Question for military aviation guys

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Question for military aviation guys

Posted: 4/21/2016 11:32:42 AM EDT

My neighbors kid is 19yo and considering joining the Army. He is a very good auto mechanic and has had some training.
He is interested in aviation. My question is which field would you suggest? Airframe, avionics, hydrolics,, etc? I'm thinking UH60 or CH47
so he can get flight time as a crew chief. I know nothing about aviation, I was
Infantry for 22 years. The only thing I'm pushing him to do is to get airborne school in his contract.
What do ya'll suggest?

Posted: 4/21/2016 11:34:56 AM EDT

[#1]

67 Uniform for the win!

Post over at the Aviation forum, good people w/ lots of knowledge there.

Posted: 4/21/2016 11:43:19 AM EDT

[#2]

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Quoted:
67 Uniform for the win!

Post over at the Aviation forum, good people w/ lots of knowledge there.

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I was already working on cars in high school. The USMC gave me a guaranteed UH-1E Mechanic (6114) spot after pre-enlistment testing. I snatched it without being asked twice and signed on the dotted line. If the kid likes some excitement, go for a general helicopter mechanic gig. It's the fast track to crew chief; at 19 years old I was given a flight suit, helmet, and helicopter. It was mine and I flew everywhere it went. Best and most fun job I ever had, especially when we mounted guns in the doors.

Posted: 4/21/2016 11:48:27 AM EDT

[#3]

My son is a 15U, Chinook mech, he loves it, alot of work always adding hydralicfluid

Posted: 4/21/2016 11:52:51 AM EDT

[#4]

Avionics, of course.

Posted: 4/21/2016 12:00:20 PM EDT

[#5]

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Quoted:

I was already working on cars in high school. The USMC gave me a guaranteed UH-1E Mechanic (6114) spot after pre-enlistment testing. I snatched it without being asked twice and signed on the dotted line. If the kid likes some excitement, go for a general helicopter mechanic gig. It's the fast track to crew chief; at 19 years old I was given a flight suit, helmet, and helicopter. It was mine and I flew everywhere it went. Best and most fun job I ever had, especially when we mounted guns in the doors.

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Quoted:
67 Uniform for the win!

Post over at the Aviation forum, good people w/ lots of knowledge there.

I was already working on cars in high school. The USMC gave me a guaranteed UH-1E Mechanic (6114) spot after pre-enlistment testing. I snatched it without being asked twice and signed on the dotted line. If the kid likes some excitement, go for a general helicopter mechanic gig. It's the fast track to crew chief; at 19 years old I was given a flight suit, helmet, and helicopter. It was mine and I flew everywhere it went. Best and most fun job I ever had, especially when we mounted guns in the doors.

This is a really good idea.

Also push him to get his A&P if he does go crew chief because he will have done pretty much all the shit to get that certification in four years of work for the .mil.

Especially as Army/Marine crew chiefs end up coming over to the Air Force as Pilots/FE's when they finish their 4 year. I had a guy come to me a couple weeks ago looking for his 8610-2 signed (The form you need to have before you can go to an A&P school like Baker's) and he was a former army crew chief. The only issue I had was with his powerplant knowledge.

And it'll get the excitement bug out of him so that when he gets older and wiser and has a family, won't still be taking stupid risks.

That said, if you want him to have a very lucrative career when he gets done, Avionics is the single most in demand field in aviation right now. (Avionics guy here) After being a reservist and police officer for a long time, I landed a job with the FAA and get paid enough that I am comfortably in the top 3% of earners in the US.

Posted: 4/21/2016 12:02:15 PM EDT

[#6]

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What do ya'll suggest?

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I suggest you tell him to pull his head out of his ass and join the Air Force.

Posted: 4/21/2016 1:26:24 PM EDT

[#7]

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I suggest you tell him to pull his head out of his ass and join the Air Force.

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Quoted:
What do ya'll suggest?

I suggest you tell him to pull his head out of his ass and join the Air Force.

I suggested he should join the Coast Guard. If I could do it all over again, I would have gone CG.

Posted: 4/21/2016 1:28:52 PM EDT

[#8]

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I suggested he should join the Coast Guard. If I could do it all over again, I would have gone CG.

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Quoted:

Quoted:
What do ya'll suggest?

I suggest you tell him to pull his head out of his ass and join the Air Force.

I suggested he should join the Coast Guard. If I could do it all over again, I would have gone CG.

This is the best answer , But being a door gunner in the army is a cool gig and used to have a separate MOS

Posted: 4/21/2016 1:34:58 PM EDT

[#9]

I was talking to recruiters recently for my own career path after college.

