Pilot qualification

From USAFA Folklore

Pilot qualification (PQ) refers to the physical qualifications necessary to enter pilot training. A person who is "pilot qualified" has good enough eyesight and does not have any other physical limitations that would disqualify him from starting pilot training after graduation.

As one might imagine, protecting one's PQ is particularly important at the Academy. A warning often given to cadets that are rough housing is "It's all fun and games until somebody loses their PQ...."

Occasionally people who are on the borderline of being PQ have been known to do crazy things to maintain (or achieve) PQ. For instance, cadets whose height or sitting height is too short have been known to use gravity boots to hang upsidedown to "stretch" themselves into PQ. Others are rumored to have had smacks or classmates carry them to the Cadet Clinic for their flight physical in the morning so they don't shrink over the course of the day due to gravity.

...and if you are super qualified, the joke is that you are "AQ", expecting to fly in space someday (ie, "Dude, that almost cost me my AQ!") Then at UPT, bust your friends' chops by saying that the assignment drop has you down as FATB (First Assignment ThunderBird) or FASS (First Assignment Space Shuttle).