U.S. Navy Pilots (Naval Aviators): Everything You NEED to Know

Officially called Naval Aviators, Navy pilots are commissioned officers who are qualified to fly a manned aircraft. In the Navy, you can be a fighter pilot, a helicopter pilot, or a fixed wing pilot. You can even be a Naval Astronaut! That’s some pretty cool stuff.

If you want to learn more about Navy pilots, keep reading, as we’re going to go over how you can become a Navy pilot, what Navy pilots do, what kind of aircraft they can fly, their training, the Blue Angels, and much more.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

U.S. NAVY PILOTS (NAVAL AVIATORS): ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS AND TRAINING

U.S. NAVY PILOTS (NAVAL AVIATORS): PIPELINE

U.S. NAVY PILOTS (NAVAL AVIATORS): TOPGUN AND BLUE ANGELS

U.S. NAVY PILOTS (NAVAL AVIATORS): CONCLUSION

NAVY PILOTS (NAVAL AVIATORS): ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS AND TRAINING

Navy pilots fly planes. Shocker, right? If it were that simple, we’d end the blog post right there. The truth is, there’s a lot more to being a Navy pilot than you think. In the Navy, you can fly all sorts of aircraft, go to several different schools, and your training is lengthy and challenging. For every hour of flying you’ll do during a training mission, there’s countless hours of preparation, rehearsal, briefing, and debriefing. You won’t be waking up and hopping into your fighter jet like it’s your commute to work! 

As all Navy pilots are commissioned officers, if you want to fly a plane, you’ll need a bachelor’s degree first. It can be anything from underwater basket weaving to a degree in history. The choice is yours! Then you’ll have to receive your commission from either OCS, NROTC, or the Naval Academy. Different slots are available through each commissioning source, and there are opportunities for enlisted sailors to commission and go to flight school.

Then, depending on how long your training is, you’ll be in flight school for roughly 18 to 24 months. We’ll get into flight school in more detail in a bit. Once you complete your training, you have an eight year commitment from the moment you are designated a Naval Aviator and receive your wings of gold. So, essentially, if you want to be a Navy pilot, you’re going to serve at least 10 years. 

Another cool thing about being a Navy pilot is your callsign. Your callsign is usually a friendly jab at you, and it will stick with you. You can even get it painted on your aircraft’s fuselage!

 

NAVY PILOTS (NAVAL AVIATORS): PIPELINE

The first step to becoming a Navy pilot starts at Introductory Flight Screening. After passing a medical screening, you’ll be enrolled in one of five civilian flight schools near NAS Pensacola, where you’ll complete 2 weeks of ground training and approximately 14 hours of flight training in single-engine general aviation aircraft. You’ll also have to pass the FAA private pilot knowledge test. The whole point of IFS is to screen your flight aptitude prior to you beginning the Navy training syllabus. IFS can be waived if you already have a private pilot’s certificate or if you went through the powered flight program as a midshipman. 

Next up is the Aviation Preflight Indoctrination, also known as the “Cradle of Naval Aviation”. At API, you’ll receive four weeks of classroom instruction in aerodynamics, aircraft engines and systems, meteorology, air navigation, and flight rules and regulations. Then you’ll spend two weeks learning land survival, first aid, physiology, and water survival and egress. Once you complete those six weeks of training, you’ll then be authorized to wear your flight suit. 

Once you’re done with API, you move onto your Primary Flight Training. Here, you will learn how to fly the Beechcraft T-6B Texan II. In approximately six months, you will learn (Ground School (aircraft systems, local course rules, emergency procedures), Contact (takeoff and landing, limited maneuvers, spins, Emergency Landing Pattern (ELP), emergency procedures), Basic instruments (common instrument scans, generic instrument flight procedures), Precision aerobatics (aileron roll, loop, Cuban Eight, barrel roll, wingover, split S, Immelmann, Cloverleaf), Formation (basic section flight, cruise formation flight), Radio instrument navigation (VOR, Holding, ILS/LOC, PAR/ASR, RNAV), Night familiarization, Visual navigation)

Upon completion of your primary flight training, you’ll branch off depending on what aircraft you will be designated to fly. Just keep in mind that which aircraft you get will depend on the needs of the Navy, your performance, and your preference… most likely in that order.

At some point, you will receive centrifuge training, which is where you are put in a machine that puts you under G forces intended to train you how to remain conscious. 

So, depending on what your aircraft is, you’ll be at your flight school for varying lengths of time. The longest pipeline is the E-2 or C-2A pipeline, where your training can last up to three years before you finish. Upon completion of your flight training, a final selection process takes place in which you will be assigned a particular fleet aircraft community, then assigned to a fleet replacement squadron for training on your specific aircraft type. 

Upon completion of that, you’ll then be stationed to a fleet squadron in your type of aircraft. Your only job won’t be flying, though. You may have collateral duties ranging from being a legal officer, maintenance division officer, training officer, safety officer, and much more. Your first assignment will last around three years. 

As you rank up as a Navy pilot, you’ll do less flying. You’ll also have opportunities to train other junior pilots later in your career. If you rank up enough, you could eventually become a Captain of an Aircraft carrier, which is pretty cool. Other opportunities you’ll have are becoming a Naval Astronaut. To earn the Naval Astronaut pin, you’ll have to complete all the required training, and then participate in a space flight more than 50 miles above the earth.

 

NAVY PILOTS (NAVAL AVIATORS): TOPGUN AND BLUE ANGELS

You can even go to the Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program, also known as TOPGUN. TOPGUN teaches fighter and strike tactics and techniques to selected navy pilots and naval flight officers, who return to their operating units as surrogate instructors.

Naval Flight Officers are not pilots; they’re pretty darn close and perform many co-pilot functions, depending on the aircraft. NFO’s specialize in airborne weapons and sensor systems. If piloting isn’t for you, but flying is, look into this career!

And the last opportunity we will cover for Navy Pilots is the highly popular “Blue Angels”. The Blue Angels are a flight demonstration squadron that happens to be the second oldest formal aerobatic team ever. You can see them flying and performing at several different performances throughout the year. They fly six Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornets, with five of the pilots being from the Navy, and the sixth being a Marine Corps one. 

The mission of the Blue Angels is to showcase the teamwork and professionalism of the United States Navy and Marine Corps through flight demonstrations and community outreach while inspiring a culture of excellence and service to country. 

In order for a Naval Aviator to become a Blue Angel, they must be career-oriented, carrier-qualified, active-duty Navy or Marine Corps tactical jet pilot with a minimum of 1,250 flight hours. They also have an entire support team, so you don’t need to be a pilot to be on the Blue Angels team!

NAVY PILOTS (NAVAL AVIATORS): CONCLUSION

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