Government Pilot Careers

Once a four year degree and a commission into the Navy have been achieved, the pipeline to becoming a Naval Aviator begins. Navy pilots must undergo long and intensive pilot training on their way to joining the best.

 

The first step in the pipeline is the Aviation Selection Test Battery (ASTB). This is a test that all aspiring pilots must take in order to determine their aeronautical and academic qualifications. Pilot selects are allowed to take this test at a maximum of three times before being disqualified.

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Once the ASTB is passed, pilots then face the Aviation Preflight Indoctrination. This is a six week school through the Naval Aviation Schools Command in Pensacola, Florida, and it includes a long list of basics. API covers things such as aircraft systems, navigation, meteorology, and aviation water survival training.

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Primary Flight Training is the next step in a Naval Aviators pipeline. This course is around 22 weeks long and covers topics such as basic flight maneuvers, instrument flying, formation work, and nighttime operations.

 

Once PFT is completed, Intermediate Flight Training must be completed. At this course, Naval Aviators will begin specialized training in one of the Navy’s primary mission sets, jets, maritime, rotary wing, or E-2/C-2. This school house helps pilots focus on one mission set and capability to allow them to grow into their specific capabilities.

 

Advanced Flight Training is one of the last steps in a Naval Aviators pipeline. At AFT, pilots undergo highly specialized training for their specific set of airframes they’ve been tracked to operate. Things such as advanced maneuvers, career qualifications, and various other tactics specific to their mission are achieved at this school house.

 

Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) is the point at which pilots have been tracked and selected for their specific airframe, and begin training and qualification as such. Here, they cover more in depth aircraft operations and procedures with respect to their airframes. After this point, pilots are then tracked for their first assignment as operations pilots in the United States Navy.

 

Overall, the roadmap to becoming a Naval Aviator ranges anywhere from two to three years, depending on the specific airframe that pilots have been assigned, as well as any setbacks they may face.