rickair7777

[QUOTE=PRS Guitars;2719053]Me, myself, and I?

Bizkit

[QUOTE=rickair7777;2719069]

No mention of the possible new plane he was considering being a crew aircraft. Either way, the U-2 certainly wouldn’t hurt his chances regardless of his hours. Several of our guys have done T-6 faip to U-2 to the majors; their only MEL time being about 100 hrs or so in the T-38. I think that more than simply hours; guys getting the call around here have well-rounded apps that include a lot of checks in the block. So if you can go somewhere and get Safety, Stan/Eval etc, it might make you more competitive than simply more hours.


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DARR31

As long as you have 100 hrs in 12 months when you apply, with your mins I’d say you should be fine unless you have other skeletons in the closet. A varied background will show that you can handle training and that you did more than just one thing. Go fly the jet you wanted your last 3 and have some fun!

Hacker15e

Honestly, you are way over-thinking it.

Given your current quals, you'll be marketable and competitive regardless of what you do, so long as you have that 100-hour (200 or 300 is better) annual lookback when your airline applications are hot.

The other stuff you're thinking about, tooth-gnashing over PIC hours (but being over the magic 1000-TPIC hurdle), is just not going to be as important as the quality of your application and quality of performance in the interview.

In your last assignment, do what you want to do and what will be best for your family.

Wheelsoff

Thanks everyone for the responses so far. Tough decision for sure. I know my 2300TT is low, but 3 years from now will hopefully be closer to 3000 (~1.1 per sortie is a GRIND).

Other than trying to add the usually recommended evaluator/safety/AIS stuff to my resume, what other things can I do that maybe I’m not thinking of?

BarrySeal

I believe the original poster will be in a "Pilot role" when he retires. Maybe not. I could have mis-read this. With that said:


Question: What about a leadership/staff role, in an aviation unit, but not a "line pilot" role. Say future major airline applicant now flies about 50 hours a year due to a Safety Officer role, or Director of Training role, in his government org/military unit. He flies some, but his "day job" is reviewing FRAT scores, Excel spreadsheets, setting up safety stand-downs, managing accident/incident investigations, etc etc. Said applicant has 6000 TT and 2000 Multi-Turbine PIC, yada yada. He is also a check-airman/Stan-Eval guy and occupies a leadership role in the org. He indeed is 61.58 legal/current, IFR current, etc etc.


But his day job is no longer flying airplanes.


Thoughts ?



Thank you

Otterbox

SWA accounts for such roles with active flying in the last 5 year requirements. Otherwise keep your apps out but plan on going to a regional for 6-12 months depending on training delays and how long it takes you to meet flight currency requirements. In most cases 50 hours a year isn’t going to cut it.

cheap

Get out of the office and on the schedule. If they let you take leave for a week they can certainly afford to let you go fly on a week-long trip. Heck, I’ve got OG/CDs taking 1-month deployments and two-week coronets to get their hours up. Sometimes you gotta drive your own bus man.

Hacker15e

Plenty of threads discussing this in the last several years if you so desire to get a more in-depth discussion.

The cliff's notes:

- Put your applications in to the majors; maybe they'll hire you, maybe they won't. There are guys who get hired without the 100-hour (or whatever the specific airline requirement) lookback, but they are the exception rather than the rule.

- General aviation flying (or any type of other flying which you're not getting paid to perform) while you're still on active duty probably won't provide what the majors are looking for. It won't hurt, but it may not be worth the money it costs you.

- Be prepared to fly for the regional airlines or overseas contractors as an interim step before getting the interview call from a "career destination" company. The contractors pay better but aren't going to look as good (or provide the same level of preparation for the major airlines) as the 121 regionals. Even as a highly experienced military pilot, you aren't "too good" or "too experienced" to take a job flying for the regional airlines: on the contrary, it will do you a lot of good on multiple levels.

- For most non-current/non-recent military guys, an interim flying job will take on average 12-18 months to turn into an interview at one of the major airlines...could be less, could be more. Be emotionally and financially prepared for 2 years, and you'll probably be happily surprised when it is less.

- All of the standard tactics for getting an interview still apply:

-- Apply everywhere. Interview everywhere you're invited. Take the first job you're offered, then continue to interview and accept jobs that you'd rather have than the one you currently have.

-- Take the time and effort to have a complete application and get professional review services to take a look at it. A similarly crafted and critiqued resume and cover letter are natural useful accompaniments to a good application.

-- Update your applications frequently with current flight times, type ratings, and employers/job titles.

-- Get professional interview prep services, regardless of if you think you need it. Guess what: you do.

Hilltopper89

2300 isn’t low for a mil guy. I was hired by a legacy in early 2013 with 2600 hrs. Most of it was PIC. I’d say your biggest factor is not in the number and types of airplanes you’ve flown but in the timing to avoid ADSCs. I’d get here as soon as I could.

Best of luck.