Army aviation officer transfering to airgurad

[sbav8r]

I have a student who is interested in flying helos and fixed wing aircraft. I was curious if being a aviation rated officer in the National Guard flying helos would allow you to transfer to a fixed wing ANG unit after the Army tour was completed. Would the individual need an age waiver if over 28 at the time of the transfer, or would the Army aviation count for initial flight school in the ANG and therefore no age restrictions would apply?

 

[CCDiscoB]

I was curious if being a aviation rated officer in the National Guard flying helos would allow you to transfer to a fixed wing ANG unit

No, he basically would have to go to go through the entire UPT syllabus. I think AF helo drives can go through the reduced fixed wing qual, but not Army. We had an Army helo driver in my UPT class.

 

[Tweetdrvr]

If your friend is a rated Army helicopter pilot, then the ANG unit he is applying to can put in a package to convert his rating into an Air Force aeronautical rating. This puts pilot wings on his chest, and solves several problems like age waivers, and some vision and hearing issues as well. He will have to go through the entire SUPT/JPPT syllabus as if he had never flown before. I have seen quite a few ex-Army rotor guys with AF wings on their chests coming through in recent years to go to ANG units and a couple doing it for the active AF. It seems about 50/50 whether or not they do the aeronautical rating conversion. If a guy needs waivers, then sometimes you will see the conversion. If a guy is under the age limit, can see well and hear, then they usually just come through and wear their army aviation wings.

Current grads of Phase II (T-37s, T-6s) who go on to helo training are considered fixed wing qualified by the AF and can go to fixed wing assignments after flying rotary winged aircraft.

 

[TheBeaver]

I looked into a similar transfer four years ago and my information is accurate up to that time. I spoke with two former Army pilots who had transferred and I spoke with a Major at the Air Guard Bureau who was in charge of school quotas. Here is what I found out:

You do not need an age waver as you are a rated military pilot.

You can fly in an Air Force Guard or Reserve fixed-wing unit after completing the Air Forces Fixed Wing course. The course in extensive, and with certain qualifications (previous jet experience) you can skip the first half of it. Additionally, as CCDiscoB states, you could attend the entire UPT. A rumor is that fighter units prefer the entire UPT route.

The Fixed Wing course is so long that you might consider attending UPT except that funding and quotas for the courses are different. Air Force units get a limited number of UPT courses per year, but Fixed Wing courses are more readily available. Additionally, I believe the Guard Bureau pays for the Fixed Wing course and the unit must pay for UPT. As a rated military pilot, you have the opportunity to fly for the Air Guard at a reduced cost to that unit and without using the unit’s UPT quota. Use that to your advantage, but mostly, show them that you would be a good person to spend an entire year with in the desert.

I recommend you talk to some pilots who have already transfered. Post you question at:
http://aptap.forumco.com/forum~FORUM_ID~2.asp
Good Luck,
Beav

 

[sbav8r]

Thank you all for your answers. That was exactly what I was looking for.

 

[volunteer]

Anybody know about going the other direction? AF pilot wanting to fly helos in Army Guard/Reserve.

 

[Slim]

Going from AD USAF to ARNG/USAR rotary wing flying happens more than you might think.

With one exception, I know several former USAF/USMC/USN fixed wing pilots who now fly helicopters as warrant officers. The one exception is a former USAF pilot who retired from the USAR as an O-5. I met him while in the VaARNG.

If you stay in for 20+ years, you can retire at the highest rank held. I believe it's your option to retire at the rank which provides better retirement pay. I know one USAF pilot who flew in Vietnam. He left AD as a junior major. After a break of several years, he flew Hueys in the OHARNG and retired as a CW4...the rank which paid better at retirement.

Good luck...fly safe!

 

[HerculesPilot]

Beaver nailed it pretty well. I was a 15+ year Army Guard rotor head and went to FWQ 5 years ago. It is a shorter syllabus than SUPT, but not THAT much shorter. Also, I had 900+ hours of Lear, ATR and EMB-145 time when I went, so it was pretty fun. But, if your friend isn't an experienced fixed wing pilot, I would recommend the full SUPT course! Of course, SUPT is painful compared to FWQ when it comes to the BS, i.e., standup, EPQs, shotgun questions, etc. Have him email me, I'd be happy to discuss the process.