Um.
Let’S get you inside one of those pyramid, dude.
Engage 235. I’m offensive due to. I’m pushing the bandit due to. Missile in the air. Break right. Flare. Missile in the air.
What up, jet team? It’s Ryan. Welcome to the channel. If you haven’t been here before, I’m a former f 15 e combat fighter pilot, f 16 Thunderbird pilot, and current commercial pilot. And I use that experience to break down epic aviation videos and stories that you can send my way on Instagram. And someone asked me specifically what it takes to become a fighter pilot. So that’s what this video is going to be, my friend. There’s another video I did on how to be a pilot in general for the air force. So you can check that one out after this video. If you would like, stay to the end of this video because I’m going to give three bonus tips. And I guarantee these are things the air force won’t tell you and you won’t find on any websites as far as how to become a fighter pilot. These are the tips that I used to get to become a fighter pilot and a Thunderbird pilot. And I think they would help you out a ton. So stay to the end for that. But before we get going, if you would please dominate that, like, button for me and maybe even subscribe.
Every time you like and subscribe, a pilot somewhere gets their wings. And who knows? One day that fighter pilot could be you. Let’s dive in. So we got to start from square one. What degree do you need to become a fighter pilot? Well, people will say, oh, you got to get math, you got to get science, you got to be an engineer. I wouldn’t be here standing in front of you as a former Thunderbird pilot if that was the case. I majored in tv production, so I know you’re probably wondering, wonder why these videos aren’t a little bit better. Hey, everybody’s a critic, but ultimately, I recommend getting a degree that you’ll be good at. Now, if you want to be a test pilot, then there are certain requirements where you need to be an engineer. So if that’s something that you’re just super passionate about already, totally get it. So, yeah, become an engineer. Otherwise, get a degree that you’ll do well in. Because the better you do, the better your GPA is, the better your score and ranking will be and potentially will get you to the best pilot training base. And then remember that the air force is going to train you to be a fighter pilot.
So you don’t need to stress out going through the process of trying to get these skills on your own. There’s a story I’ll tell you about a 737 pilot that became a military pilot and was in my pilot training class. I remember we were all in the gym one day. We were, like, playing basketball or something. He walked up and he just kind of started bragging. He’s like, yeah, I got about 2000 hours in a 737. And at the time I was like, oh, man, this guy’s going to crush everybody. Like, and I started to worry a little bit. And then I was like, no, you know what? I’m just going to do my best. Stay on my path and let the cards fall where they’ll fall. And what ended up happening is this guy was overconfident. He thought his 737 time would help him at Euronato jet pilot training, where you have to learn completely different ways to fly a jet. So his experience almost hurt him in a way where he became overconfident. So don’t stress about having to get that experience before pilot training. So there’s a couple routes to become a fighter pilot.
One is active duty. The other is Air national guard. When it comes to active duty, your goal should be to try to get shepherd if you want to be a fighter pilot, the way to get Shepherd Air Force base as your training base is to be a good dude, good dudette, do well in school and be a solid member of the team who rises through the ranks of leadership in your commissioning source, ROTC, air force academy, or ots. And Shepard is specifically made to train fighter pilots. But if you don’t get shepherd, don’t sweat it. There’s so few slots that it’s just not worth worrying about because there are definitely ways to become a fighter pilot at all the different Pilot training bases. The next route is the Air national Guard. Now, the way that you would do this is you would apply to a [email protected] and then you would do what’s called rush that unit. That essentially means show up and show them that you’re a good dude or a good dudette. And there was a guy in my pilot training class who was going to fly a ten s, and he knew it.
So he would just show up with a big smile on his face every day. And I was like, man, I want to hate you, but I can’t. I’m just so happy for you that you’re going to fly those a ten s. And, hey, can I get a job with your unit one day? But when you rush an international guard unit. They’re extremely picky because they’re going to be with you for the next 20 plus years. You’re going to be the person that their family is going to be around. You’re going to be going to barbecues with them.
Never turn your back on family.
And this is something that I saw when I was on the Thunderbirds. It wasn’t so much about the flying. Like, to get to the interview process of the Thunderbirds, you had to have a good flying record. But then ultimately they just wanted to see if you were a good dude or good dudette. And I remember at the interview process, I saw a lot of people that were the loudest person in the room trying to get all the attention and.
Hi, how are you? Good, and yourself? Are fine, thank you very much. I’ve got no dream, man. I’m all dead inside.
I was like, well, maybe I’m not going to fit in here because that’s just not my personality. I want to stand back. I want to see where I would fit in. I want to see where I could help, where I could maybe be a good member of this team instead of being the loudest person. And it ended up working out. But when it comes to the Air National Guard rushing process, that’s something that you might want to consider. They’re not necessarily looking for the person who’s going to be the next Maverick. I mean, maybe. I mean, it’s Maverick. I’m sure they would make exceptions for that, but they want the person who’s a good dude or good dudette. So with that route, you could become an f 35 pilot in Vermont, you could become an a ten pilot in Idaho, and you would go to pilot training knowing which jet you’re going to fly. So that’s pretty sweet. Now, let’s talk about pilot training. So throughout pilot training, you’re going to need to put in the hard work, obviously. But here’s the key to success. Don’t compare yourself to other people. Look at other people, learn from them, appreciate their successes, but then build small goals for yourself to where you do better on every flight and create small tactics and techniques that help you study more effectively.
