Army Rotorheads at the 'Big 6'
 

Any Army helicopter pilots here at AAL, UAL, DAL, SWA, FDX or UPS?
If so, what were your stats when you got hired?

p.s. if you had any Army fixed-wing time, you don't count. ;)

I wouldn't expect many at SWA, UPS, or FedEx since they don't count any rotor time.

I know tons of dudes but most that come to mind had army fw time or went AF air guard to get fw time before getting hired by a major.
There are a ton of rw guys who are at the regionals now because of these rtp programs. They will start hitting the majors in about two years.

There’s a FB Page called RTAG (Rotary To Airlines Group) Nation. Many on that site who have made the leap at all the “big six”.

I was following their public page and RTAG Nation group closely and have to disagree. The only mil helo guys at the legacies in that group also had significant Army turboprop and/or jet time (the Dash, C-12, UC-35) which qualifies them as mil fixed-wing pilots. I think it’s dishonest they were advertising rotorheads going to AA or United when they had at least 1,000 Army FW TPIC.

The only helo guys there that had zero Army FW time in the group were at carriers like JetBlue, Allegiant, Spirit, or Frontier.

Not even total time? Ouch.

Same with Air Force and Army FW. Even before RTP was a concept, there were still military helo pilots getting their certificates on their own dime or with their GI Bill and going to the airlines.

I have mixed feelings about that group. It’s a great opportunity for a helo guy in the right context, but sometimes not the best move. I have seen a trend since the inception of the RTAG and the RTPs that it has gained its own momentum - a lot of guys who are believing that they’ll do a short stint at a regional and be moving on quickly. I believe the reality settles in quickly starting with such low airplane time. The merits of mil service in and of itself helping in the application process can be debated, but straight helo - especially RTP - to legacy will still be a lengthy road for most. All my opinion of course.

Exactly, couldn’t have said it better myself. Unless hiring practices change with downward pressure on hiring minimums, military helicopter flight time currently has little to no value to any highly sought after career airline job. At best, it’s a “veteran” block check on the resume right now. I feel like some of these RTPs and affiliated groups are selling the dream that they’ll be at the Big 6 within a few years because of the elusive “pilot shortage” when that won’t be the case for most.

The only military helicopter guys I know at the legacies got hired with credentials and times similar to those of the highly competitive civilian applicants. I’m sure their military service helped make them competitive within their hour range, but their helicopter hours alone didn’t seem to give them an advantage like it does Air Force pilots.