AFOQT Tutoring Office Hours
Wednesday, May 13 · 19:00 – 20:00
Time zone: America/Denver
Google Meet joining info
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/ddq-xppq-vxf

I hope everyone is doing well today. Reminder that you have ONE DAY left to sign-up for Bootcamp 26-1! I'll be leading the first Live Lab tomorrow evening which will be our Kickoff Meeting & Success Strategies. I look forward to seeing you all there!

Good morning BogiDope. I hopped over to the Job Board just now and I see several UPT applications populated. If you haven't visited the Job Board lately, now is a great time: https://app.milrecruiter.com/job_postings

As a part of the DoW 2027 $1.5T (Yes, Trillion) budget request, the Air Force is looking to increase its flying hour program to its highest levels in 4 years.

Why is this significant? Well, this is a monumental shift from previous guidance on how much Air Force pilots should be flying each year in order to maintain proficiency. The Air Force flying hour program has been steadily declining for years, decreasing the amount of overall time in the jet and finding unique, and sometimes useless, ways to try and replace flight time with simulators or virtual reality.

The average inexperienced fighter pilot is only flying around 150 hours a year with the average experienced fighter pilot even less! (Think about those numbers if you are a BogiDoper looking to become both a fighter pilot and an airline pilot later in life!). It is extremely difficult to maintain proficiency in a fighter, or any aircraft for the matter, flying only 12 hours a month.

The Air Force has tried to augment this lack of overall flight time with simulators successfully but at what cost? Has overall pilot proficiency been at a steady decline along with the flying hour program?

I can tell you as an F-35 guy, the simulators are great (Insert Shameless Lockheed Plug). But even the best simulators in the Air Force cannot replace, or replicate perfectly, the air under your seat. Pilots need to fly to be proficient. It is one of the key advantages we have over our adversary’s. Practice makes perfect.

Perhaps the Air Force is finally realizing the same.

Happy Mother’s Day!

https://www.airandspaceforces.com/air-force-request-flying-hours-2027/

Sat, May 9, 8:00 – 9:00 PM
ET Join the meeting: https://meet.google.com/mca-aqsa-yyr

Dial in (audio only): ‪(US) +1 650-535-0454‬ PIN: ‪958 316 843#‬
Other numbers: https://tel.meet/mca-aqsa-yyr?pin=6726218576718

A bottle of booze is a traditional gift in the military aviation community. We've partnered with Winglore Spirits to make a custom (free) gift for any BogiDope member (over the age of 21) who gets selected for UPT.

We've been working on this project for months in the background, and the labels were finally sent to the printer this week. Hoping to have the first bottles ready to ship out in the next month or so.

Let us know what you think. 🍻

May 14 - June 22

Hello all!

I have been an on-and-off member of BD for over two years now, and I’m looking for some advice regarding career navigation. For context, I received an appointment to the United States Naval Academy in 2024 (Class of 2028). During Plebe Summer, I injured my back, which resulted in a medical deferral and pushed my graduation timeline back to 2029.

During my year away, I began taking classes at The Ohio State University (Go Bucks!) and started reconsidering my long-term goals surrounding military aviation. I became uncertain about whether I would ultimately qualify for an unrestricted line of service, and with that uncertainty, I made the decision to remain at Ohio State, where I currently hold junior standing and am studying economics.

Ever since the medical deferral, I’ve found myself continually returning to the Academy as what feels like my “only” route to military service, even though I know logically that isn’t true. While I’m not opposed to reapplying to the Academy, I’m also interested in exploring alternative paths that could allow me to pursue military service while continuing to develop my civilian aviation career.

At the moment, I am a freelance CFI with over 300 hours total time, and I am continuing to build time while completing college. I would greatly appreciate any insight from those who may have navigated similar decisions or alternative commissioning paths.

Thanks in advance!

Congrats to Caroline, who after a few UPT interviews, got the call we all hope for! The DC Vipers got a good one- welcome to the greatest club in the World!

Trust the process and keep pressing. Congrats again, Caroline- you're going to crush it!