you've been to UPT? Otherwise, another internet wannabe giving information?

Seem to know more about it than you obviously. Thank you.

[bunk22]

Originally Posted by MikeD

I took the FACT during UPT, where it was given post-T-37 phase. It was for the fighter-track selected guys going to T-38s and a pre-requisite to insuring that you went that track post-selection. Don't pass, and you get sent a different track before even starting the -38 track.

This was the late-90s, so it may have changed.

Clears it up as far as AF goes, probably still the same. I've flown the T-2C's and will fly the 45's next year. Don't know of any such program for the jet trainers in the Navy.

[bunk22]

Originally Posted by PGT

Seem to know more about it than you obviously. Thank you.

Not so fast wannabe. The original question had nothing to do with this subject. Now, with regards to the test brought up, you found the info on the net because you have never gone to UPT, correct? How do you know it was correct if you haven't been? You don't know jack except what the net says, easy enough for me as well. You haven't been there done that, freaking wannabe putting in two cents where he shouldn't. Luckily we have some real Air Force types who can adequately provide accurate info.

[///AMG]

Originally Posted by PGT

Seem to know more about it than you obviously. Thank you.

To soften Bunk22's blow, I think most of us have seen a lot of bad gouge passed around by applicants and other hopefuls, often to the detriment of others. I'm a Navy dude and thus have little knowledge about how the AF does business, but I too was holding out for someone currently in UPT to comment. There are a whole lot of myths floating around among the general public about what it takes to fly military jets, and to be honest, from my perspective knowing what I know about my pipeline (Navy jets), your comment seemed a little suspect. Nothing to take personally

[Kato]

Originally Posted by germb747

May be base specific--I dunno. At Laughlin, everyone in the class (AD, Guard, Reserve) took the test in Phase 1 (Academics).

Same at Vance last year, entire class took the test in Academics Phase.

[bunk22]

Originally Posted by ///AMG

To soften Bunk22's blow, I think most of us have seen a lot of bad gouge passed around by applicants and other hopefuls, often to the detriment of others. I'm a Navy dude and thus have little knowledge about how the AF does business, but I too was holding out for someone currently in UPT to comment. There are a whole lot of myths floating around among the general public about what it takes to fly military jets, and to be honest, from my perspective knowing what I know about my pipeline (Navy jets), your comment seemed a little suspect. Nothing to take personally

I already know what job to recommend you for in your first fleet squadron, Public Affairs That's right, bad gouge on the net so the only real information is from those who have been there. I've heard civilians in the last year quote things like to be a figher pilot, have to go to the AF academy; or you have to have 20/20 uncorrected to fly jets; only engineers are pilots or you at least have to be great in math; only the number pilot in his class goes jets; etc, etc.

[ian]

In UPT now...

we took the FACT on Day 3 of Phase 1....the guys that went T-38s took it again at the start of Phase 3...those of us that went T-1s didnt have to take it again.

[germb747]

Just took my annual flight physical yesterday. Man, at 29 that eye chart wasn't quite as easy to read as it was last year

[bunk22]

Originally Posted by germb747

Just took my annual flight physical yesterday. Man, at 29 that eye chart wasn't quite as easy to read as it was last year

Hell, try the hearing test as I came up on 39 with 14 years flying turbo-props! There are apparently beeps in the high freq range I just kept pressing the button then got spoken to for doing it.

Though this FACT thing has nothing to do with the original question, it sounds like a test that all UPT guys have to do. Nothing like it for primary flight training and nothing like it when I flew T-2C's. We pulled up to 6.5g's on many occasion and never did anything like it. I'm going to be an IP in Kingsville next year and I'll see if there is something like it in T-45's. I'm kind of a bid dude anyway so I've never had problems with the g thing but I'm getting old now so it may not be so true anymore

[///AMG]

Not only that but it was only recently when they started making T-45 studs do the 'fuge before winging. This syllabus will take you right up to 7.3 G's (structural limit) in ACM, which previously was without any prior training or g conditioning. Maybe AF g's feel different

[germb747]

Originally Posted by ///AMG

Not only that but it was only recently when they started making T-45 studs do the 'fuge before winging. This syllabus will take you right up to 7.3 G's (structural limit) in ACM, which previously was without any prior training or g conditioning. Maybe AF g's feel different

I can't speak for the -38, but there was no maneuver we did in T-6 (Phase 2) that required more than about 4Gs. I doubt I ever pulled more than 5 or 5.5 (just for the hell of it). Plus we were wearing a G suit. Wasn't GLOC one of the reasons they phased out the -37?