Accelerated Path to Wings – Your UPT Dream Come True

In case you haven’t noticed, the Air Force is in the midst of a significant pilot shortage. In fact, the shortage isn’t limited to just the Air Force, and Stephen Losey from the Military Times has called the shortage on the fighter pilot side of things “stunning.”

There are many factors causing this shortage, but one of the keys to fixing it is improving our ability to get and train new military aviators. We pilots have been suggesting solutions for a long time, frustrated that our ideas seemed to fall on deaf ears. Thankfully, it appears that someone may have been listening after all.

The Air Force Chief of Staff (CSAF) has approved Air Education and Training Command (AETC) to develop a program called the Accelerated Path to Wings (APW). This program is one of the best ideas the Air Force has come up with in a long time, and it absolutely has the potential to help address the ongoing pilot shortage.

This program is so new that they’re still working on the specifics. However, we just spoke with Gordon “Patch” Olde, the UFT Program Manager at AFRC, and we’re excited to be able to explain the basics of this program. We hope that some of our readers will be part of the initial group to take the Accelerated Path to Wings!

Table of Contents

1. APW Basics
2. APW in Context
3. How to Apply
4. Being Competitive
5. APW Looking Forward
6. Emet’s Thoughts

APW Basics

As far as we crew dawgs are concerned, the concept is simple and straightforward. Currently, the plan is to allow a pilot who:

• Graduated from college with an AABI-accredited degree in Aviation Science, and
• Holds a Commercial Pilot Certificate with Airplane Multiengine Land and Instrument Ratings

...can skip Phase I and Phase II of UPT (ie. skip the T-6 altogether) and go directly to Phase III flying the T-1.

This pilot will graduate UPT with the same set of silver wings that everyone else gets. There is no special asterisk in his or her record saying “This was an APW” pilot. He or she will look exactly the same as every other pilot from then on.

The Air Force is also acknowledging the fact that when an applicant skips the first part of UPT it saves them a lot of money. As such, the Active Duty Service Commitment (ADSC) associated with the APW program will only be 8 years, instead of the 10 you incur by attending full UPT. This is fantastic news.

Right now this program is limited to only Reserve pilots who will go on to fly mobility aircraft (ie not for fighter slots), which is part of why the program makes so much sense in the first place.

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APW In Context

One of the big reasons this program is possible right now is that AABI accreditation requires schools to cover a lot of the same pilot knowledge that the USAF teaches in Phase I of UPT. (Here’s a list of schools holding that accreditation.) For example, the APW folks really like UND’s program because the school has really worked hard to build a world-class curriculum - it even has its own altitude chamber. It turns out that UND has been working with Army helicopter pilots for a long time, so this isn’t the first time the DoD has started a program similar to this. Part of the reason the Air Force has been willing to accept the APW idea is the fact that the Army has had so much success with their own partnership.

The APW office has a lot of ideas to expand and increase the power of this program. They’re taking a “crawl, walk, run” approach to make sure they get everything right. AFRC is accepting applications for the first APW selection board which will likely be held by the end of this year (date TBD).

Don’t let this deter you from applying though! You can be comforted knowing that APW isn’t some pipe dream. The application process is already spelled out in Section 5 of AFRC’s Undergraduate Flying Training Guidebook. (PDF Download) Attachment 9 to that document is a checklist for applying to the APW program. It spells out exactly what you need to do, which leads us to our next topic.

(If you can’t find Attachment 9, be sure you open the PDF file in Adobe. Then, use the paperclip icon on the left side of the application to view the items attached to the main document. Attachment 9 is an excel file.)

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How to Apply

The application process is very much what you’d expect. You’ll need to:

• Verify that you’re eligible for OTS and UPT
• Take the AFOQT, TBAS, and get a PCSM Score
• Fill out enough paperwork to impress a Vogon
• Provide a resume, a copy of your pilot certificate, and the last page of your logbook
• Provide a passing score on the Air Force physical fitness test
• Obtain Air Force medical clearance

You’ll submit your application for a specific APW Board each time one is held. The first board will only have about 10 slots available. The plan is to eventually hold at least two boards each year; one in March and the other in October. Overall, the Air Force Reserve is expected to provide 95 pilots per year to UPT. Thus far, nobody has specified a limit on how many of those pilots could come from the APW program.

The APW process itself does not involve an interview right now. Officially, the program allows for a pilot to apply without talking to any individual Reserve units - what they call “unsponsored.” This would mean that you could earn a UPT slot through the program, and then shop around to find a squadron to hire you permanently.  It’s safe to assume that having an APW slot in hand as you shop around from unit to unit would give you a BIG leg up on the competition.

However, for the past year or so there has been no shortage of Reserve UPT applicants who have already been hired by a unit (“sponsored”). Each unit has its own application and interview process, and AFRC prefers applicants who have made it through those events. (BogiDope has no shortage of resources for helping you successfully rush and interview at a Reserve unit.)

Knowing this, getting sponsored (hired) by a Reserve unit before you apply for the APW program is one of the best things you can do right now to make your APW application competitive. However, there are a lot of other steps you can take to improve your chances.

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Being Competitive

Since the APW Board won’t get to meet you, all they have to go on is your record. You want every part of that record to shine as brightly as possible.

• Your AFOQT scores need to be fantastic, especially in the pilot-related areas.
• A passing fitness test score is okay, but getting a 90% or better will set you apart.
• By definition, all applicants will essentially have the same college degree from one of a few schools. That makes your GPA an easy tool for comparing you directly to your peers. The higher the better!
• Although it’s possible to earn Commercial AMEL and Instrument Ratings with exactly 250 total flight hours, having more hours and ratings will strengthen your application. The Air Force isn’t especially fluent in General Aviation, but they will recognize the value of any Flight Instructor ratings, ratings in other categories and classes, type ratings, or more hours on your application. If you have affordable access to extra hours and ratings, they won’t hurt on your application.
• Having a flawless resume should be an assumption, but I predict that the Board will receive some with spelling and grammatical errors. Don’t be the applicant who gets denied because you were sloppy or lazy! Use a professional resume review service if necessary.
• Although it’s been said, we can’t overstate the value of getting a unit to sponsor (hire) you!

Sponsorship really works in your favor here. Since you get hired by the Reserve unit before you apply to APW, you already know that they plan to send you through regular UPT. If you get accepted to APW, all it does is save your unit money and get you back to them a few months sooner (and saves you two years on your service commitment!). If you don’t get through APW, they still have you in one of their regular UPT slots. Sure, you’ll have to spend an extra few months flying upside down and pulling Gs in the T-6...boo hoo. Not getting picked for APW won’t have any negative effects on you.

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APW Looking Forward

As I said, this is just the “crawl” phase of this program. I think there’s a good chance of seeing some fantastic growth in APW as time goes on and it proves itself.

The APW office is open to the potential of having Army helicopter pilots in some version of this program. They know those pilots have a solid military pilot education. Right now, the thought is that they’ll need some fixed-wing time to be able to skip the T-6, which makes sense to me. I could potentially see that being as low as the 250 fixed-wing hours required of current APW applicants. Don’t pass up opportunities to fly a C-12 or UC-35!