chase

NBR,

First off, thanks for your service. Lots of good advice offered on here. Let me offer something that hasn't been discussed.

Baker Aviation is a 135 operator offering Home Basing to fly the Citation X. We currently have 14 Skill Bridge pilots. In the lat 18 months we have had over 20. This website can get you started on the hoops you need to jump through. Skillbridge pilots get a 4-6 month to transition from their current military position to a civilian job, in this case a pilot with a 135 carrier. The entire list of those companies approved for SB are on the website and Baker is one of those. To learn more, you can contact Samantha at [email protected] and she can fill you in...she has her PhD in SB with all the folks she has talked to.

Being a Vet myself (USAF, A-10), an ex-121 (SWA) pilot and 4.5 years of flyin the X with two different companies, my suggestions are all based on what i saw in your post. Correct me where I'm wrong:

1. You need hours. Baker pilots fly on average 40-80 hrs a month. My last rotation was eight days and my SIC and I got 40+ hrs. If you stay for the full 6 months, in the 5 months you will actively be flying, you will fly between 400-500 hrs...more than enough to catch the eyes of any of the majors. It will all be SIC time but the airlines won't care. Not all 135 particpant companies are flying that much....talk to others who are flying at those other locations. I can put you in touch with the SB folks here who can give you the straight skinny.

2. You don't need a type to apply. . You can get your type checkride on your checkout in the Citation X at Flight Safety...save the money and do it there versus going out and paying for it. A different oral and a few extra things to do on your X checkride and you are signed off.

3. We homebase. You will be able to stay where you are and commute (company buys you the airline ticket to and from where the airplane is parked.

4. Schedule is 9/5, depart on a Wed and return 9 days later, sometimes you will get home the following Wednesday.

5. You will have no leave during those 6 months you are in the internship program unless it is reqluired for unique events, weddings, etc.

6. Pilots who wish to stay beyond 6 months and are in good standing with the company, may remain on and come as an SIC unless you meet the total hours required.

THIS IS MOST IMPORTANT!

The rules, the length of time SB is being awarded to pilots (90 days, 120 days, 180) is rapidly changing. Getting an interview, being accepted and getting a Conditional job offer (CJO) ASAP so you can take that to your local commander (doesn't require HHQ approval...still unbelievable to me) and show him you have a landing spot, get him/her to sign off on it and you will be able to be grandfathered (so I've been told) into the longer internship if things change. We interviewed two military members who don't plan to join us until late fall and one in Jan 2025.

Baker controls our own sim slots so we can pencil folks in and be 100% certain on our end that those dates will not change.

Write to Sam ASAP or contact me to get the ball rolling and moving. If you are separating in late 2024, we have sim slots in the May, JUne and July timeframe that could fit the 6 month window perfectly. f

DM me or call if you have questions, 214.924.9033. If in the SAT area, can meet up to chat in person if interested.

Several other threads I've posted about Baker Aviation also.

https/www.airlinepilotforums.com/military/146019-attn-military-skill-bridge-hiring-baker.html

Let's Rodeo! Baker Aviation 2024
Roy White, Citation X Captain
Director of Operations
Baker Aviation

chase

Clarification:

SkillBridge is only available to those individuals who are still on Active Duty and have not already exited out of the military. The benefit to the employer is the fact that the interns salary is the regular salary for that grade and years in service, paid for by the miliitary and not the employer.

Having exited the military already, unless in possession of the spedific type rating, in the case of Baker Aviation, a Citation X, makes the candidate less competitive for an SIC position. My apologies to anyone who has exited the military already and thought SB was designed for them also as Vets. My suggestion is visit the RTAG site or other veteran friendly groups that may offer better suggestions.

MrIceCreamMan

I'm in a similar boat (plane?) as you. Haven't flown since mid-2022, eligible to separate as soon as this fall, but won't be able to fly in that time. I thought I read somewhere that certain regionals will pay for your ATP if you sign on with them. Did I read that wrong? Is there a catch I didn't consider?

chase

Mr Ice,

Don't know about that but probably true. Not sure if any of the regionals are hiring Skill Bridge pilots but certainly putting apps in with them is always an option. You won't know until you try. We had prior SB pilots with CJO from SWA when they started here but they were able to give us the prescribed 6 months because it was the date of the DOS and what SWA was working off of in terms of avialability. During those 6 months they were flying with us...they didn't get the CJO until after they started with us to be clear. We were happy to have them for the 6 months and send them on their way.

You said your DOD was the fall '24. If it is less than 6 months and more than 4 months, SB maybe the pathway to get you the currency you need and an ATP without it costing you anything.

I can only speak about Baker but we've had all branches, helo only, fixed wing only and helo with only some light airplane time folks come on board. Contact Samantha at [email protected] to discuss the details of if you might fit into this window. We have sim slots beginning in May and June that might work but there is a selection process...regardless you need to get moving on it. Good luck, DM me if you have more questions or post on here. Happy to help

HazyIPA

T-1 maintenance is killing T-1 flying. Even with the little mods the Air Force did to them, those jets were just not designed for the use and abuse of a training environment. Air Force is now moving to a training model in which students earn their wings in the T-6. Fighter/bomber folks go to the T-38 (eventually the T-7) because the fighter community does not yet have the risk tolerance for putting people in MWS fighters without some sort of transition. AETC is arguing that the airlines train people for multi-crew, multi-engine airplanes entirely in sims, so they should be able to do the same. (Ignoring the fact those people already have 750+ hours of experience already). So pilots slated for airlift/tanker complete a T-1 simulator-only syllabus and then head straight to the B-course for their big gray airplane.

It's as ridiculous as it sounds.

tnkrdrvr

Thanks for the response. I understand the budget and timeline issues, but my response is “Wow! That is shortsighted.”

Beech Dude

Exactamundo. Why teach airmanship, instill a warrior ethos, and spend way less money flying a T-1/X etc? Nah, just throw em at the MAF with < 200 hrs and they'll figure it out.

Unfortunately, nothing will change for the better until more metal gets bent and we lose more of our brothers and sisters.

Panthertamer79

https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/y...o-active-duty/

Cutting training and timelines to the bare minimum, and now this… and apparently with no extra pay, benefits, or promotion incentive to boot. No thanks! Do I miss the flying and the folks around the squadron? All the time. Do I regret retiring or would I consider this offer? Not for one second!

MrIceCreamMan

Chase, thanks for the response! Skill Bridge would be awesome if I knew I could commit to it. I'm in a bit of an unusual boat where I could be out of the military in 8 months.... or I could be in for several more years. Without going too deep into things, I'm stuck fighting a custody battle in a foreign court (estranged wife and children are Americans.... and, yes, it's legal for this country to hold your children "hostage" in their family courts). If I knew I was going to get out, I would apply for SB, but I'm trying to make sure I'm as ready as possible for an exit from the military while facing the reality, which is that I was supposed to leave three years ago and haven't yet, so the likelihood of getting custody (as a father) in this system is extremely low.

tnkrdrvr

Just read that article. I doubt they will find too many folks worth having are interested in this environment. Sure, I could drop 48 months of mil leave on my employer and have a great job to come back to, but cramming my family’s lifestyle back into an active duty paycheck would be painful.

Pile on politically motivated nonsense and I’d take a pay cut and then get myself courtmartialed for saying how stupid some briefing was.

No thank you!