Hello all. I wanted to introduce myself. I’ve contributed a few things here and there to this site, but plan on taking a more active role in the future. As my screen name suggests, I’ve been selected to be an RPA Pilot. I was selected April 2017 on the 17OT02 board. I don’t have an OTS date yet, but I anticipate that I’ll go Spring 2018. This blog and AirForceOTSGuy have helped me in so many ways on this journey, I just hope that I can give back to the community in some way.
My goal in contributing to this page is to give another perspective while traveling on the OTS journey. For almost everything that AirForceOTSGuy is, I’m the opposite. He was an AD select, I am a CIV. He was a non-rated select, I am rated. He was selected on his first try, it took me three tries. He’s good looking… Well, you get the idea. Also, he went to OTS two years ago. While that doesn’t seem like a long time ago, in this world lots of things have changed. We now must do a CBT (computer based training) before we go to OTS. TFIT has been taken out of the curriculum. There is no longer a ropes course (*tear).
I hope what I add to this blog will be helpful. I also hope that it’ll inspire some of you to share your experiences in the future, because one day I’ll be an old fart like AirForceOTSGuy, and will be too far removed from what is currently happening. So, if you have any questions for a Rated, RPA, CIV select, let me know! Have a wonderful day!
Former Enlisted
Rpa Select,
A ton of questions if I may.
1) Do you have any flight hours? Do they help with getting RPA slot? Is the Air Force in a deep need of many RPA pilots?
2) What did you change to go from failing 2 times to finally getting accepted on your third time?
3) In your opinion, what are a few of the most critical parts of the package that will make or break you?
4) How far below the weight limit did you have to be? My recruiter says 5 pounds.
I thank you ahead of time for the answers.
Respectfully,
Former Enlisted
RPASelect
Former Enlisted,
Those are all very good questions. I’ll do my best to answer them.
1) Yes, I decided to get some flight hours. My 3rd try was going to be my last try, so I threw everything I had at it. I believed it helped by giving me a bit more of an edge. I suggest you look at your PCSM score, which should include hypothetical scores if you had flight hours, and determine how many hours you should get. I decided that after 6 hours there wasn’t enough return in my investment. So, I did 6 hours.
1B) From what I’ve heard, the Air Force is in deep need of all pilots, RPA pilots especially. About half of the selects from my group were RPA pilots. The issue is training them. There’s a huge backlog of officers waiting to get into RPA Pilot School.
2) A few things changed from my first application to my last. First, the first application was for a non-rated board. The second application actually never made it to the board because of a clerical issue. The third application was to a rated board. Beyond applying for different kinds of boards, I also refined my application and got the before mentioned flight hours. You can see my changes on this post: https://airforcejourney.com/2017/04/going-from-non-select-to-select-from-a-17ot02-select/
3) That’s a tough question, as I think the whole this is critical. The personal statement is important. It’s where you get to show your personality. Everything else is bullet points, and your personal statement is the glue that puts it all together. Go through the whole thing with a fine tooth comb. Make sure everything you say has substance to it. Remember, the reviewers are looking at hundreds of these, so make sure every single part of yours shines.
4) I think as long as you are below, they won’t say no. My recruiter also said 5 (preferred 10 though), but when I went to MEPS the limit was the actual limit, not 5 under. That being said, do yourself a favor and just lose as much as you can. I was always stressed about it, because I’d hover around the 5 under range. Finally, I got tired of being stressed about it, and lost a bunch of weight, and now I’m 15 under. Plus, losing weight makes the run SOOOO much easier. Don’t let the only reason you didn’t get selected be your weight. It’s something you totally and completely control.
I hope these answers help. Let me know if you have more questions!
Jesse McDonald
I’m looking to apply to the next board. I’m enlisted now and I’ll be 30 when the next board meets. I was wondering if you think they will still be accepting people up to the age of 35 for RPA pilots without a wavier or should I start the ETP process?
I know you already mentioned it but do you think actually completing my PPL will help? I am an air traffic controller right now and I feel like having this behind me will make me an asset but I can’t decide if I should get the PPL to make myself stand out more. Thank you.
airforceotsguy
I posted this question to the Facebook group for you. For the age waiver I’m not really sure. The reason they did this for RPA is because there was a huge need, so I’m not sure if this will translate to next year. It might or it might not, it just depends on what the numbers look like when they cut the requirements for next year.
