HazyIPA

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."

rickair7777

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.

Excargodog

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

HazyIPA

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.

rickair7777

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.

R0GER BALL

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.

Hobi1225

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.

JohnBurke

Yes. You're hirable.

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

rickair7777

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.

Excargodog

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.