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Old 09-18-2018, 03:55 AM
  #9  
headhunter
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Joined APC: Jun 2018
Posts: 49
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I’m a prior F-16 pilot that had a huge gap in flying: just over 16 years. I was hired by a regional immediately after the interview and started training in late May, and I’m now just over a month into flying. Yes, the salary sucks so you need to plan for that. But, I think the proper frame of mind regarding the regionals is to see it as “basic training” for your airline career. Your challenge won’t be in learning to fly the airplane. It will be in learning 121 ops (airports, taxiing, etc), and if you’re a single seat guy, learning the crew environment. I’m already pretty comfortable with it, and knowing the 121 world will allow you to just focus on learning the airframe when you get to a major airline. My understanding is that the training program at a major is tailored primarily to a regional pilot; mil guys without any regional experience will be drinking from an even bigger fire hose. I’m obviously not saying it can’t be done, but a regional training program is probably better suited to guys like us who are out of currency, and quite frankly the regionals are happy to invest the time in you because you are a mil guy. And you won’t be in the regional long: if you qualify for an unrestricted ATP (1500 TT), you’ll only need 100 to 200 hours on the line (2 to 3 months) and you’ll most likely be interviewing for a major.
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