OttoA10 - I thought about going to another 737 school that was a little cheaper, but some people told me that Higher Power was really good with Southwest...meaning Southwest actually visits each class and there is a long standing relationship between the two companies. Do you think that really matters in the end?

C17MooseDriver - I actually thought the same thing that I would actually enjoy the ups and downs...at least for awhile. Being a C-17 guy they long cruise is starting to kill me! Takeoff and landings are the fun part where you are actually doing something, I am sure I will change my mind but for now I was glad to read your reply.

Your Frame of refrence is a tad skewed on what it takes to get a flight ready coming from the Air Force. rest assured a Airline Preflight takes no longer than an hour from showing up to the desk to pushing back from the gates, and in most case about half that. And the Thru flights, esp SWA are less than 15 minutes. That being said, I still wouldn't trade my one leg day LAX- hotel -MEM 3-4 times a month sitting reserve in domicile.

The Airforce 3 hour preflight will seem silly and redundant, which it is.

Wait, you're telling me the fact that the IP does a walk around after the FP did a walk around after the FE did a walk around is silly and redundant?!?! :D

I can't say from experience other than when I talked with the SWA recruiters at the Air Inc. job fair they mentioned that since I had my type rating, I would definitely get an interview offer when they started again. I don't know if they were just saying that or not, but they at least seemed sincere and were actually excited that I had my type. FWIW.

:mad:Oh great, now what am I going to do to kill time before my next C-130 flight? I know, submit a letter to the AF Redundant Department of Redundancy. I won't miss the AD show 5 hours before a tac mission. Can't wait for common sense in the commercial world--and don't bust my bubble and tell me it doesn't exist!:eek:

Don't forget that the AF created a process to designed to remove processes in AFSO21. Maybe you could write a recommendation to the AF that they should AFSO21 the AFSO21 process. Then your process to remove the process that removes processes would allow you to process yourself through the award process which would allow you to outprocess with processing proficiency.

Funny...well not really. I did not have any "scheduled" 5 hour pre-flights. 3-4 hours though. Not to mention the few hours you put into it before you even show for brief time. The painful part I remember are the 5 hour POST flights.......as for your last sentence. Usually 10-15 minutes after the wheels touch the ground I am in my car on my way home. Its nice.

Wow....I dont even know what you are saying. Is it THAT bad?

It's not bad, it's just that inefficient. I'm guessing that the higher ups secretly use the book Catch-22 as a reference guide in how to run the Air Force. AFSO21 is a process they've put a ton of money and manpower into to slim down other processes. I'm not exactly sure how creating a process to remove processes really accomplishes anything. But I digress, let's talk about flying!:)

You definitely can't go wrong with Higher Power. I went there, it was a very well run operation. They do have a close relationship with SWA, and they come over to speak to each class.

With SWA not currently hiring, it's a difficult decision on whether you should put down some $$$ for a type or not.