My future plans-- want suggestions please (time appreciated)!? -

Okay, so I m fourteen and I have decided that i wanted to be a pilot ever since the beginning of 8th grade (im in 9th now) I want to be a pilot for Boeing 747 / Commercial -- So I was thinking I would go to either the airforce for four years or pay for 60 hours of flight to get my license and then work my way up to the commercial license teaching so I can fly and earn money at the same time? can i do that? And if i join the airforce, (willingly -- volunteer) does that mean I can choose weither or not I will have to go off to war? or is it if they need you, they will use you? If you were / are a parent what do you think about my plan: stupid or life treatening or thinks that this kid knows what he wants to be and it s safer than driving a car? thanks for your opinions guys!|::::|The Air Force will train you to be a pilot if you qualify. You will need to check with an Air Force recruiter to see if you do qualify. Pilots do go off to war. That is the reason they train pilots. If they tell you to go then you must go. You can also learn to fly at your local airport. Most airports have a flight school and you can take a discovery flight for about $100 and decide if this is right for you. Flying a plane is much safer than driving a car. Good luck.|::::|Don t be an idiot. Flying is relatively safe, even as an AF pilot or an Army aviator (yes, Army is an option). When I was your age I wanted to do the same thing and even owned my own flying school. First things first...get good grades, even if it kills you! By good I mean straight As! Participate in a sport and do well in the sport. Participate in student government or a civic club. Protect your eyes as much as possible (you need 20/20 and even playing games 1 hour a day can affect your eyesight). Get on your Senator s and Representative s radar while you are young and promising! Attend an Academy Day if they offer one and know what you are up against as far as their nominations go and how many of their nominations have been appointed and what profile they fit into. If you have a way to get on VP Joe Biden s radar then do so and hope that he and President-elect Obama are re-elected! Once you have the straight As, understand the math and science like a nerd, play sports like a jock, politic like an honest politician or do good things for your fellow citizens you will have a shot at an Academy nomination. After the nomination comes the competition against thousands of other wannabe flyboys or flygirls. After you get your acceptance letter from one of the Academies you have 4 years at the Academy (Naval, Army, AF, and Coast Guard Academy all have flight slots; the Merchant Marine Academy does not) to prove yourself. After that you have to compete to fly and get a flight slot; chances are you might have participated in flying activities while at the Academy. The USCGA does not use elected officials for it s nomination process and doesn t have as many flight slots as the other academies. As for the war - War ain t fun and we have a track record of fighting somewhere every decade in the past 3 generations. Lately it s been the mideast. Before that was towards South America. Before that was Asia. Before that was the world. Before that was also the world. If you serve in the military in any flight capacity you can pretty much guarantee that you will go to war. Now, in 7 years when you are flying as an academy grad, you might be flying in a war zone for 8-12 hours a day and then driving the 20 mintues home and spending time with the kids in Nevada or Georgia or Colorado or North Carolina or wherever. Why? Your flight time will be flying 2 UAVs or pointing and clicking. Not fun. That s why I recommend the Naval Academy or USCGA or West Point. You get real flight time and you will possibly be in a combat zone. Most of the Academies require 4 years in the Academy plus 6-8 years for the flight programs and training. If not then it s usually 4-6 years as an Officer in the branch. You are taking the risk of not being able to fly. Once that s said and done you have to figure out how you are going to jump into the right seat of the 747. It s not going to happen immediately unless you were flying heavy iron for the Air Force. Flying a C-17 ain t glamorous but I will bet a dollar to a doughnut that a MAJ or LTC with 2000 C-17 hours (even if 1900 of that was on autopilot) will beat out a MAJ or LTC F-15 driver with 3000 hours any day of the week. Why? First of all no one wants a pilot jockeying around their 747 full of angry passengers or quiet cargo even though the seven four is capable of it. Second is that an F-15 driver is likely not used to sharing his/her flight deck with 1-3 other people. The reality is that the C-17 driver and the F-15 driver will both get the job with the airline and may even train together. ...but if it were one or the other the airline will scoop them up. In this economy, however, these pilots are likely going to find themselves in the right seat of a CRJ or ERJ building time on the plane and waiting for an interview with the airlines. ...or they are going to have a friend that is in the Guard with them (most pilots don t completely retire from flying but go to a Guard or Reserve unit...who would want to quit flying) and that person will know of a job flying cargo in the 74 or know of an opening at FedEx or UPS flying. Your focus for the next 3 1/2 years.... * Get good grades and take classes with concentrations in the sciences and math. * Contact your Senator s offices and get on their radar. They can tell you how their past nominations succeeded (or failed) and what the average was (3.8 GPA, sport and leadership (baseball co-captain, wrestling state champion, JV football captain), Key Club chapter VP, student VP, etc.) for the people that earned their nomination and the people that made it into the Academy. If you get one of the invitations to go to D.C. (usually Boy s State or something similar) take it; most of the time the offer will come from the Senator s office. * Consider playing a sport that you are GREAT at for your next few years. If not, concentrate on one of the other areas but learn to love running, sit-ups, push-ups, pull-ups, and build endurance. * Consider student government somewhere, even as a representative for the Sophmores. * Consider writing for your school newspaper. Sometimes this is fun and sometimes the people running the school newspaper are not much fun. Our teacher was fun but the students were extremely manipulative. * Consider a program, such as the Key Club, Boy Scouts (get the Eagle Scout if you do this; don t do it 1/2 way), or even the Civil Air Patrol, to show civic leadership. * Consider visiting an academy in your Sophmore or Junior year. West Point is a few hours from NYC and is beautiful. Watching the AF cadets skydive, soar, and fly in the clear air in Colorado is great. Many Academies have Academy Days for prospective candets and their parents. * Pay for the Kaplan course for your SAT. Study your a-double-S off for that test and get a high score! Take the pre-SAT or pre-ACT (think it s called PLAN now) in your Sophmore year. * Consider the High School to Flight School Warrant Officer Candidate program in the Army. There is a downside; if you flunk out of W.O.C. you may have to go onto the enlisted side until you finish 2 years of a 4 year degree. You will have a bunch of helo time and turbine time and FLYING HELOS BEATS THE SNOT OUT OF CLIMBING TO 500 FEET AND MASHING THE AUTOPILOT BUTTON!!!! ...maybe flying the Chinook is boring for some... * STAY in the top 10% of your graduating class; top 5% is better. * Run to live and live to run! There is a lot of aerobic exercise. Strength isn t as much as a factor as overall fitness. Benching 305 is great but it s not fun doing 20 pull-ups with a 205 lb body in a 6 2quot; frame when a 190 lb body and a 225lb bench will do! * Consider alternatives, such as the Army and AF ROTC programs, particularly the ROTC program at University of North Dakota. They have an EXCELLENT aviation school and an excellent ROTC program. There are also some grass roots routes available and it s tough building the hours. It s almost better to go to somewhere that s integrated with a regional carrier and a college, such as MESA Airlines and MESA s flight school or go to an aviation college, such as UND or Ohio State University or Ohio University. ...and it is safer than driving a car. I have had 3 car wrecks and never had a plane or helo or hot air balloon crash. I have (and my parents have), however, had some expensive fuel bills. GOOD LUCK!!|::::|Going the air force route will be the best resume kicker for a pilot. You can try working your way up and if you re dedicated you can do it, but commercial airlines like that air force/navy pilot experience on a resume. Its good eye candy and shows you can work under stress and pressure. Try to apply to the US air force academy, because only officers actually fly. To do that, you will have to be recommended by your senator. Talk to your school guidance counselor. They can help you as far as grades and preparing while in high school. Good luck!