A Fork in the road of life

[Nikes]

First of I am sorry for posting this in both forums however I need all the help I can get. Thank you in advance for your honest replies.



This is a two part question ….



I could really use some help with this fork in the road that I have reached. Currently I have 485 flight hours and about 85 hours of multi. A national airline has expressed to the flight school that I currently work at that they are allowing pilots who graduated from their program and have 500TT and 100 multi to interview. My options are to either buy this last bit of multi time or to wait a several months to a year until I receive my multi engine instructor upgrade.



The second part



I really want to fly military, and currently I am about 2 weeks away from turning in my USAF AD packet. However with the situation stated above I now wonder if I should not submit my AD packet for another six months and give the 500 and 100 program a shot, and if I get on with the national carrier try to serve in the USAFR or ANG.



Here is a list of other factors


-If I buy the multiengine time it will empty out my bank account, plus I have other large monetary commitments. It’s risky but I could reach the time requirements quickly if the need arises.

-I am 21 years old (so I do have time as far as the USAF is concerned)






The reality is I truly want to serve my country but in the USAFR you can do both even though I will sacrifice a lot.

Thanks for the help...

 

[FN FAL]

Do you mean a national airline like Southwest, or a national airline like Great Lakes?

 

[Nikes]

Like Great Lakes ..... Turbo prop and RJ stuff

 

[Wiggums]

Send your packet in. You could always turn down AD and then go for ANG/AFR. If you do get AD, at your age, I would take it.

 

[C601]

1st of your only 21, so u got plenty of time, dont use all your savings to pay for another 100hrs ME, if you had spare money then yes, but dont spend everything u have just on been able to apply for an interview.

Send your USAF AD packet in, and see what happens, you have nothing to lose there.

Just think it through, if you do decide to buy the ME time, you will just be meeting there Min Req. At 21 with the hours you have your well on your way, other year or so i'm sure the same airline will be hiring you will have more hrs then there mins, and more important you will have more money saved.

Good luck

 

[Big Duke Six]

The answer is really a simple one. If you REALLY wanted to go into the military, then the lack of 15 hours for another job shouldn't bother you right now. If you are headed for the military (in you heart), focus on that. They won't care if you are a working pilot or not. I'd save the money and wait to see what happens with the AF. If they do select you, then AWESOME! If not, and if you feel that door is closed for whatever reason, then go to work on Plan B - the civilian route.

I keep getting this feeling that people have a real misunderstanding of what the Guard and Reserve really are. Nikes, I'm not sure about you, so no offense intended, but for everyone's benefit I'll address this real quick. At the risk of sounding blunt, I'll cut to the chase: Without previous military pilot training, you don't just walk into a Guard unit, sign up, then start flying the unit aircraft next week. You must apply, be selected, attend USAF UPT (no matter what your civilian experience was) like you would have done anyway in AD, go to school for the airplane you'll fly, then typically finish training and qualify in the airplane at your home unit. That's about 1.5 years (or more) of your life right there, and there is no way around it. Again, no matter WHAT your civilian experience is, you go through UPT.

You need to do a gut check. Military or civilian? DO NOT "turn down AD" and "go for ANG/AFR" later. The AD slots are too few to even consider this strategy, and the ANG/AFR slots are even more so. Bottom line - if you want to fly in the military, go via whichever path will take you there. Don't pass up one for another, IMHO.

 

[Nikes]

I want to keep my options open, so I am going to apply to AD, Reserves and a few guard units while also working towards the 500 and 100 goal. Which ever Air Force "sub-branch" calls first is the one I am going to join. Big Duke Six, and everyone else thanks for the advice. This is what makes this board so valuable, maybe one day I will be in the position to return the favor.


Nikes

 

[Movin' on up!]

Knock on all doors!

Knock on all doors. 15 hours of ME, split between you and someone else would set you back maybe $1200. If you get in, then great. If not, then take your chances with the Air Force. You will not know anything for a good year at the least with the AF. So try the civilian route. You can always quit there and go into the service. Maybe even take a leave of absence from the commuter. See if you are one of the few who can have their cake and eat it too. You never know until you try. Good luck!

 

[Swaayze]

If you only need 15 hours of multi I'd find a MEI to split the cost with and get 15 hours of multi instruction asap (like 5 days from now!). By the end of next week your application should be in to the commuter. Will they call you for sure? No, but you should do all you can to increase your options at this point. Keep working on the military deal as well, you don't have to choose one or the other until you're actually offered a position and even then you may have options (LOA for military training). We have a few of the lower time pilots in my class at a decent national carrier and I can't even imagine how well situated they are for the future.

Luck is what happens when you're prepared to accept opportunity!