Impact of certain military quals on hiring?
 

Current Marine V-22 pilot, will probably leave active duty with about 800 hours and everything needed for a Restricted ATP, to include about 600 turbine, 60 TPIC, and 74 actual (not V-22) AMEL hours.

What I'm curious about: I'm also an Aviation Safety Officer (equivalent to NTSB Air Safety Investigator) with the likelihood to also get Assistant NATOPS Instructor/CRM Facilitator (can give equivalent of civilian biennial flight review) and Instrument Evaluator (can give annual instrument checks). In my community, we almost always do those checks in the sim, so it won't be in my logbook or an application as instructor or evaluator time.

Realistically, how much does stuff like this put my application above someone else with equivalent flight time? I've asked around other places and the answers range from "Unless it's flight experience, it's something to talk about but the airlines don't really care," to "Yeah, they'll probably look at you like a 1,000-hour pilot and not a 750-hour one."

Instructor experience definitely counts, since all airline PIC's are considered to be instructor/mentors on a regulatory basis.

You can log sim time (either student or instructor) in a civilian logbook, just keep it in separate columns from real aircraft flight time. That way you can quantify it, and IIRC some airline applications have a place where you can report that sort of time.

Also the legacies have a very good idea what various mil career progressions look like, and they prefer leaders, go-getters, and those entrusted by their chain of command with responsibility.

The only thing going against you is low FW time, might need to work at a second-tier, LCC or ACMI before the legacies will hire you. But apply, they are almost scrapping the bottom of the civilian barrel right now.

Depending on how much time you have left, even some aero club time (especially if you qualify as a CFI) could be a reasonably economical way to get TT up to top tier consideration.

https://www.faadpeservices.com/military-compentnecy

I've been renting GA planes on the side, as well, mainly to boost my total/night/XC PIC hours since I'm not realistically getting to 250 via just the V-22 and my T-6 + King Air solo time.

CFI - I'm thinking about it. I am an instructor in the V-22 so I could get CFI-Powered Lift on Mil Comp alone. From other people I've talked to, it sounds like the CFI-Airplane add-on would basically be the full DPE checkride minus FOI. Depending on my next set of orders I may pursue that, but at the moment I don't really have the bandwidth to study and prepare for that.

Get the mil comp, it's an essentially free box to check.

I probably wouldn't take a CFI-A checkride unless you really intend to work and build time as a CFI... about 50% failure rate on the initial, and being mil will not immunize you from that statistic. I suspect the pink slip would do more harm than the rating would do good in your case.

Push the easy button.
You’re an automatic hire at a regional for a touch and go. Great training. Great pay. Great flying. Great young people. You’ll only be there a year. And then you have gate to gate experience and knowledge about all the legacies/LCC/ULCC. It’s what I did.

Hard to get the call from a legacy and ULCC until the R is gone from the ATP.

Semper Fi. It’s a great job. Have fun.

Fixed wing mil guy with only R-atp looking to get on with regionals once I get out 6months from now. I haven't touched a plane for 5yrs, would any regionals hire me? I have no blemish on my career.

Yes. You're hirable.

Get current first. Touch an airplane. Show up proficient.

This is true but how far out are regional class dates? Sounds like most have slowed hiring due to CA shortage.

Some ULCC will hire R-ATP (especially with mil time), and I'm getting the impression that class dates come sooner there. Something to look into.

My impression as well. With long waits for training a lot of regionals seem to be giving priority to those in their cadet programs they already have a relationship with and some are even subtly discriminating AGAINST military who they know would be there for a touch and go and not help them with their CA shortage while the ULCCs aren’t CA limited and are getting people in much quicker. But it’s pretty easy to shotgun out multiple apps and just go with the one that best suits your timing and logistics.

It’s not like a year at a Regional is some form of punishment.
Flying 121 could not be more different from flying military, it’s a different universe.
Get that 121 experience and build your TT for a year then it’s a walk in the park to get to a Major.

But I wouldn't wait six months for a regional class date if a ULCC will bring you on next Monday.

Regionals historically have adapted their training programs to piston pilots with no airline or turbine experience.

ULCC historically were not as accommodating of low experience but that appears to be changing as they also hire R-ATPs. Do your research for specifics.

Question, which Regional do you think is going to hire him? Have you seen what is going on in the Regional market these days? If they have one wiff that you're going to leave before upgrading and serving some time as CA they won't hire you. If they do it is usually with a contract with financial penalties for leaving early (like Republic). Same with the ULCCs, they are getting very good at sniffing out people who only want to use them as a stepping stone.

How do they sniff people out in this climate?

Only hire folks with multiple DUI's, six pink slips, or a felony?

Other than that, almost anyone can take a type and some 121 SIC and make a good run at the top-tier.

All they can really do is hire older people who's zip code matches their domiciles and hope X percent of them will stay.

They could in theory not hire mil because they are obviously attractive to legacies, but do that for long enough to show a pattern and you'll get owned in USERRA lawsuits.


When they ask the question there are two wrong answers:

1) "I'm definitely going to make a career here, I think legacy pilots get paid way too much, I don't need the money and think it's unjust." They'll know you're full of feces and are lying to their face.

2) "I'm just here for a type rating, some IOE, and then off to DL."

The best answer is a realistic, believable answer: "There are a lot of things I like about brand X (domiciles!), I'd really hope that I can stay long term, I don't want to keep subjecting myself and my family to new-hire training and junior schedules, but I can't completely rule out other options until I get some perspective on line".

If you can make a case that you really want to live in one of their domiciles, that will go a long way (assuming it's not a big legacy hub). Even better if you already live there.

IMHO you are definitely hirable at any regional and would move on to a major once you have the ATP. I was retired MIL FW and hired at SkyWest. I hadn’t flown in 10 years except about 30 hrs GA in the year before I was hired. Got hired at AA 2 months after completing IOE at SkW. FWIW I had 4,000 mil FW hours which helped, but in today’s environment I think you could do a touch and go at a regional and move on once you lose the R.
I agree with Rickair about the CFI. High failure rate makes it a bad risk decision because you already meet the mins to get into a regional. Go rent a C-172 on weekends and focus on a 121 job. Good luck!!

1. Log your sim time separately. It's still Eval/IP experience.
2. Pick your regional. They'll scoop you up and you can take your six-figure bonus; you're at a major in 3 yrs or less.

Good luck.