For PPL, it may help but I’m not sure where exactly it would fit in. On the board scoring criteria I would say that all of the listed areas have more weight and if I had to guess I would say PPL may fit into education/aptitude? Take a look at the below post and see what you think. There are people who are selected with and without PPL, so take that for what it is.
https://airforcejourney.com/application/post-board-feedback/board-scoring-criteria/
Walter Wheeler
For RPASelect, did you happen to get an engineering degree or something in the STEM field? Also, did you put in for a regular pilot slot?
Some background for my questions: I am currently 22 AD and ask due to my desire to become a pilot via OTS. However, I do need to start a bachelors program since I just finished my CCAF. I was thinking Spanish, but I would easily do a Spanish minor if my odds were better with a different major.
Thanks in advance!
Walter Wheeler
For RPA select, what type of degree did you have? Was it an engineering or STEM related degree? I have heard those are highly preferred for pilots.
Sole background for the question: I am a 22 year old enlisted Active Duty member who wants to be a pilot. However, I need to complete my bachelors since I completed my CCAF. Thus, I want to increase my chances with a major that is more favorable, but still something I enjoy. I originally wanted to get a BA in Spanish, but i would get a Spanish minor instead to increase my odds.
Thanks in Advance and sorry if I posted twice.
airforceotsguy
Walter, RPASelect will reply as well but I wanted to give my perspective. As far as eligibility to apply your degree doesn’t really matter, but I do personally think you will get a few more board score points with a STEM degree. Also try to think of the long-term perspective. IMO just getting a degree to get a degree is pointless so I like your approach of doing something that you enjoy. Also think of your post-AF career though, what types of degrees will best fit a post-military career? Just a few thoughts.
RPASelect
Sorry it took so long to reply, it’s been a crazy week. My degree is nothing STEM or aviation related. It’s a business degree in Entrepreneurship and Marketing. Also, I was too old to apply for anything besides RPA, so that’s all I applied for. With that said, I really don’t know how important the degree is on selection. Most pilots who were selected had some random degree. It’s just a checkbox that goes into the whole person view. Yes, if you had a STEM degree, maybe it’d look favorable in the eyes of the board members, but who really knows. I think what’s more important, when it comes to school, is showing great grades and showing that you were a dedicated and good student (through school awards, letters of recommendation, extra curricular stuff, etc).
Now, if you are interested in a STEM degree, it’s not a bad thing to get. There are several cool jobs in the Air Force that you can only get if you have an applicable STEM degree. That would be a good fall back plan, if for some reason you can’t become a pilot. And, those applicants have a very high selection rate, because they are in such a huge demand.
I hope this helps answer you question, and direct your thoughts. Let us know (or the community as a whole) if you have more questions!
RPASelect
One more thing. We had a spreadsheet for everyone that applied. You can see their undergrad degrees, and if they were selected. Shoot us a private email (or hit the contact button), and I’ll get you the link to that spreadsheet.
William
Current AD Security Forces,
I am 28 and almost finished with my degree (7 classes away) so my goal is to apply for the next board which looks like it’ll be toward the end of the year. I was just making sure that even though I am Security Forces I can apply for RPA through the process correct? The next step is scheduling my AFOQT. Thanks for your help.
airforceotsguy
The age requirements change over time so just keep up with the current guidance. It doesn’t matter what your prior field is, applying for OTS is a clean slate. What job you get depends on what you are eligible for and how many slots are available for each AFSC.
toughcookie
For whom it may concern,
I’m a 27 years old CIV, and just finished my degree. For now, I am working on my fitness and working before contacting a recruiter. I’m going to give it about a year.
I want to become a regular pilot, but my eyes has never being my strong point, so I thought the next best thing is RPA. My main goal is getting into a career field that involves intelligence collection, so again I felt like both RPA and Intelligence might hit it for me.
My questions are as follows:
Should I talk to a recruiter first and plan on taking the AFOQT, tbas, etc?
Would you say if they’re looking at us at the ‘whole person’ for evaluation then asking the average GPA of selected RPA selects is kind of irrelevant?
Is there anything I can do to be more competitive if I don’t log any flight hours for RPA select?
Very respectfully,
Toughcookie
airforceotsguy
Hey Toughcookie, shoot me an email if you still have questions. airforceotsguy[at]gmail.com. With your eyes they only have to be correctable to 20/20 as far as I know, and even an RPA pilot has to be a pilot first before they go RPA. Air Force or Space Force intel may be options for you if you want to go the non-rated route. Intel is a good field.
I would definitely make contact with an officer recruiter but know that you can do some of the tests such as AFOQT through a local ROTC detachment at a college; you don’t necessarily have to work through a recruiter for this.
Whole person concept is wider than just test scores, they’ll look at your essay and app profile (resume) as well. I go into more depth on this in some of my posts.