Please take a look at the AFRC Undergraduate Flying Training (UFT) Guidebook.
1. When are UTA weekends?
They are usually the first weekend of every month. Click HERE for the most current 507th ARW UTA schedule.
2. Do I need to come to UTA weekends?
The short answer is yes. Typically once you have made contact with the unit and expressed interest in "rushing" the unit, we will ask you to submit an application and find a UTA weekend for you to come show some face and get to know everyone in the squadron. Face to face interaction is extremely important to the Okies and the hiring process, and we HIGHLY AND STRONLY encourage you to come to a UTA weekend or two. We want to get to know you.
3. Do I need to bring anything to UTA weekends?
Bring a good attitude, a willingness to talk to anyone in the squadron, and it never hurts to bring some beer or a bottle of something as a token of goodwill.
4. How many pilots do the Okies hire per year?
It varies from year to year, anywhere from 2 to 5. We treat "off the street" (not already an Air Force Pilot) candidates slightly different and conduct "off the street" hiring events once or twice a year. If you are already rated, hiring events can be a little more flexible and sprinkled in where we have the time.
5. What is the hiring process like?
Typically candidates will begin by reading this page, and submitting an application online for our hiring team to review. Once you have submitted an application, we may reach out to you and ask when you'd be available to come to a UTA weekend for some face to face interaction. The UTA weekends are your chance to show us who you are, what you're about, and also for us to see if you'd be a good fit in our squadron. You may go to two UTA's or six, it really just depends on how much you want to show up and when the next Okie hiring board is scheduled. At some point you may be notified that you've been selected to interview at the next hiring board. The interview is a panel style interview with both pilots and boom operators. There will be many types of questions in the interview, so a little preparation is a great idea. Once you interview, you'll be notified if you were selected within usually about a week.
6. If I'm hired, how long does it take to actually become and Okie pilot?
If you are hired, the Okies have to submit paperwork on your behalf to Air Force Reserve Command, and AFRC has to give you their blessing as well, and this process can take anywhere from 2 to several months as well. Once your AFRC blessing has been granted, you and your recruiter will begin the mountain of paperwork one must accomplish to join the military. Please be proactive and diligent about completing your paperwork and turning it in on time. If you don't, you are only delaying your training further. Then at some point you will be transferred into the 340th Flying Training Group, a unit based at Randolph AFB in San Antonio, and they are the ones who handle your training scheduling until you are done with all of the training. You will likely go to Randolph AFB for a week to do your "onboarding" into the Air Force and get all your accounts and systems set up, as well as get your first few training class dates for Officer Training School and Pilot Training. The Okies do not control your class dates, the 340th does. You will typically onboard with the 340th a couple weeks before going to OTS. Officer training school is at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama, and it's about a 9 week course. After that, candidates typically go to Survival School at Fairchild AFB in Spokane, Washington, or straight to pilot training at either Vance AFB, Laughlin AFB, or Columbus AFB. Survival school is about a month, and pilot training is about 12 months. After pilot training you will go to Altus AFB in Altus, Oklahoma for KC-135 school. KC-135 training is about 6-9 months depending on how bad the imminent delays are at Altus. So, from your okie interview to actually being a pilot in the squadron is probably in the realm of 2 to 2.5 years of various trainings and breaks in trainings.