Let’s talk money.
Guard and Reserve hiring is expensive, even when the application is free. An interview weekend can easily turn into $1,000 by the time you add flights, hotel, rental car, food, suit, and time off work.
That means one of the smartest things you can build is a small war chest. But there is some tension here with flying.
All flying is good. But if money is tight, I would rather see you throttle flying back a little, or throttle up earning, and build interview money.
How much?
Probably 2-3 interviews worth.
Because inevitably your top three units will all call at the same time, and you don’t want the cost of a ticket to be the reason you missed an opportunity.
Every year the Air Force awards one Fighter Squadron with the Raytheon Trophy (formerly known as the Hughes Trophy) which is presented to the most outstanding air-superiority or air-defense fighter squadron in the United States Air Force. In 2026, the award was presented to the 34th Fighter Squadron “Rude Rams” of Hill, AFB (F-35s).
Most years, the winners will make an award video, and occasionally you can catch these videos out on the YouTube machine if you know what to look for.
Check out this video from the 2024 winners, the 421st Fighter Squadron.
SAWADEE!!
Many of the Guard and Reserve pilots that I know, including the majority of your coaches right here at BogiDope, fly for both the military and commercial carriers. We often emphasize the first part here at BogiDope, which makes sense; You have to put the cart before the horse (Or was it that other way around? I always mess this quote up..)
Getting the guard or reserve job is the first major stepping stone to a life as a part-time fighter pilot and full-time (Insert Major Carrier) pilot. Why? Simple, the military will pay for all of your flight training, while also paying you to train. In addition, you will build a tremendous amount of experience and develop skills that are required in your later, and much slower, life in the right seat of the Airbus.
Once, you have achieved both careers, the pay and benefits can be substantial.
Check out this article from Simple Flying on Dual Salaries!
https://simpleflying.com/dual-salaries-reserve-air-national-guard-pilots-2026/
I know most of you aren't in this for the money, but this is a nice cherry on top of that UPT slot. Check out the latest on pay/benefit changes in the Defense budget.
Hey everybody, I was wondering if anyone knew about the timeframe between medical package submission to Wright Patt and getting dates for the IFC1 to do the medical.
Good morning BogiDope. New AFOQT Webinar posted:
So you’ve got your PPL. Now what?
All flying is good. All flying is also expensive.
So the question is: how do you get the highest ROI?
Three buckets:
- Keep flying some.
- Build the most useful experience.
- Point it at a credential if possible.
First: do some flying.
Even 1.0 a month is enough to show you’re still in the game. Frankly, there is a little defense here. “Hey, it looks like you haven’t touched an airplane since your PPL” is a tough critique to answer.
Second: make the flying useful.
There’s a big fork here between fighters and heavies.
Fighter units tend to be less enthralled with total hours. They care more about the overall package. But acro time looks good, and more importantly, it helps. Being comfortable upside down, task-saturated, and behind the airplane is useful.
Lift units tend to care more about hours, especially instrument time. That makes sense. Their world is procedures, weather, radios, checklists, long legs, and crew concept. Instrument flying is not just resume filler there. It is relevant experience.
Third: have a plan for where the flying is pointing.
All flying points toward a commercial eventually, so that’s helpful. If you’re fighter-focused, tailwheel, high-performance, complex, and aerobatic experience can all add signal. If you’re lift-focused, the instrument rating is probably the big-ticket item.
You do not necessarily need to get all the way to the credential. Time and money are real limits.
The best bang for your buck is simple:
Fly some.
Make it useful.
Know where it’s pointing.
Does anyone who has had experience getting an ETP after DQ for their FC1 wanna share their experience?
So you’ve got great scores, killer letters of rec, and a resume that makes folks doubt their own worth.
What do you do while you wait for the call?
Four Fs plus Rush.
Flying.
Finances.
Family.
Fitness.
And maybe Rush.
This month, I’ll break all of that down in a series of posts. Cue up Tom Petty.
USMC has always presented a need for aircraft capable of being at the front lines with the tops. The first major usage was the Harrier. If you’re unfamiliar with the history I definitely recommend watching this in depth documentary. As we look back at this unique aircraft and the F-35B in its place the last squadron has had its sunset ceremony ending the era of the jump jet in US operations.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Qjm8-lFOHlo&pp=ygUbdGhlIGhhcnJpZXIgamV0IGRvY3VtZW50YXJ5&ra=m
https://www.twz.com/air/marines-av-8-harrier-jump-jet-takes-its-final-bow
