Originally Posted by
Ganshfly
Blackhawk.....according to your profile you fly the CRJ200, did the helo time hurt or help your airline career?? I am a 21 year old CFI looking at some other options. Thanks
It kind of helped. I still had to get my FW ratings. Did it over time- private in Korea; instrument/commercial MEL at Ft. Rucker; commercial SEL at Savannah; CFI in Norfolk; CFII/MEI in Georgia. Instructed for a while.
Got my first job flying MEL with only about 250 FW/50MEL, but I had 1500 RW so I helped the company insurance rates. Then did my 135 ride and ATP in the same checkride with the FAA.
I only had 800 hours FW when I got picked up by a regional, but 600 MEL (most single pilot, 135), my ATP-A, 2400TT (much of it over seas, PIC/IP), at that point.
I flew alot of night time in the military, so night cargo did not bother me. Took me a while to get used to single pilot, but I survived. I flew the UH-60 (thus the "handle"), on active duty, so I knew how to fly instruments.
Personally, I have found that the strongest FOs (and captains when I was an FO), where those who experienced different things in aviation. This is not to say that the pilot with 250 hours from a flight school can't be a good airline pilot. But the only three FOs I have had problems with were these types. I never remember having a problem with an FO who had a varied aviation background.
This is why I continue my aviation education. (Working on my glider ratings now). And why I continue to teach as a CFI on the side (it keeps me in the books).
If you are interested in flying for the Army, you have much to offer. And the Army has much to offer you. There are obviously some... dangers... involved in flying for the Army. No one will care at Ft. Rucker that you have your CFI. The living conditions will REALLY suck at times. SERE school really sucks (at least the one at Ft. Bragg). You will be REALLY, REALLY hot and tired after some missions. Some people will try to kill you. There was always the fear of winding up on Al Jazir T.V. in an orange jump suit. You will loose some very good friends.
But flight school will be a blast for you. (Can you say Panama City??) You will make friends that you will keep for years. You will see things and do things that other people can not even imagine. Years from now, when you go to an EAA fly-in and couple of young pilots fly in with an old UH-60 they restored, you'll be able to tell stories about flying it in the Big One.