Which US Army airframes (and units) fly the most?

2019-02-15T22:07:35-05:00

I'm trying to get an idea of which aircraft I might be most interested in after WOCS and Flight School. I want to fly whatever is going to keep me in the air most often, but I also want to get an understanding of what the different lifestyles are like across the Army Aviation community. I come from a Field Artillery background so this side of the Army will be both a whole new world and a welcomed change of pace. I ask that no one break OPSEC, but any relevant information that is unclassified would be appreciated.

Response by CW3 Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 15 at 2019 10:59 PM

2019-02-15T22:59:38-05:00

That’s a hard question to answer. It depends on you unit, the mission, the air frame. If you want to fly guns go Apache, but they are down a lot because of maintenance. If you want to have a very broad area of missions and duty locations, go Blackhawk. If you want to fly a school bus/I haul truck, go Chinook.

Response by CW3 Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 16 at 2019 9:47 AM

2019-02-16T09:47:41-05:00

Pick a mission not an airframe. The AH are maintenance heavy but I’ve never missed a flight due to it.

Response by CW2 Scott Quaife made Feb 23 at 2019 9:42 AM

2019-02-23T09:42:49-05:00

Depends on what roll you want to perform? Also keep in mind based on your class rank you choose in order. They will have so many available selections of each aircraft per class. As an Apache driver I flew about 800 hours in one combat tour. That is not the avg by any means as it is much less at your home station. Blackhawks tends to fly more because it’s mission is varied. Plus you can fly lift or Medical. Chinooks fly, maybe not as much as hawks, but your get your time. Apaches have to train tactics, but it varies as well. Do you want to do security, blow stuff up? Apaches. Do you want to move troops into battle, ferry people, pick up wounded soldiers? Blackhawks. Or do you want to move equipment, take airborne soldiers to jump, ferry larger groups of soldiers around? Chinooks. I think the UH-72 Lakota is an option now as well, especially since the OH-58 Kiowa went to the bone yard.

Response by CW3 Chuck Eastman made Mar 13 at 2024 4:06 PM

2024-03-13T16:06:25-04:00

I will echo what CW3 Private RallyPoint Member said: go with the mission-set that you'd get the most satisfaction out of. I flew 64s for a few years, and it's still my favorite to fly; however, to your second part of the question, "which units fly the most," fly whatever you can to get some solid NVG hours out of flight school, and then assess for the 160th SOAR when the time is right. Regardless of whether we're at war (which is where I got the vast majority of my flight time), the 160th is always training and flying. Have fun in flight school - it was easily my favorite year and a half in the Army!!

Response by CW3 Chuck Eastman made Mar 15 at 2024 9:30 AM

2024-03-15T09:30:29-04:00

https://www.antaresmagazine.com/articles/to-serve-at-the-sharp-end-the-night-stalkers-of-the-160th-soara/

To Serve at the Sharp End The Night Stalkers of the 160th SOAR(A)

One of the most significant decisions a person can make is to join the military and serve their country. Equally important though are the follow-up choices of which specialty to select and what unit to aim for. Even within the US army, however, many are n