Try before you fly: The NHA Fly-In helps future aviators choose future

For 33 years, flight students in the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard have taken advantage of the Naval Helicopter Association Gulf Coast Fleet Fly-In at Naval Air Station Whiting Field meant to help students figure out what they want to fly.

The annual Fleet Fly-In joins instructors who previously trained at NAS Whiting Field with current flight students to provide knowledge and help them prepare for the career decision of selecting their fleet aircraft platform. The Gulf Coast Fleet Fly-In brings both Industry to Whiting and Fleet aircraft to let the students have firsthand information about  the platforms. The Helicopter and Tilt-Rotor Community send seasoned pilots and aircrew to the event  providing  insight into not just the aircraft with FAM flights but deployments, bases and life after Whiting.

"This gives them a chance to see what their fleet aircraft do and have a little bit more experience depending on what their preference is with that hands-on look," said Lt. Adam Grant, a helicopter training instructor with HT-8 at NAS Whiting Field. "All of the instructors here are from the fleet, so they bring that knowledge."

All Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard helicopter pilots in the U.S. go through basic flight school at Whiting Field, and each student applies for and is ultimately assigned to more advanced training for a specific type of aircraft. The type of helicopter a pilot is trained to fly determines his or her fleet aircraft platform affiliation.

Click here for to RSVP for the All Access Pass to Fly-In