In this 4-part series, we’re going to do a little self-examination of not only why you want to be a fighter pilot, but also the challenges and benefits that this particular profession will bring.
Of course, on a purely superficial level, it’s pretty obvious why you want to be a fighter pilot: it’s the coolest job in the world! Not everybody dreams of being a fighter pilot, but just about everybody dreams of having a job where we wake up in the morning all excited and saying to yourself, “Man, I can’t wait to get to work today!” If you’re like me, you went to a Thunderbirds or Blue Angels airshow and/or saw the movie Top Gun and decided that flying jets was the coolest life in the universe and totally for you. Or maybe you are a military brat whose dad or mom is in the service and grew up on military installations moving with your family all over the country if not the world, seeing the jets flying overhead and can’t imagine any other life for yourself. Or maybe you’re a fan of science fiction and technology and being a fighter pilot is a profession that not only ranks you the coolest among the cool at the tip of the technological spear, but also is the closest real-life equivalent to living in the world of Star Wars where you live in a world of high-flying excitement and adventure. Or it may be some combination of the three or even ALL of them.
Regardless of where the dream came from, you’ve got it! You’ve caught the flying bug and there is no turning back! And now, you are feeling one of two things: either you are pumped up and can’t wait to graduate and get started training your way to the cockpit of the jet of your dreams…or…you are deeply in love with it but feel that it is somehow above you, kind of like having a crush on a girl who is out of your league, and you’re not sure how to go about getting started or may even have doubts if you have what it takes to stand out and get an assignment flying fighters.
Odds are pretty good that you have felt both emotions at different times depending on how things are going in your life.
No question of it, there IS a lot of competition for the slots to your dream jet. Even with the good news on the horizon that more F-22’s and F-35’s are being built, there are fantastic new weapons and systems upgrades that make flying a modern fighter more like a real-life Star Wars than ever before and development has even begun on new manned 6th generation fighters whose abilities will outstrip even those of the upcoming upgraded F-22’s, there is still going to be NO SHORTAGE of up and coming pilot candidates who will be pursuing the dream of flying them!
To be competitive, you will need an inside edge that the other candidates won’t have. You are going to need to know as much as you possibly can about what your options really are given your own individual situation and the “advance training” to familiarize yourself with what you will face in boot camp and flight school so that when you get that far…you will be able to smoke your competition!! You want to be blazing your way to the cockpit of that F-22 or F-35 and leave those other guys who would take your dream away from you choking on the dust! (After all, the military flies plenty of bombers, transports, and helicopters too. Let those guys fly those craft! Somebody needs to.)
Fighter pilots are self-starters who hate to lose, and you know that you can feel that person inside yourself. Be a self-starter right now! If you haven’t already, visit www.becomefighterpilot .com to see how you can achieve your dreams. And if you have invested in yourself with the Fighter Pilot Power Pack already, take that information and start running with right now!!
Time waits for no man and neither will your dreams. Do it!
Semper Fi!