Passing the word along from the gold wing-only forum.

As many here probably know, one way low-time Navy/Marine/Coast Guard pilots will rack and stack their hours to meet the requirements of FAR 61.160 (Restricted ATP) is by counting First Pilot Time (Pilot Flying) in the T-34 or T-6 as sole manipulator PIC after they complete their safe-for-solo checkride and receive the "Qualified PIC in T-34C/T-6B" logbook entry. Per correspondence with the recruiters and hiring staff at SkyWest, this has been good enough since it meets the intent of FAR 61.51 (rated in category and class).

Well, at least a couple prior rotary-wing Naval Aviators in the last few months have applied to, interviewed with, and received CJOs from SkyWest, only for the APD during LOE to shift the goalposts and say those sole manipulator PIC hours don't count. Said APDs are claiming the FAA has changed the rules, which is outright BS. It is worth emphasizing there are probably hundreds of prior Naval Aviators flying the line at SkyWest whose hours were counted in such a fashion. At least one was told during LOE he had a week to go rent GA airplanes and fly the rest of those 250 airplane PIC hours or essentially be washed out on a technicality. Another was told their time built on the side in a C182RG was illegal since their logbook lacked complex or high performance endorsements (even though the flying club to which they belonged counted their T-34C PIC checkout as such).

It is glaringly obvious to anyone following the industry and the current hiring environment this is a calculated game plan to wash out as many prior military pilots as possible since so many did a hit-and-run with regionals (using them for an ATP and then bouncing to a major as soon as they hit 1,500TT) during the mad-house hiring environment of 2021-2022. Or at the very least, force these pilots to reapply and get them to sign the training contract.

Something to be aware of. If you're a prior military pilot applying to SkyWest, be prepared to list only actual solo and aircraft commander hours towards any listed PIC requirements. If you're a helicopter pilot and can't swing a tour as a T-6 or T-44 Instructor Pilot for your shore duty, highly recommend joining the nearest flying club and getting your 250 PIC/100 XC PIC/25 night PIC in a Cessna 172 or something similar.