Average fighter pilot age?

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So I've got this image in my mind of fighter pilots being young hotshots usually between the ages of 24 and 32. Is my image correct, or am I off base here?

This differs notably with what I see as mainline four-stripe airline captains, especially widebody captains: gray hairs, second marriage, heart trouble
happy2.gif
 
I'll take the gray hairs with heart trouble. Some might call it experienced...Like say...Sully!
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: gman2304
I'll take the gray hairs with heart trouble. Some might call it experienced...Like say...Sully!

Yeah, and Age 65 helped a lot of them delay retirement when the stock markets went to nothin.. thats assuming that they had anything left in their retirement portfolio after their nth wives got done with them..

Edit for the thread purpose:

This is a subject with info on Google. I know that. I wanted to create a discussion on here because I enjoy interacting with people in the biz. I miss working in aviation.
 
Fighter pilots is a physically demanding job. G forces and quick reactions.
 
My daughters boy friend is 1 year into a active duty F-18 Super Hornet pilot. He is 31 years old, graduated university. Great head on his shoulders. I fully trust him with that expensive plane and his skills if he ever had to use it defending this nation and or it's interests. Now trusting him with my daughter......j/k.
 
Originally Posted By: tenderloin
My daughters boy friend is 1 year into a active duty F-18 Super Hornet pilot. He is 31 years old, graduated university. Great head on his shoulders. I fully trust him with that expensive plane and his skills if he ever had to use it defending this nation and or it's interests. Now trusting him with my daughter......j/k.
Better than a drummer in a rock and roll band.
 
Originally Posted By: CT8
Originally Posted By: tenderloin
My daughters boy friend is 1 year into a active duty F-18 Super Hornet pilot. He is 31 years old, graduated university. Great head on his shoulders. I fully trust him with that expensive plane and his skills if he ever had to use it defending this nation and or it's interests. Now trusting him with my daughter......j/k.
Better than a drummer in a rock and roll band.
Go watch Top Gun again
happy2.gif




Everything I needed to know about Naval Aviation I learned by watching Top Gun too many times.
 
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
I see the Air-Guard pilots in the grocery store sometimes. They look like little kids. Not a day over 25.
that is because you are so old.
 
my uncle was a fighter pilot as a young man. say his 20's and early 30's. He became a commercial airline pilot flying 737's after that.
 
Figure they get out of the Service Academy at age 22. Then 2-3 years of training depending on the type of aircraft. So you could some 24-25 yr olds on carriers or at ground squadrons. Those coming in from other sources could show up years later. Physical peak is probably in the range of 26-28 so a good time to have them for 4-6 years. I don't know how many stay around after that first tour and put in at least 8-12 yrs.
 
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
I see the Air-Guard pilots in the grocery store sometimes. They look like little kids. Not a day over 25.


The National Guard guys look like a bunch of old guys when you're on active duty.
 
Originally Posted By: tom slick
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
I see the Air-Guard pilots in the grocery store sometimes. They look like little kids. Not a day over 25.


The National Guard guys look like a bunch of old guys when you're on active duty.

National Guard is like a second chance for a lot of folks who want to get into the service as adults. I'm thinking of it myself. I've got the edukationul qualifukatiunz to become an offislur
grin.gif
 
Originally Posted By: L_Sludger
Originally Posted By: tom slick
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
I see the Air-Guard pilots in the grocery store sometimes. They look like little kids. Not a day over 25.


The National Guard guys look like a bunch of old guys when you're on active duty.

National Guard is like a second chance for a lot of folks who want to get into the service as adults. I'm thinking of it myself. I've got the edukationul qualifukatiunz to become an offislur
grin.gif



I was both active then ANG. As a mechanic it was funny to work around active duty and hear them say "how come your Tech Sargents still turn wrenches"

Many of our pilots were also airline pilots.
 
Originally Posted By: L_Sludger
So I've got this image in my mind of fighter pilots being young hotshots usually between the ages of 24 and 32. Is my image correct, or am I off base here?

This differs notably with what I see as mainline four-stripe airline captains, especially widebody captains: gray hairs, second marriage, heart trouble
happy2.gif



So to break that down, you see apples. Then you see oranges. They look different. They smell different. Then you wonder why the apples don't equal the oranges. That seems to be your question?
 
Originally Posted By: Oro_O
Originally Posted By: L_Sludger
So I've got this image in my mind of fighter pilots being young hotshots usually between the ages of 24 and 32. Is my image correct, or am I off base here?

This differs notably with what I see as mainline four-stripe airline captains, especially widebody captains: gray hairs, second marriage, heart trouble
happy2.gif



So to break that down, you see apples. Then you see oranges. They look different. They smell different. Then you wonder why the apples don't equal the oranges. That seems to be your question?




No, they are separate observations. Although it's not quite right to call fighter jocks apples, and senior airline captains oranges. Apples don't end up turning into oranges, yet many jocks do transform into airline captains - some ways down the road.
This thread is talking about ages, capiche?
 
To answer the original question, your premise is not too far off base. 24 is pretty close to the lower limit for a qualified Air Force fighter pilot that graduates college or the service academy and is commissioned at late 21/early 22 years old. Approximately 1.5+ years in flight training and an aircraft specific Replacement Training Unit (RTU) if that's what they are still called. That includes time to move between bases and get ancillary training like survival training. I would imagine the Navy adds a bit of time for carrier qualification, but would guess the time line isn't too far off. Astro might provide some better information on that.

If said pilot is fortunate, and goes to a front line or remote unit (like bases in Korea) he gets great training, and becomes truly mission ready pretty quickly. If he goes to a stateside unit that is on the bottom tier for funding and the unit is sitting on a lot of broken aircraft, it may take him a couple of years before he is really qualified.

I've flown with some great Major and Lt Col fighter pilots, which would put them in the 33-37 year old category. Some manage to maintain their skills after that, but it seems to be the exception rather than the rule. I've also seen a very few General officers that were excellent sticks, but if I were king, I would forbid every officer above the rank of Colonel to sit in a single seat fighter or in the front seat of a dual seat fighter. The reason for that is some of them start to lose judgement, nobody can tell them no, and they think the rules don't apply to them (effectively they don't). There have been some spectacular accidents with senior officers involved, yet somehow they never seem to be at fault.
 
Col Olds was one of my early heroes. If fact, he was invited to a Dining Out as speaker and guest of honor that I was involved with as an ROTC cadet at USC. Gave an incredible speech.

He was famous because, as Commander of the Wolfpack, he turned his bright captains loose and they came up with Operation Bolo, a Mig sweep that managed to finally destroy a significant portion of the North Vietnamese Air Force by a deception using Air-to-Air F-4s imitating F-105 bombers. Col Olds was a capable pilot but, at that time, him being the wing commander and all, you probably couldn't get an honest evaluation of his skill set compared to the better pilots under him. What can't be argued is that he ignored the rules, did what needed to be done to win, and was the best wing commander the Air Force had during that conflict. Maybe the best ever.
 
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