{"id":25577,"date":"2019-11-15T21:16:58","date_gmt":"2019-11-15T21:16:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/11\/15\/air-force-considers-expanding-pilot-height-requirements-as-it-seeks-more-female-aviators\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T20:39:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T20:39:13","slug":"air-force-considers-expanding-pilot-height-requirements-as-it-seeks-more-female-aviators","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2019\/11\/15\/air-force-considers-expanding-pilot-height-requirements-as-it-seeks-more-female-aviators\/","title":{"rendered":"Air Force considers expanding pilot height requirements as it seeks more female aviators"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Air Force is re-examining, and could broaden, its standard height requirements for becoming a pilot as it seeks to encourage more airmen to pursue aviation careers<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a Thursday interview, Maj. Gen. Craig Wills, commander of the 19th Air Force, said the Air Force is also trying to get the message out to aspiring aviators<\/a> that, even if they\u2019re a little taller or a little shorter than the height requirements, that doesn\u2019t necessarily doom their chances for becoming a pilot. The Air Force often grants height, or anthropometric, waivers to allow pilots to fly some aircraft<\/a>, Wills said, and they shouldn\u2019t be immediately discouraged if they fall outside the standard pilot height requirement of between 5-foot-4 and 6-foot-5 when standing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNobody is turned away because they\u2019re below five-foot-four,\u201d Wills said. \u201cThe message now is, if you want to fly, no matter how tall you are, apply. You may or may not fit, but let us make that decision. Don\u2019t self-eliminate because you\u2019re worried that you may not make it into the right window.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the Air Force is generous with its height waivers and tries to find something that shorter or taller airmen could fly, the service also wants to make sure its universal standard is not too restrictive. Wills said he hopes that, sometime next year, its height standard review will be complete and the Air Force will make a decision on whether to broaden it or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going back to make sure that we\u2019ve got the numbers correct,\u201d Wills said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Air Force in recent years has focused on improving its diversity to ensure people from a wide variety of backgrounds are able to offer their unique perspectives and help the service find new ways to solve problems. At the same time, the service has been struggling to correct a shortfall of roughly 2,000 pilots, and it wants to broaden the pool of potential pilot candidates, partly by encouraging more women to apply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, considering that 43.5 percent of American women between the ages of 20 to 29 are 5-foot-4 or less, Wills said, that means a large portion of potential aviators are told right off the bat they are technically out of the running. They may not realize that it doesn\u2019t have to be the end of the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s an expression in the military \u2014 there\u2019s a waiver for just about everything,\u201d Wills said. \u201cIf our standard is five-foot-four, we\u2019re excluding almost half of a possible recruiting pool to come do this thing that we love. So we\u2019re trying to make sure that everybody knows that there\u2019s potential opportunity, and we don\u2019t want to unnecessarily restrict ourselves from some of the best talent in America.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most people who try to obtain a waiver are successful. Since 2015, the Air Force has approved 87 percent of the 223 waiver requests it processed. Wills said every person he\u2019s seen receive a waiver this summer would still be able to fly both the F-35 and F-22.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wills himself knows how distressing height concerns can be when someone wants to be a pilot. He\u2019s 6-foot-4 now, but was a little taller when he sought to enter pilot training in 1988, and was then particularly worried that his sitting height would be slightly over the limit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m vertically challenged in the other direction,\u201d Wills said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The night before his physical, Wills slept upright in a chair to make sure his spine didn\u2019t expand overnight. When he woke up, he filled a backpack with rocks and ran three miles, and then did jumping jacks right up until his test. It worked, he said, and he made it right under the limit.<\/p>\n\n\n\t