daniel-foley
Forum Replies Created
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Your recommendation is exactly my plan. I am a 27 year old civilian with just 9 flight hours. I am aiming for path 1, and will expand my scope to path 2 if I’m not having success after a few years. Good to know that my logic is backed up by someone with experience.
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Hello everyone!
My name is Dan, and I’ve wanted to be a pilot for a long time, but I got distracted and gave up on my dream in college. Two years ago, my wife was getting ready to go to Air Force OTS as a dentist, so I started researching OTS out of curiosity. It hit me that commissioning into the Air Force and flying is actually an option for me still; it’s not too late!
I am currently 27 years old, have a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering with a pretty good GPA, and am finishing up my MS in Aerospace Engineering with a GPA still above 3.0. I don’t have much flight experience, just 9 hours. The real kicker is that I am living in Misawa, Japan with my wife, as she is active duty here. It’s tough to find any aviation-related engineering jobs here, and even tougher to find a way to fly, but I’m not going to let that stop me.
At the moment, I’m working on getting a job working on the F-35 simulator here. I am finishing my master’s, and going straight into studying for the PPL written test (after a quick trip to Hawaii to celebrate and see some family). Yokota Air Base in Tokyo has an Aero Club where I can take FAA knowledge tests and get connected with an FAA AME here in Japan. My current plan is to take two weeks in the States to stay with my parents and hit the flying hard while I’m there, like double turns for five days a week if possible. I likely won’t be able to finish my PPL this way, but I can get close and just cap it off at Yokota. After the PPL written is done I will move into studying for the AFOQT and TBAS. I can take the AFOQT here and the TBAS at Yokota. Finally, I am about to get involved with the Misawa Civil Air Patrol squadron to spend some time teaching kids about aerospace and engineering. Even if I don’t get picked up, it’s a great use of my time to try to help some kids.
My ultimate goal would be to fly with the FLANG 159th Fighter Squadron in Jacksonville. I’ve been surrounded by F-35s at Eglin and Misawa (the JASDF flies them here) and it’s an absolutely incredible jet. @SLAP your episode of The Afterburn Podcast was very informative, especially the part about the alert mission. I’ve still got a few attempts to apply to fighter squadrons in the Guard and Reserve before I get too old, and if I’m not successful at those then I’ll open my scope up to heavy units and active duty. Strive for perfection, and achieve excellence!
Excited to be here! Looking forward to the hard work it’s gonna take to go down this path. Time to get after it!
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This reply was modified 7 months, 2 weeks ago by daniel-foley.
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This reply was modified 7 months, 2 weeks ago by
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Amazing powder days! They call it “JaPOW” over here. I’ve been a few times in North Carolina and early season Colorado and the powder here is superior so far. We didn’t even have a ton of snow this winter so I’m hoping next year we get even more.
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Hey CJ! Misawa is amazing so far. It is a small town, but I’m a small town kind of guy. It can feel a bit isolated at times, but there’s tons of outdoor stuff to do (hiking, skiing, mountain climbing, kayaking, surfing etc.). Most of all, I feel extremely lucky to take trips that are sometimes one-in-a-lifetime for lots of people but are just weekend trips for us.
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Hello Thomas –
Congratulations on getting picked up! I would love to hear more about your experience so far, especially about how you got in contact with the 163FS and your experiences visiting/rushing. Also, do you feel that the aerobatic time helped you, both personally and for your application? It’s one of the things I am looking at doing myself.
Thanks and congratulations again!