ChuckMK23

OK broad, no **** career question

52 year old former Naval Aviator - 3500 TT
ATP Helo
COMM MEL & INST AIRPLANE
First Class medical, blah blah blah

120 Airplane REAL PIC hours (80 MEL, 40 SEL)

Have not flown professionally in almost 20 years
Had an on again, off again affair with General Aviation as family and career permitted! I self funded and squeaked in my COMM MEL in the late 90's

Put app in for a regional RTP program and immediately got interview - (thrilled)

So is the concept of "industry motivation" still a hiring consideration by regionals and majors? Timing was always off and now market forces are in pilots favor - I am shocked at the severity of pilot shortage. The last 20 years I pursued a digital/technology career successfully and make over $160K.

Said regional was very supportive in my application for RTP, and I am excited about the chance to fly again, professionally. Heck to fly a jet would be awesome and worth it for first year pay at 60K

But will my 20 year gap from flying professionally be "forgiven" - should I be able to get 12-13 years of flying with 5 years at a major and retire at 65?

Thank you for entertaining the question - school me if I am delusional!

155mm

120 fixed wing, haven't flown for 20 years! Yikes! Really?

Sorry, I don't mean to sound like a prick but at least go down to the local flight school and get a Flight Review in a Cessna or something. A lot of things have changed in twenty years! Certainly don't expect a Regional to spoon feed you either. It sounds like they will hire you and roll the dice but they won't just pass you if you aren't up to speed! That could be a career stopper with a permanent stain on your aviation records!

As far as possible getting on with a major? Of course, but nothing is guaranteed! I've been flying with a few "Rotorheads" lately that flew a couple years with the Regionals. Great guys and and good sticks! Good Luck!

Whiskey4

RTP will give him the opportunity to build up from the 120 to 250 hours PIC fixed wing time. That should suffice for currency. Having not flown in 20 years is a bit tougher. I'd recommend Everything Explained for the Professional Pilot (book). Take a read through the AIM as a refresher. Some regs and procedures (ex: Climb Via during departures) have changed/updated. Flying is the easy part...managing the flight requires knowledge and currency. Respect the effects of the gap, refresh your overall knowledge, and you should be fine.

rickair7777

Even a couple of years ago, a mil pilot with a significant flying gap would have had to to overcome some doubts with a major hiring board. But today it seems that anyone with mil wings, and the required mins and currency should get picked up quickly by a legacy.

Hacker15e

The regionals definitely do not care about that currently (reference the back-flipping measures they are going to in order to usher anyone qualified through the door these days).

Still unknown with the majors/legacies. Although their hiring "bar" has dropped in the last three years, they are not even close to actually feeling the same shortage that the regionals are. The big gap in professional flying time might still be problematic today, but that issue's importance is surely dropping every day as the hiring pools begin to thin out. Remember also that most of the airlines also had a significant bias against rotor guys for decades, and it is really only the current desperation of the regionals that has driven them to (quite smartly, IMHO) tap into the pool of mil-trained helo drivers. That "enlightenment" about rotorheads probably hasn't hit the application review teams at the majors quite yet.

Certainly given the time you will spend flying at a regional building more fixed wing time and turbine PIC time after upgrading to Captain and before you are really eligible to move on to the majors, the gap in professional flying will likely be an insignificant issue given your other qualifications, as probably will your primarily-helo military flying background.

It is a good time to be making the jump back in -- welcome back.

AV81596

Chuck - I am a Naval Aviator preparing to retire early next year, who last flew in Sep 2009. I am preparing to go the regional route, and have been doing a ton of research and networking.

Bottom Line Up Front - Yes, you can get hired even though you have been out of the cockpit for 20 years, and it is going to take some work.

I have anecdotally heard of people in recent hire classes who are in your same situation, 57 year old lawyers who have been hired, etc. Do not underestimate the attractiveness of the gold wings. You have proven once you can complete the training. I was at a hiring fair two weeks ago, and every regional I talked to said I would get an interview immediately after applying. (I have 2350TT, all heavy jet ME, CFI/CFII/MEI/Safety Officer/Ops Officer/NATOPS Evaluator, CRM Facilitator, etc...) .

Having said that, it is time to get in the books. There are a lot of great resources out there, and here are some that I recommend.

Everything Explained for the Professional Pilot - Read this cover to cover, and use as a reference when studying. (also available as an ebook for iPad)

Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge and Aerodynamics for Naval Aviators - Going to have brush up on your aero....

FAR/AIM 2017 - Use as a reference and learn 91.175 cold.

Instrument Procedures Handbook - I would also do some of the Jeppesen chart tutorials found online, and hire a local instructor to sit down with me for an hour or two to go through jeppesen approach plates and how to brief them.

I also purchased the preview package from ReadySetTakeoff.com. Many gold wingers have used this website to help get hired by the majors. Also look into Emerald Coast Interview Consulting. Many people recommend their service. I personally am not going to use it, because I have heard interview prep is slightly frowned upon right now by hiring boards, and they can tell and will ask if you have used an interview prep service. If you make it to the interview, they want to know the real you, not canned answers. I haven't done it yet, but I will use Checked and Set to review my apps prior to publishing.

Good luck, and hit me up if you have other questions.

Sliceback

I'd pass on Aero for Naval Aviators. I'm looking at it right now and there are a couple of newer choices that IMO are better and are a more efficient use of your time and brain cells.

Read the AIM.

"Fly The Wing." Jim Webb & Billy Walker. Some of this is too indepth. like mach buffet and bank angle charts (Aero for Naval Aviator has the same stuff). But it would be a good review, or introduction, to a lot of airline type flying. Some of the Jepps plate are the old format. The newer format, standard industry wide and what you're expected to be able to brief, has the missed approach procedure above the plan and profile view. The old Jepps format has the missed approach procedure below the plan view.

Ace The Technical Pilot Interview - Gary V. Bristow(2002). I'd skip over the propeller and gyroscopic precession stuff. But it contains a lot of stuff that applies to the level of knowledge you'd be expected to know.

Airline Pilot Interviews - Irv Jasinski(2002, revised 2011). A review of pilot hiring interviews.

Handling the Big Jets - D.P. Davies (1973). Popular. 1973....I prefer Ace The Technical Pilot Interview as it's newer (2002).

I havn't read Everything Explained for the Professional Pilot. It looks like a good choice as does The Turbine Pilot's Flight Manual. They're 2013-2015 books and should cover the latest changes.

Good luck.

E2CMaster

I wish this were true.

Hacker15e

Are you still flying ISR?

The only former mil dudes I know who are current, but aren't getting calls from the majors, are flying ISR.

Since 2014, every single similarly qualified dude I know who went to the regionals instead moved on to the majors within 2 years.

E2CMaster

Yep. Still at L3. Guys are getting hired out of here, but not me

That said, a friend just spent 3 years at Wiz, and came here because of no call.

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