Air Education and Training Command - Flying Training

Flying Training

Air Force pilot candidates begin with Initial Flight Screening (IFS). In IFS, civilian instructors provide up to 25 hours of flight instruction to pilot candidates.

Pilot candidates then attend either Euro-NATO joint jet pilot training (ENJJPT) or joint specialized undergraduate pilot training (JSUPT).

ENJJPT is located at Sheppard AFB, Texas. The entire course lasts about 54 weeks. Students learn with, and are taught by, officers of the U.S. Air Force and various European air forces. Student pilots first fly the T-6 Texan II mastering contact, instrument, low-level and formation flying. Next, they train on the supersonic T-38 Talon and continue building the skills necessary to become a fighter pilot.

JSUPT students accomplish primary training in the T-6 Texan II at one of three Air Force bases -- Columbus AFB, Miss., Laughlin AFB, Texas, or Vance AFB, Oklahoma; or in the T-34C Turbomentor at Naval Air Station Whiting Field, Florida. Joint training is conducted at Vance AFB, Oklahoma, and NAS Whiting Field, Florida for students from the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. US Coast Guard student Naval Aviators and flight instructors are also incorporated in joint training at NAS Whiting Field, but not at Vance AFB.

During the primary phase of JSUPT, students learn basic flight skills common to all military pilots.

As of 2006, most JSUPT students use the Joint Primary Aircraft Training System during the primary training phase. The aircraft portion of JPATS is the T-6 Texan II, which is being phased in as the primary trainer replacing the Air Force's T-37 and the Navy's T-34C.

After the primary phase of JSUPT, student pilots elect one of several advanced training tracks based on their class standing.

Prospective airlift and tanker pilots are assigned to the airlift/tanker track, and train in the T-1A Jayhawk at Columbus AFB, Mississippi, Laughlin AFB, Texas, or Vance AFB, Oklahoma. Student pilots headed for bomber or fighter assignments are assigned to the bomber/fighter track, and train in the T-38 Talon at Columbus, Laughlin or Vance.

While some USAF student pilots will complete the airlift/tanker track in the T-1A Jayhawk and eventually fly the C-130 Hercules or its variants, other USAF students destined for C-130s will be assigned to a multi-engine turboprop track and fly the T-44 turboprop trainers or TC-12B trainers at NAS Corpus Christi, Texas in a cooperative arrangement between 19 AF and the Naval Air Training Command / Chief of Naval Air Training (CNATRA). These USAF students will receive instruction from a combination of USN, USAF and USCG instructors at NAS Corpus Christi and will eventually fly the C-130 Hercules or its associated variants (AC-130, EC-130, HC-130, LC-130, MC-130, WC-130). A small number of USAF graduates may also be selected to fly the C-12 at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska.

Those USAF students selected to fly helicopters are assigned to the helicopter track and fly the UH-1 Huey at Fort Rucker, Alabama under a joint training arrangement with the US Army. USAF graduates of this program will fly the UH-1N Twin Huey, HH-60G Pave Hawk or CV-22 Osprey.

Air Education and Training Command also provides follow-on training for most Air Force pilots in their assigned aircraft. Pilots assigned to fighter aircraft complete the introduction to fighter fundamentals course at Randolph AFB or Sheppard AFB, Texas, flying the AT-38B, and then move on to train in either the A/B or C/D versions of the F-15 Eagle or the F-22 Raptor at Tyndall AFB, Florida., or the F-16 Fighting Falcon at Luke AFB, Arizona. Altus AFB, Oklahoma, hosts training for aircrews assigned to KC-135 Stratotanker or C-17 Globemaster III aircraft, while an AETC-gained wing of the Air Force Reserve Command conducts training for all Regular Air Force, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard C-5 Galaxy aircrews at Lackland AFB/Kelly Field Annex, Texas. Aircrews assigned to fly the C-130 train at Little Rock AFB, Arkansas, while aircrews assigned to fly MC-130 Combat Talon I/II, Combat Shadow, and HC-130 aircraft will take initial follow-on training at Little Rock followed by additional follow-on training at a colocated site with UH-1N Twin Huey and HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter crews and CV-22 Osprey tiltrotor crews at Kirtland AFB, New Mexico. Keesler AFB, Mississippi, provides training for pilots assigned to the C-21, while the US Army at Fort Rucker, Alabama provides training for USAF pilots in the C-12 Super King Air.

