Sometimes when we are getting ready to write a post, we laugh to ourselves because most of the time we still don’t feel like we know that much about what is going on around us in the Air Force…but 4 years ago, we knew so.much.less. If that’s you + you don’t know what “track select” or “drop night” is, you are not alone!! We will cover drop night/graduation in the future, but for now – track select.
Going back to the basics, everyone with a pilot slot in the Air Force starts in the same plane, the T-6 (T stands for trainer, go + tell your friends that fact – they will be seriously impressed😂).
After 70ish passed rides in this plane, each pilot gets the opportunity to select which track they prefer to go into (
disclaimer: just because they prefer a certain track does
not
mean they will get it
).
There are 3 tracks:
- T-1: this track usually leads to a cargo/transport type airplane, meaning they will carry people or things.
- T-38: this track usually leads to fighter/bomber type airplanes, pretty self-explanatory what those bad boys are up to.
- H-1: this is the helicopter track + immediately after being selected for this track the pilot will be moving to Fort Rucker (in Alabama) for the remainder of their training.
After each pilot submits their preference the USAF will take a look at their MASS score (Merit Assignment Selection System; the pilot’s will never see this score) which is based on multiple things:
- Daily flight performance is based on how your pilot performs on routine flights throughout the course of their training.
- Check ride performance is based solely on your pilot’s performance on these specific rides that are evaluated (think midterm or final exam), at this point in their career they will know about these check rides in advance + probably have expressed some sort of anxiety to you about one coming up. **Check rides will be a large part of their pilot career in the USAF, so if you don’t remember anything else from this post, remember that check ride = important!**
- Academic performance is all about the exams they take + how well they score on those.
- Flight commander ranking is basically a peer review, think of it like a “coworker ranking”, they just rank order who they think the best coworkers are based on things like: willingness to help someone else out, knowledge about the material when they’re asked a question, etc.
The number of slots for each airplane vary with each pilot training class. Based on the number of slots for that class, the flight commander will work down the rank order list (created by that MASS score) + assign each pilot their track. You will not always get your preference…example: if everyone in the class puts down T-38’s as their preferred track + the flight commander only has 4 T-38 slots to assign, s/he will assign those 4 slots to the top 4 ranked pilots that prefered that track + assign a different track to the remaining pilots.
As far as what to expect for the track select event…there will likely be other classes there supporting the current class, there will be a few speakers, a class video + then a presentation surprising each pilot with their track. From what we’ve heard some bases are changing the way they do these events, so pick your partner’s brain about what the norm is for your location!
For attire, track select is one of the more casual events but with it being one of the three key events in pilot training, there will be plenty of pictures to be had so take advantage of this opportunity 😊 The pilots will be in their flight suit + girls typically wear casual cute clothes or summer dresses (because we all know how hot OK/MS/TX can be!) No worries girlfriends, we will be posting a track select style guide SOON, so keep your eyes peeled!
Pilot training is such an exciting time + no matter what track your pilot gets, this is the start of your Air Force journey together so soak it all in!
Xo, J + K
