1,000 hours in a jet plane?!

[MJR]

I plan on having a very good career in the Air Force and NASA. I know that I will probably be accepted in the Air Force academy and become an officer so I will be qualfied to be a fighter pilot. But I then looked at requirements to be a pilot/commander in NASA and it says I need a 1,000 hours flown in a jet plane. How in the world am I gonna fly that many hours? Does time just fly by when you are a pilot? I really don't know so could somebody help me figure this out?

 

[Thunder Chicken]

That's 3 hrs a day for a year. Take a 3 hr hop every few days and you'll have a 1000 hrs within a couple years. Enjoy!

 

[MJR]

I'm gonna be a very busy pilot in that case. Thanks for making it easier to understand. I guess I could do it because I'm going to be a fighter pilot for about 6-8 years maybe and then verge over to NASA.

 

[garyw]

Ask the airforce recruiting office. They are better placed to explain the hours system.
By the way, not all NASA astronaunts are pilots.

 

[FordPrefect]

Yeah, that's what I figured as well. I am not certain how much the flying hours the Air Force pilots get these days. I expected an average flying time of 1.5 hrs per hop. 3 sorties a week is realistic? So after four years you'll have accumulated 1kilo hours. Not too long me thinks.

 

[MJR]

I guess I was overreacting when they said 1,000 hours. Thanks guys!

 

[MajorTom]

Good thing they didn't say 1,000,000 hours

If you're really dedicated and passionate about your flying, you'll be addicted to it...and the hours will fly by. (My dad flew jets all his career, and he's still nuts about airplanes, even after retirement.) Me, I'm a boater.

 

[MJR]

Thanks. So I guess I won't be 100 years old till my first spaceflight.

 

[lennartsmit]

You just have to take into your calculations that you'll probably are going to Iraq or Afghanistan

 

[joeybigO]

Thanks. So I guess I won't be 100 years old till my first spaceflight.

No, thats about 8-10 years of flying, depending on what you fly, I got 500 hours in about 4 years. I roughly averaged about 10 hours a month.

When you break it down, you will average about 25-30 hours a month. As a pilot full time, no secondary duties.

30 x 12 = 360 a year for 10 years thats 3600 hours, well above what you really need.
even if you averaged 20 hours a month thats 240 hours a year for 5 years is 1200 hours.

Most services require a 7 year contract.

 

[MJR]

Thats not a problem to me though. The only negative part in that is they really don't have an air force.

 

[unknown_orbiter]

Time flies in a plane. Play FSX or FlightGear and you'll be up all night

 

[Donamy]

I don't see NASA having much to fly in the future.

 

[simonpro]

Do NOT ever, ever, join the Air Force just because you want to be an astronaut. The chances of succeeding are fairly low, and if you don't make it you'll end up in a career you might not want doing something you might not enjoy.
If, on the other hand, you would enjoy a career as an airforce pilot then by all means go for it, but don't keep 'astronaut' in the front of your mind the entire time.

 

[MJR]

I wouldn't ever do that. I love aviation reguardless if its NASA or the Air Force. Say if instead I wanted to be a mission specialist. I wouldn't have to fly, but I would need to study physical science, or somewhere around the mathmatics area. Would that be an easier path to take?

 

[Kyle]

Or you can fly your Jet for 42 days strait.

 

[Star explorer]

Or you can fly your Jet for 42 days strait.

the biggest problem with that would be going to the bathroom

 

[Bj]

the biggest problem with that would be going to the bathroom

most airplanes have bathrooms, not that it would be legal, to use them in flight...

or you could use one of those 'bedpan' type thing...

 

[HiPotOk1978]

Speaking about flying NASA craft, has the winning replacement for the shuttle been decided on yet or are they still playing with various ideas on what to replace it with

 

[Hielor]

I know that I will probably be accepted in the Air Force academy and become an officer so I will be qualfied to be a fighter pilot.

Since the "how the heck do I get 1000 hours" part has been answered, I'll look instead at this part.

How do you know that you will be accepted to the AFA? They have very strict entrance requirements. Remember also that not everyone who joins the Air Force (not even everyone who goes through the AFA) can be a pilot. Nor can all Air Force pilots be astronauts.

How old are you? If you're between 11 and 15 (or possibly older, but if you're much older you won't have much time), I would strongly recommend you look into joining a local cadet squadron of Civil Air Patrol. It's a very good way to get yourself a "leg up" into the Air Force, and can help you in deciding whether or not you actually want to join, if you're still on the fence. Plus, it can get you flying lessons for much cheaper than you could elsewhere.

Thats not a problem to me though. The only negative part in that is they really don't have an air force.

So you won't have stuff to shoot down? The bad guys have shown that they're plenty capable of shooting you down without an air force.

That $20 million bird you're flying can be brought down by a sub-$100,000 man-portable heat-seeker.