In addition to pilot training, AETC provides Combat Systems Officer and Weapons Systems Officer training, formerly known as Undergraduate Navigator Training (UNT). CSO and WSO training are conducted cooperatively by 19 AF and the Naval Air Training Command / Chief of Naval Air Training (CNATRA) at Randolph AFB and NAS Pensacola, Florida, respectively. Redesignated as Interservice Undergraduate Navigator Training (IUNT) when it was combined with similar aviation training programs of the naval services for student Naval Flight Officers (NFOs), this program is currently transitioning to an improved format known as Undergraduate Military Flight Officer (UMFO) Training. Under this arrangement, training is provided for all Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and international student navigators and flight officers. Students at Randolph AFB complete primary and intermediate training in the T-6 "Texan" and T45 navigation simulator, then track select as either panel navigators or Electronic Warfare Officers. USAF CSO graduates of Advanced Navigation then move to follow-on assignments in various aircraft, including the C-130 Hercules, MC-130 Combat Talon I/II and Combat Shadow, AC-130 Spectre and Spooky, HC-130, EC-130 Compass Call, EC-130 Commando Solo, LC-130, WC-130, B-52 Stratofortress, RC-135, E-3 Sentry (AWACS and E-8 Joint STARS (JSTARS)), while their Naval Flight Officer counterparts are assigned to the land-based P-3 Orion, EP-3 Aries and E-6 Mercury, and will eventually fly the P-8 Poseidon . There are limited opportunities for USAF KC-135 Stratotanker navigators, as these positions are being phased out under the PACER CRAG program. Those who graduate as USAF Electronic Warfare Officers will go to follow-on assignments in the MC-130, AC-130, EC-130, RC-135 or B-52 Stratofortress.

USAF Weapons Systems Officer students obtain their training with a combination of USN, USMC and USAF instructors at Training Air Wing SIX at NAS Pensacola, Florida. They complete primary and intermediate training in the T-6A Texan II and T-1A Jayhawk aircraft, advanced training in the T-39 Sabreliner and T-45 Goshawk and then enter one of two tracks in the next phase. USAF WSO students in the strike track will eventually serve in the B-1B Lancer after attending the Electronic Warfare Officers course at Randolph AFB. Students in the fighter track will receive follow-on assignments in the F-15E Strike Eagle or EA-6B Prowler and attend special training in the Intro to Fighter Fundamentals (IFF) course.

In most cases, USAF CSOs and WSOs will attend the same AETC formal training units (FTUs) for follow-on training as their pilot counterparts. The exceptions to this rule for all pilots, CSOs/WSOs and enlisted aircrewmen are those aircraft where the FTU falls under the claimancy of the Air Combat Command (i.e., A-10 Thunderbolt II, B-1 Lancer, E-3 Sentry, E-8 Joint STARS, F-15E Strike Eagle, RC-135, U-2 Dragon Lady, etc.), the Air Force Global Strike Command (i.e., B-2 Spirit and B-52 Stratofortress), or the Air Force Special Operations Command i.e., AC-130.

AETC also provides enlisted aircrew training for a wide variety of aircrew specialties including flight engineers, air-to-air refueling boom operators, loadmasters, aerial gunners, airborne communications specialists and Air Battle Managers. Flight engineers and boom operators train at Altus AFB, Oklahoma., loadmasters train at Altus AFB, Oklahoma, helicopter flight engineers and aerial gunners train at Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, airborne communications specialists train at Keesler AFB, Mississippi, and Air Battle Managers complete Undergraduate Air Battle Manager Training (UABMT) at Tyndall AFB, Florida.