Looking for some advice/thoughts
 

Gents,

I'm at a career crossroads and am looking for thoughts or someone to tell me I'm crazy.

I'm a 38 yr old full time AGR Guard H-60 IP with roughly 1700 TT of which about 100 is fixed wing ASEL. I recently crossed the threshold for my 20 year reserve retirement but have about 10 years until I could collect the full time retirement immediately (pretty much mandatory as I'll have to get out at that point).

I took it as a foregone conclusion that I would finish up the AGR 20 yrs but after talking to many folks, seeing programs like the Envoy RTP, etc it has me thinking about things.

Would it be better for me to take the big paycut and junior schedules now (I'm single with no kids) and make a break for the airlines with the idea that my pay will catch up, get ahead of the "hiring" wave", etc? Just seems given my FW time that at some point I'm going to have to pay dues and I may not be interested in doing that at 48+.

Two more points that may be relevant. I may be able to get assigned to a FW unit flying King Airs. Also I have access to a cessna 182 to build time for cost if necessary.

So...given that I am already eligible for a reserve retirement at 58 should I;

1) Just stay the course...good pay, get out in 10 years then figure out next job

2) Try to get King Air job as AGR and then that helps me transition somehow after at least 3 year commitment (could stay longer)

3) Jump now to a regional and start building seniority with the idea that pay and QoL will improve eventually.

I apologize for the long post but figured I'd get all the details out there and head off any obvious questions I could think of.

Appreciate any and all feedback or info.

Thanks.

In ten years, you may be on the back side of the hiring wave, although it should still be going on. That means you'll get hired, but may not enjoy as rapid seniority progression as those hired today. Frankly, AD retirement is probably not worth it financially since you already have the RC retirement in the bag.

In three years, you'll be in good shape but if the king air gig is going to land you with about 1500 hours FW, half PIC, then you'd be a weak candidate for legacy airlines, at least by today's standards. Cessna time can help you meet ATP mins but won't really enhance your competitiveness.

Bailing now for a regional would get you around 2,000 turbine 121 SIC in three years (maybe a few hundred TPIC if you upgrade at two years. That plus military wings wold probably get you a legacy job.

I think the hard call is between king airs or regional. Obviously king airs pay better and boost the mil retirement points. Regionals I think would give you a slightly better crack at a legacy, but with less pay on the way. Or you could sit tight and wait for AA flow which should be about a 100% bet when your number comes up.

What do you want to be when you grow up? Do that.

You can do whichever option you want. They will all work...you just have to figure out what you value and want in life. I was at 8 years active (helo guy with civilian only FW time) and bailed. May get back in guard or reserves at some point, but waiting until I know I'm at my last airline. An airline will pay me a lot more than the man would have over the next 30 years. You could get your FW time fairly quickly I would think over the next year, use GI bill to help if it's available still to you (or do a sponsored rotary transition program), get on with a regional and hit the majors in a few years, part timing it on the side if you wanted. Do you really want to fly king airs in the mil a couple hundred hours a year? It'll take longer IMO to get a seniority number at a major that way. And, if you want to be a career airline pilot, especially starting later in life than some, date of hire at your career airline should be your primary concern. If you want security from a government job, and airlines are secondary to that, then stay the course. Being single with no kids makes it easier to take a pay cut. I took a huge pay cut going to Mesa, with kids, but my wife has income to offset it. I could live off regional wages these days for a little while, especially as high as they are.

Good to have options as we do now. It's a question no one here can really answer for you though. I was in a similar situation, but younger and with kids. I bailed. If I were in your shoes, I'd keep a part time guard/res job and retirement to help bridge the pay cut and as a safety net while I raced to the regionals and a major as fast as I could. But that's just me.

rickair, beatnavy,

Thanks for the quick replies and input. You both validated my thoughts... just seems crazy. I came up in a time where an AGR gig was the be all end all so this sounds like heresy to my former self. That and an airline career is a relative unknown to me so wanted to make sure I'm not on some self destructive bent. Appreciate the context.

Going to drop an app for Envoy's rotor transition program to see what they say.

Can you get M-Day/TPU C-12's while flying at the regionals?
If you get mob'd in the C-12 for ISR, plan on about 600 hours and hopefully you will start building FAR Part 1 PIC to lessen the 'suck' of deployment.

Since you have your twenty year letter consider this: If you retire at age 58 from active duty, you'll only get two years of retirement pay that you wouldn't have gotten with a RC retirement (unless you have certain qualifying deployments, and then that could be less than two years). Now, of course the check will be bigger if you do another ten years of active duty. On the other hand, you're pretty much guaranteed they'll keep you on active duty (unless you do something really stupid); whereas, you have no such guarantees in the airline business (furloughs, bankruptcies, mergers, economic upheaval, etc.). You're welcome. If you need the waters muddier, just let me know.

Hobbit,

It might take some finagling but possible to be M-day C-12 guy. Which wouldn't be a bad idea instead of continuing with helos. I get the allure of deploying for the hours however I've done three now in pretty rapid succession so think I'd keep that at the bottom of my preference list.

Spike,

I would be 48 yrs old at 20 AD retirement. So I'd be looking at about 9 years of missed pension payments.

Your point is still valid however. Army option has much less risk but upside and employment is capped. Whereas airline option is potentially riskier but higher overall pay and benefits if I do it long enough.

Well, as a guy who just turned 57, 48 seems pretty young to me. I do believe that the hiring boom will last more than ten years, unless the A4A lobby can get the government to grant HB1 Visas to Indonesian kids with bogus logbooks (don't underestimate this threat!).

Hopefully unions start including visa sponsoring restrictions into their CBAs...