15Tango is the black hawk crew chief path MOS, which would get you a good bit of doorgunner time..

Posted: 4/21/2016 1:42:01 PM EDT

[#10]

I was a 15T (with a crew spot) for 8 years and airborne (Infantry before that)

an set of wings will pretty much get you a spot in the worst part of NC for half your career, or more. If you want that for your son....well.

If he wants to crew a bird there aren't many better than the blackhawk honestly. The CH47 is also a great choice. Avionics will get him stuck with a bunch of WoW players, but the job prospects and pay afterwards will be better.

If I were you I'd push for him to be a pilot and then MTP (if he really wants to wrench on stuff).

Posted: 4/21/2016 1:42:48 PM EDT

[#11]

Helo crew chief then WOFTP!

Man, fucking Army poaches the hell out of Marine helo mechanics! We were losing so many I told the aviation monitors they should adopt the enlisted/WO program the Army had and they turned their noses up at the idea and said they had a pool of officer (college grads) to choose from and didn't need "enlisted" pilots...assholes!

I talked to the Army program officer and he said they loved Marines crew chiefs, they were in shape, they were self-motivating, they could work independently but still take orders, they were great leaders, and they could fix the machines they were flying.

Posted: 4/21/2016 1:43:21 PM EDT

[#12]

Stay away from Apaches unless he wants to work nights, weekends while everyone else is off.

Ask me how I know.

Posted: 4/21/2016 1:44:08 PM EDT

[#13]

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Stay away from Apaches unless he wants to work nights, weekends while everyone else is off.

Ask me how I know.

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and salute the pilot as he leaves the airfield without you.

Posted: 4/21/2016 2:04:13 PM EDT

[#14]

Being a crew chief can get you an A&P but it's just scratching the surface of the knowledge required to perform those tasks. I would have him research 15B power plant or 15G airframe/sheet metal. An A&P is almost always required for employment after service. Even contracting for the military is going that way especially with the Lakotas. After that look into 15B power train which now includes the Non-destructive Inspection school in the Army, this is especially important if he plans on living in Texas or other oil/manufacturing heavy areas. After that avionics. Stay away from crewing. Anyone can wash windows and air tires and not everyone gets to fly, really depends on his drive. Also look into the Air Force especially the Low Observability (LO) shop.

Posted: 4/22/2016 5:31:13 AM EDT

[#15]

67T now 15T UH-60 Crewchief was the best job I had in my late teens early 20s..
after my active duty stint doing that I decided I wanted a more laid back Military Job so
became an AirForce Reserves C-130 Crewchief .
unless he takes the time to add the knowledge and training to that job for an A&P License
there really is not much of a civilian equivalent for that job. .
But I was in the same situation in 1984 ..very mechanically inclined. had taken apart my 73 celica's engine at least 5 times
and bored with life. so the Army in that job was fine.

Posted: 4/22/2016 10:19:01 AM EDT

[#16]

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Quoted:
Being a crew chief can get you an A&P but it's just scratching the surface of the knowledge required to perform those tasks. I would have him research 15B power plant or 15G airframe/sheet metal. An A&P is almost always required for employment after service. Even contracting for the military is going that way especially with the Lakotas. After that look into 15B power train which now includes the Non-destructive Inspection school in the Army, this is especially important if he plans on living in Texas or other oil/manufacturing heavy areas. After that avionics. Stay away from crewing. Anyone can wash windows and air tires and not everyone gets to fly, really depends on his drive. Also look into the Air Force especially the Low Observability (LO) shop.

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How boring. Like a jacked on testosterone 19yo kid wearing a uniform with a license to kill wants to be stuck in a depot.

Posted: 4/22/2016 11:00:06 AM EDT

[#17]

Avionics!

Posted: 4/22/2016 11:11:31 AM EDT

[#18]

They have changed the skill identifiers a little since I got out of it in 98. But Hydraulics avionics, and sheetmetal will give him the best bet for an after service career. But he will still need to get an AnP to work in the civilian market. I was a 68D which was powertrain. It was a glorified seal and bearing changer job most of the time. Not to transferable. All aircraft have avionics, sheetmetal, most that are worth flying have hydraulics.
That's my 2 cents.
He might want to look into Erikson air cranes in Oregon. My friend has worked for them for 20 plus years. They were looking for people a while back.

Posted: 4/22/2016 11:13:25 AM EDT

[#19]

If he wants mil aviation maintenance, go Coast Guard.

Posted: 4/22/2016 11:18:48 AM EDT

[#20]

Quoted:
My neighbors kid is 19yo and considering joining the Army. He is a very good auto mechanic and has had some training.
He is interested in aviation. My question is which field would you suggest? Airframe, avionics, hydrolics,, etc? I'm thinking UH60 or CH47
so he can get flight time as a crew chief. I know nothing about aviation, I was
Infantry for 22 years. The only thing I'm pushing him to do is to get airborne school in his contract.
What do ya'll suggest?