For me, what I would do is I would put on one of my favorite tv shows, like Breaking Bad, and I would have note cards and a poster, and I’d be studying the layout of the Runway, how I’m going to fly the jet, and I’d also be watching breaking bad or whatever, because it just kept me engaged and it kept me focused. That was how I did it. To each their own. Take that with a grain of salt if that doesn’t work for you. But for me, Walter White, man, I owe my pilot training success to him.
Hey, come on baby, come on. Yes. Come on.
And then pilot training is going to culminate with assignment night. So let’s say you walk out of there with a shiny a ten, f 16, f 15, e, f 22, or f 35. It’s time to party. So now that we got that out of our system, now it’s time to prep and lock on for your next step as a fighter pilot, which is iff introduction to fighter fundamentals. There’s all kinds of interesting things they’re doing in pilot training, like intertwining virtual reality and simulators to take the place of flights. But when it comes to being a fighter pilot, nothing can substitute the feel. So you’re going to do 15 to 20 ish flights in introduction to fighter fundamentals in a t 38, or coming soon, the t seven, which is that t 38 replacement. But this is all about honing in, threading that needle and hitting the sweet spot of what it means to be a fighter pilot. And that is attention to detail and not accepting losing. Doing everything in your power to stay on airspeed, to stay on altitude, to fly low, to fly fast and achieve the mission. You’re going to watch briefs and debriefs from real fighter pilots.
You’re going to kind of get a feel for what the culture of the fighter squadrons are and then you’re going to go out and execute. You’re going to start max performing those jets. Whereas in pilot training you were more focused on the comings and goings. Now the comings and goings become a secondary part of flying. And your ultimate objective is to achieve your mission. It’s some of the most fun flying Everton. But just picture yourself walking out to the flight line, strapping into your t 38 and then checking in on time. So your flight lead is going to be like talent check. You’re going to go two right away. There’s not going to be any delay there because now you are working on becoming that sharp fighter pilot and then your canopies are going to come down at the same time. This is where the rubber really meets the road of showing that you have the right stuff to be a fighter pilot. And then once you graduate iff, it won’t be long before you find yourself in an $80 million fighter jet, going 600 miles an hour with your hair on fire, learning how to max perform that jet.
Congratulations. You’re one step further to graduating that basic course and becoming a bona fide fighter pilot. So you made it to the end of the video. Now, here’s the three bonus tips that I promised you. I’m a man of my word. I promise you won’t find these on any Air Force website. No one’s going to tell you these things except moi. So the first thing that I want you to do when you’re on this path and track of becoming a fighter pilot is be able to crush it in a gym. And the reason why is because the brain body connection, the hand eye coordination, the benefits you get from being able to dominate in the gym definitely translate to a fighter jet. Now, you don’t have to look like our boy Arnold’s if you do. More credit to you, but you should be able to do ten pull ups without stopping. For example, I’m going to do a full video on workouts to be a fighter pilot, so let me know if you want to see that video in the comments below. But ultimately, this is something that’s just going to benefit your life. And in my opinion, again, just my opinion is going to make you a more solid fighter pilot.
The second one is be social. So be the person that people want to be around. Because if you’re rubbing shoulders with everybody, you’re talking to the people in your flight and your different commissioning sources, you’re going to learn different ways to succeed that other people are doing that you might not know if they didn’t want to be around you. So if you’re social, first of all, it’s going to relieve stress, it’s going to be fun and you’re going to be able to share, you’re going to be able to gain and give certain ways to study to make yourself and others more successful. And the third and final tip I’ll give you will probably surprise you. When I was in college, I cashed in a fair bit of my savings. I bought a huge computer monitor. I bought a thrustmaster stick and throttle for the f 16. And then I bought Falcon 4.0, which is like the precursor to DCS digital combat simulator. I wanted to learn how to use the hotas, the hands on stick and throttle, all the buttons and on the thrustmaster. They’re not sponsoring this video, Thrustmaster. If you want to sponsor one, let me know.
But it was cool to just use the stick and use the different hotas buttons to learn how the f 16 worked. From a layman’s, from an amateur perspective, I enjoyed it, too. I had a ton of fun flying that, and I’m about to get back on dcs. So if you want to fly with me in DCS comment below, I’ll see that and it’ll help motivate me to hurry up and get on DCS. But for me, it was a ton of fun and I do think it helped with some hand eye coordination. But mostly it was just a ton of fun. So there you go guys. There’s my tips for success on how to become a fighter pilot. I wish you the ultimate amount of success in your journey. Most of all, thanks for being here. Before you go, please dominate the like button and subscribe. We’ll see you in the next video. Most of all, have a great day.