Originally Posted by
Texasang99
Hello,
I'm eligible to retire from the AF in just under 2 years and looking for some advice. I have just over 3500 manned flight hours in the C-5 and T-6, but I have been flying UAVs the past 7 years. I will still be in UAVs my last year and a half of service. My last USAF manned flight was in 2010. I have my ATP already.
My question is with that large break in manned flying, how competitive am I for a job at a major airline? I have started doing some private flying on my own in small single-engine planes just to regain some recency. Will this be beneficial at all? Will I likely need to fly for a regional for a couple of years before I am competitive? I'm not above flying for a regional by any means, but being hired by a major immediately after I retire would obviously be ideal if possible.
Any advice for a newbie here would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
You’re not competitive at the moment due to such a massive gap in flying employment.
Private flying won’t really help for a major since it’s not an employed flying position. It will at least allow you to be instrument current and fligh current for regionals et al.
You’ll likely need some sort of flying employment (regional would probably be best given the gap) but only for about 100-200hrs before you start being competitive, Depending on your military hours.