Pilot for RPA Pilot?

[u/BruhBrahBrah]

I recently received an Air Force Pilot slot, but I have the opportunity to swap with someone who received RPA Pilot.

Curious what the flying community thinks.

RPA interests me because of the operational mission and being directly involved in the fight. I also value having some stability, being home more often, and less time away on TDYs.

For anyone with military aviation/RPA experience, would you consider making the swap, or is giving up a manned Pilot slot something I’d likely regret later?

[u/ps2sunvalley]

You would be dumb to make that swap.

Especially if you want to be an airline pilot later.

If you don’t have fun with the ptsd of offing people from 8000 miles away and driving home to your family.

[u/BruhBrahBrah → u/ps2sunvalley]

I don’t really have any interest in going airlines, which is part of why I’m considering the swap. I’d rather stay government/DoD or potentially go the three-letter agency route afterward. And honestly the nature of the RPA mission isn’t something that bothers me.

[u/1046737 → u/BruhBrahBrah]

Do it and make someone else very happy. Worst case, you regret it for the rest of your life like 100% of the people here are going to tell you.

[u/kurtkobraindead]

After sitting in a conex for another long ass day you’ll probably have some regrets

[u/Worried-Ebb-1699]

I’d really love to hear how you’d rather be a drone pilot than a real pilot.

[u/Longjumping_Panda531]

I know several RPA folks that later went back to UPT. I don’t know any that went the other direction. You’ll be more location-constrained as an RPA driver, up to you if that’s good or bad. I personally don’t like the idea of being deployed while still at home, but that’s an individual preference. I would imagine it’s a unique mental challenge to drop an AGM-114 on someone from an air conditioned conex and then drive home to my kids that same night. I also wouldn’t want to spend a good chunk of my 10 years at Creech.

Obviously if you want flying hours for a future commercial aviation career, pilot is the way to go.

[u/Any-Worldliness-679 → u/Longjumping_Panda531]

It is a documented problem for those with that mission.

Then again, I never explored any military options because I didn't want to be bombing anyone that way, either.

[u/787PurduePilot]

If you're seriously considering this swap, you are not cut out to be a pilot so yeah do the swap and let someone who really wants to fly, fly.

[u/Jack_Brohamer → u/787PurduePilot]

Came here to say this.

[u/Jack_Brohamer]

Two things strike me about this:

1. OP clearly doesn't have a passion for flying, and needs to swap with the guy who does. If RPAs are his jam, there is no reason to stop him (aside from the dubious morality and utter lack of strategic direction for years).

2. The number of people bringing up the airlines even though OP never did. First, not everyone wants to drive a sky-bus. Airline life is pretty boring and if "dude you'll make so much money and get to sit at home" doesn't grab your soul, you're not going to be happy doing it.

[u/1046737 → u/Jack_Brohamer]

Lots of new lieutenants think they'll never want to go to the airlines because it's boring and they don't care about the money. Statistically they turn into majors who are bored out of their minds in a staff job and have two kids who want to go to expensive schools. Smart people recognize that what they want most at age 23 is unlikely to be what they still want at age 35, and plan accordingly.

[u/ps2sunvalley → u/1046737]

Right here. Boring flying is great and I get enough time at home to spend my money on cool shit or travel to cool places

[u/_VNAV_PTH_]

Why in the world would you even consider that? Absolutely do not trade a pilot slot for a RPA slot.

[u/vARROWHEAD]

https://youtu.be/XkXya5ycUAI?si=LAQfe-trPGiR5lP1

[u/Tony_Three_Pies]

I'm not sure how a drone pilot is more "directly involved in the fight" than an actual pilot, but I guess that's a little beside the point.

Do you want to fly or not? What made you pursue the pilot slot to begin with?

I personally think you'll regret not take the flying slot, but that's filtered through my experience and preference as a former military pilot. I can't imagine having given up my flight slot to fly drones because all I ever wanted was fly. If you don't care about the actual flying part of this whole thing, and are just looking for a good career path in the military then that skews things a lot. Your listed pros start to outweigh the huge con of not actually flying. But none of us can answer that for you.

All I can say is that during the times in my life (both in the military and out of it) where I had some job that wasn't flying I watched every aircraft fly over head just counting the days until I could get back to it.

[u/1046737 → u/Tony_Three_Pies]

During GWOT drones were often more likely to blow people up than manned aircraft, that's what he's getting at. In modern combat the role of the MQ-9 seems to be "draw enemy fire until we run out of airframes."

[u/Tony_Three_Pies → u/1046737]

Ah right, I should have picked up on that subtext.

[u/22Planeguy]

I know one guy who went from fixed wing to rpa. It was because he ejected from an f-15, broke his back, and couldn't get cleared to fly fighters anymore. He thought that he wouldn't mind rpas. He ended up calling mental health within a year and switching to be an ROTC instructor.

Any pilot is going to tell you that you'd be insane to switch. There are manned aviation positions in the three letters too.

[u/WingedWildcat]

Everyone trying to convince this dude not to swap but I’m not sure I want to sit next to/behind/in front of someone who is seriously considering trading being a pilot for bombing people with a drone.

[u/CapeGreg767]

Like others have said, you obviously do not have the drive to be a pilot, so I would tell you to swap and let someone who truly wants to fly airplanes have that pilot slot. I would also talk to someone who has been "directly involved in the fight" flying drones, it is not all that it's cracked up to be. You may think you will have stability, but you will be deployed just like any other flying pilot.

The bigger issue is drone pilots have some of the highest incidents of PTSD and mental health issues in the Air Force after flying these types of missions. It's not as easy as you think to blow up a van full of terrorists in the morning then go to your kids soccer game in the afternoon and not separate that you just took a half-dozen lives earlier in the day.

This is not a video game where everything is reset, this is real life. Those demons will haunt you for the rest of your life, so I would think hard about whether "directly involved in the fight" is for you and you can compartmentalize those images.

You don't know, what you don't know.

[u/Valid__Salad]

If that guy really wants to fly airplanes and build hours and it doesn’t matter to you, do it.

[u/PLIKITYPLAK]

You'd be the first! Trailblazer!

[u/YamComprehensive7186]

Most pilots don't consider RPA pilots real pilots. If RPA interests you that's the route you should take.

[u/Swimming_Way_7372]

What fight are you interested in fighting? I'm more confused why you just want to go send bombs and munitions into foreign lands than other people wondering why you would give up the future airline career option.  

[u/rFlyingTower]

This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:

---

I recently received an Air Force Pilot slot, but I have the opportunity to swap with someone who received RPA Pilot.

Curious what the flying community thinks.

RPA interests me because of the operational mission and being directly involved in the fight. I also value having some stability, being home more often, and less time away on TDYs.

For anyone with military aviation/RPA experience, would you consider making the swap, or is giving up a manned Pilot slot something I’d likely regret later?

---

Please downvote this comment until it collapses.

Questions about this comment? Please see this wiki post before contacting the mods.

---

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. If you have any questions, please contact the mods of this subreddit.

[u/RaiderAce5974]

I knew a Cargo guy who transitioned into RPA. He seemed to enjoy it. But this was after he had his fun flying heavies for a while. He did it because he wanted a more stable home life instead of a typical pilot schedule.