View Quote

I suggest the Air Force if he's into mechanics and aviation.

Posted: 4/22/2016 4:17:32 PM EDT

[#21]

Quote History

Quoted:
They have changed the skill identifiers a little since I got out of it in 98. But Hydraulics avionics, and sheetmetal will give him the best bet for an after service career. But he will still need to get an AnP to work in the civilian market. I was a 68D which was powertrain. It was a glorified seal and bearing changer job most of the time. Not to transferable. All aircraft have avionics, sheetmetal, most that are worth flying have hydraulics.
That's my 2 cents.
He might want to look into Erikson air cranes in Oregon. My friend has worked for them for 20 plus years. They were looking for people a while back.

View Quote

Problem is that with sheetmetal, sure they get a lot of the riveting and airframe stuff out of the way but never actually touch a powerplant and couldn't identify a turbine from a gearbox, a fuel flow transmitter from a tach generator, or tell you the function of the blades on a constant speed prop. Sheetmetal is important, but I like to see people with more powerplant exposure.

The Guidance and Control/Instruments brand of Avionics or Engine shop pretty much guarantees that they'll get all the above and then some.

Straight Comm/Nav avionics is pretty much just radios and radar with a sprinkling of INU and ECM. They can get an FCC license, but will never qualify for an A&P without lots of other exposure to things outside their scope.

Posted: 4/22/2016 4:29:25 PM EDT

[#22]

U.S. Army avionics tech here, still doing it 26 years later. I like being around aircraft and still like going into work.

Posted: 4/22/2016 9:08:41 PM EDT

[#23]

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Problem is that with sheetmetal, sure they get a lot of the riveting and airframe stuff out of the way but never actually touch a powerplant and couldn't identify a turbine from a gearbox, a fuel flow transmitter from a tach generator, or tell you the function of the blades on a constant speed prop. Sheetmetal is important, but I like to see people with more powerplant exposure.

The Guidance and Control/Instruments brand of Avionics or Engine shop pretty much guarantees that they'll get all the above and then some.

Straight Comm/Nav avionics is pretty much just radios and radar with a sprinkling of INU and ECM. They can get an FCC license, but will never qualify for an A&P without lots of other exposure to things outside their scope.

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Quoted:

Quoted:
They have changed the skill identifiers a little since I got out of it in 98. But Hydraulics avionics, and sheetmetal will give him the best bet for an after service career. But he will still need to get an AnP to work in the civilian market. I was a 68D which was powertrain. It was a glorified seal and bearing changer job most of the time. Not to transferable. All aircraft have avionics, sheetmetal, most that are worth flying have hydraulics.
That's my 2 cents.
He might want to look into Erikson air cranes in Oregon. My friend has worked for them for 20 plus years. They were looking for people a while back.

Problem is that with sheetmetal, sure they get a lot of the riveting and airframe stuff out of the way but never actually touch a powerplant and couldn't identify a turbine from a gearbox, a fuel flow transmitter from a tach generator, or tell you the function of the blades on a constant speed prop. Sheetmetal is important, but I like to see people with more powerplant exposure.

The Guidance and Control/Instruments brand of Avionics or Engine shop pretty much guarantees that they'll get all the above and then some.

Straight Comm/Nav avionics is pretty much just radios and radar with a sprinkling of INU and ECM. They can get an FCC license, but will never qualify for an A&P without lots of other exposure to things outside their scope.

This is precisely why I recommend the CG over the other services if one wants to pursue a career in aviation maintenance. As an AMT I will do sheet metal, composite repairs, engine and driveline maintenance, AND stand flight mechanic duty (crew chief to the other branches) over the course of any given week. I've been to Navy and Airforce schools along with the shit ton of schooling the USCG has provided me. I've done deployments to the back of a boat, I've worked with our Canadian coparts, I've had friends working off of Dutch frigates, and loved every minute of it.

Posted: 4/22/2016 9:16:19 PM EDT

[#24]

When you say "he's interested in aviation" do you mean as a Pilot, or as a Mechanic?

If he wants to be a pilot, he should do whatever it takes to get into WOFT. Trying to do it through the enlisted ranks, is the hardest and most time consuming way. People have done it, but the odds are stacked so high against you, that it really isn't an efficient way to pursuit it.

Two completely different career tracks. We have plenty who have done either, and some who have done both.

He needs to decide exactly what he's trying to accomplish, and then come here for advice.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Question for military aviation guys

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