Commuters Hiring Guard Pilots?

[weekendwarrior]

Hey all. I am currently working on my professional pilot career (only on Inst. rating right now). I am also going off to Ft. Rucker this fall or spring for IERW school. When I get back and am drilling with my unit and having to fly on a couple of days, is that going to cause a problem with getting hired? I've heard that commuters and airlines don't really like to hire guard guys because they don't want them taking the extra time off. Is this true?

Of course we all know they can't descriminate against Guard/Reservists, but would it be common practice to not hire (for some other reason) because the Guard duty would get in the way?

 

[bssthound]

We have quite a few Guard/Reserve guys at ASA. I was upfront about my being in the Reserves and it wasn't mentioned. Even though I try to do my military duty on my days off I still take a few days mil leave every couple months or so and it's not been a problem. That's why there are pilots on reserve.

Who told you commuters don't hire Guardsmen? I think you got some bad info somewhere.

 

[weekendwarrior]

It was a close friend who is a captain for America West. He is on the hiring boards. He said it is not an "official" policy, but let's just say it is taken into consideration. Also, let's say you are hired with a commuter and your first station is in another state for a year or so. Would the commuters be supportive of having to go back to your home state and drill for a weekend? It seems the long stretches of days for the new pilots would be difficult to get a weekend off, when the senior guys have troubles getting weekends off.

I guess I'm just a little aprehensive. I sure would hate to spend all this time and money on flight training to find out that my Guard duty will get in the way, or possibly deny me a job.

 

[bssthound]

They have to be supportive. It's the law. An employer
has to give his Reservist employee(s) time off to perform military duty. That includes drill, AFTPs, mandays, whatever. The employer doesn't have to pay you, obviously, but he must give you the time off. They don't care where you live or where your unit is. I live near New Orleans, my Reserve unit is in Biloxi, and I'm based in ATL. Big deal, as long as I'm in ASA Ops at sign-in time. We have guys who drill all over the place. Most are in the Southeast but some as far away as PA and other Northeast locations.

I can certainly understand your being apprehensive. It's a gamble to invest that kind of money into flight training and you want to make sure you'll end up with a job. I don't blame you a bit for your concern. Believe me, if you want it to happen it will.

 

[weekendwarrior]

Sure, they have to. We all know the law. But, they don't have to hire you in the first place. I'm sure they could think of many reasons not to hire you other than because you are in the guard. I've already been screwed by 2 employers who canned me as a result of my military service. (however the real reason was other things that they came up with to save their butts)

It is good to know that there are some guard guys out there. I just hope it doesn't get in the way of my advancement because I have to take off enough time to get home for a weekend when the senior guys are working on those weekends!

 

[TankerPuke]

It is a piece of cake. I flew with American Eagle and now SkyWest and I fly with the Utah Guard. PM if you have specific questions.

PUKE

 

[CCDiscoB]

It looks like you have more to worry about, (i.e. flying time)

That's like my 10 year old worrying which Major League team (or Minor league in this case) will sign him.

I'm assuming that your trip to Ft Rucker will involve Helicopters. I don't know what IREW means. But rotorwing time is not the same as fixed wing time.

 

[flyhawk]

CCDiscoB,

I'm sure his trip to Ft. Rucker will involve helicopters. IERW stands for Initial Entry Rotary Wing training. It's Flight School and lasts about 1 year. I'm not sure what your huge concern is about flight school. You're right, it's not FW time, but guess what, it's still flight time and at most places (ie regionals), counts as TT as well.

WeekendWarrior, you will learn a terrific skill, and believe me, flying helicopters IS tougher than airplanes, and your concentration and dedication in the aircraft and the books will translate well at the airlines also. I'm about to embark on a regional career as well, and I've received wonderful feedback from regional recruiters as an Army Aviator. Would C-5 time in A.F. have been better? Of course. But believe me, what you are doing will not hurt you. Let me know if you have any questions. See ya.



Peter

 

[wackford]

“Commuters Hiring Guard Pilots?”

weekendwarrior,

Yes, absolutely. Being a Guard pilot will help you to get hired.

I don’t know of any pilot that has experienced discrimination from their employer or future employer (regional, fractional, major) because of Guard duty. On the contrary, you will be a military aviator who has received valuable training. Of course military pilots are not necessarily better than civilian pilots, but the recruiters for airlines will realize that you have successfully completed a demanding training program with high physical standards and you will be a safe bet. In other words, don’t worry about it because it will help you and not hurt your chances.

Make sure you get your commercial instrument rating and as many fixed wing multi engine hours that you can. If you get 200 multi FW and have 1000 total you will be competitive for a job at one of the “better” regional airlines. I know of Army aviators that have been hired with as little as 30 hours of multi fixed wing. However, they are the exceptions especially in today’s environment.

I would like to point you towards a great website and group of people that could help you achieve your goals of flying for an airline. It’s called Army Pilot to Airline Pilot (APTAP) and can be found at this address:

http://www.aptap.org

The message board is a great place for advice. There are technical pages and plenty of success stories. This website is not just for Army aviators. All of you Marine, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and civilian people are more than welcome.

The instrument phase of IERW will be of great benefit for your future. After you get your wings you can get your commercial instrument rotary wing by taking a written test. Soak up as much knowledge as you can during IERW.

Keep in mind that WOCS doesn’t last forever. WOCS and IERW are what you make of it, try to enjoy yourself and it may end up being the best time of your life.

Good luck,
Duane

 

[guitarflyer]

Some airlines (the regional I fly for) will only count a percentage of helo time towards your total time requirement.

This is pasted from skywestpilot.com. Go check out that website. It has a lot of interview tips, etc.



Total fixed wing time plus 25% of total helicopter,glider time is at least 1000 hours.
No more than 3000 hrs of helicopter,glider time can be used for this requirement.

This would mean, a 5000hr helo pilot would need 250 fixed wing time and can use 3000 of his helo time to get him to 1000TT.....

5000TT ... You can only use a max of 3000
3000 divided by 4 = 750hr
Fixed wing time ......250hr
Total for Skywest....1000TT

OR

Unrestricted Fixed wing ATP
This would mean that you could use all your helicopter,glider time to meet the mins.

Other requirements remain the same.
100 hrs multi-engine fixed wing time
100 hrs instrument time
At least 21 years of age
Current 1st Class Medical
Right to work in U.S.



Good luck!!

 

[CF34-3B1]

F.W.I.W.

Of the 6 FOs I've flown with in the past 6 months, 3 have been either former or current military helo guys.

I don't know what ASA's official policy is RE: Rotor time counting towards our minimums, but we certainly seem to hire a bunch of helo pilots. I think I remember something about the multi engine minimums must be FW here, but I'm not 100% sure.

Best of luck where ever you wind up.