Naval Flight Officer time

[bssthound]

Busta',
I included my WSO and Nav time in my resume'. I was interviewed at ASA by a former Army guy who understood
what the time "meant." By having it on the resume' I figured
I'd be asked to explain it and then could put the best possible
spin on my past experience to show I wouldn't be completely
out of my environment in in a fast moving jet, operating in and
out of busy aerodromes, and already have SA. No, it won't
count toward a rating, but put prominently on that resume'
you'll make yourself look that much better than everyone else.

BEST of luck,

Bassethound

p.s. When I had my multi I did log what little time I flew in
the F-4 with a sqdn pilot who was an MEI as dual received.
He was an F-4 IP, too, so what the heck??

 

[Bustamove]

Jim/Bsst/Jim:

These last few posts are real useful and shine a little more positive light on the whole thing. I just gotta believe being one of two guys in a tactical jet is worth something if kept in the proper context and if the interviewer knows something about the business. Your posts help to put the importance of nuance and knowing your audience out front. That's the kind of gouge that's important at this stage.

Next time you're in HNL first beer's on me. You have to work like everyone else to get lei'd, though...Buster

 

[46Driver]

While we are on the subject of flight time, does anybody know what companies count military helicopter time and which ones don't? Reported for instructor duty at NAS Whiting during a bad week (i.e., helo draft) and went to South Field - some of the other bubbas showed up a week later and got sent to North Field (T-34C land). Heard that SouthWest, JetBlue, and FedEx count helo time as "other". Trying to figure out which companies I can forget about and which I have a realistic shot at in the future. Thanks.

 

[Andy Neill]

I understand that Delta counts all helicopter time AFTER the minimum times are met in Fixed Wing. What I mean is that IF their minimums are 1500 fixed wing and an applicant has 1600 FW and 1000 RW, he is seen the same as someone having 2600 FW.

SkyWest counts 50% of your first 1500 RW hours toward the 1000 hour total minimum. The 100 ME must be FW but the 100 instrument can be actual, simulated, or simulator in any category.

 

[F18-FDX]

46Driver,
None of the majors count helo time toward minimum qualifications, and unfortunately I don't think that any company does. Here are FedEx qualification requirements from the website:


1500 hours total fixed-wing time as pilot-in command (PIC) or first officer (SIC) including a minimum 1000 hours PIC in fixed-wing jet, fixed wing multi-engine turbo-prop, or multi-engine recip over 20,000 LBGW or combination thereof.

Note: PIC for this purpose is defined as Captain/Aircraft Commander of record, not simply the sole manipulator of the controls.

Note: FedEx considers only pilot time in fixed wing aircraft toward minimum qualifications. This does not include simulator, helicopter, flight engineer, bombardier, navigator, RIO, EWO, WSO, NFO, or Special Crew


The bottom line is you will have to get the minimum quals somewhere, then your helo experience will be valuable on an application. I think a great resource for you would be the APTAP website, I ran across it during my job search. It's "Army Pilot to Airline Pilot"-www.aptap.org. Obviously these are predominantly helo guys and have developed a network to help other guys make it to the airlines, it was founded by Army guys but they welcome all military and seem like a great group with great resources. I didn't spend much time there but I think there is alot of really good info, I think the grand majority of these guys get the minimums to get on with a commuter (lower min qualification times), then work their way up, many have been very successful.

If this is what you really want to do, go for it, but realize that if your goal is a major airline and all your time is helo, it may be a long road to get there (and oh by the way, the commuters don't pay much). Let me know if you need any more specific info or if I can help in any way.

 

[46Driver]

F18- FDX,
Thanks for the gouge - especially on FedEx. We spend a lot of time flying students to Memphis on cross countries and you can imagine where the Lieutenants and Ensigns want to go to party (it ain't Beale St....)
I am in the regionals now and have been flying a Dornier Regional Jet for the past year (and yes, the pay really, really, really sux - the reserves are a lifesaver). I fully understand that I have to get the minimum amount of fixed wing time - considering upgrade time it is going to take another 3 years. The million dollar question is: After I reach the required mins, will my 3000+ turbine helo hours be regarded favorably or am I still at a fatal disadvantage to someone with 1000 more fixed wing hours but less total time overall?
Thanks again for the info and I'll try not to slow y'all down on the Memphis ILS (we can get the JetRanger up to 130....)

 

[F18-FDX]

46,
The fact that you are already flying w/the regionals is awesome, I thought you were still on AD. And, as concidence would have it, THIS MORNING I flew with a prior USAF guy who had most of his time in CH-53s! He started out as a the USAF equivalent of a SERGRAD and instructed for several years in the T-38, then ended up flying helos for a long time. I think he had to bump up his hours a bit after retirement, then got hired here 5 years ago. FedEx loves military, so you would probably have a better chance getting on here with "just the minimums" than other majors out there. But then again, I would say why would you want to go anywhere else? I love everything about this company and am more than happy with my decision to come here. Last year everyone was asking me why I was going to FedEx, now they are all furloughed and asking for recommendations. Anyway, you're definitely on the right track, good luck and let me know if I can provide you any more info.

 

[InHot]

Yo, 46 Driver!

Bubba,

My first interview when I retired was with American Eagle (yuck). I was offered a job (turned it down), however during the HR interview with a 20 something yr old pimply faced wuss, the guy looks at my flight time and says: "I see you flew helicopters." His inflection and demeanor made it clear that it was an ACCUSATION ! It was incredible, I felt as though I had to defend having flown helos!

Now, when I meet a prospective employer and he asks me about my background, I proudly announce my helo experience. I then explain that I relaized early on that there was not a tremendous demand for gunship pilots in the civilian sector and I decided to make myself more marketable by getting out of helos and obtaining FW ME time.

Moral of story: some uniformed dweebs consider helo time as a negative. Don't let them do that. "Best defense is a good offense." List that ugly 46 time proudly and go on the offensive! (you got to admit it ain't a pretty flying machine).

(we can get the JetRanger up to 130....)

. Reminds me of a time flying a Cobra on a PAR into El Toro. The controller asked me to slow down because I was overtaking an F4 ahead of me. I was doing 160 kts, just because I could. Must have P.O.'d the F4 driver!

Good Luck & SF!

 

[DCAA320]

Helos

Same thing happened to me in my SH-60B at North Isalnd in the GCA pattern, was asked to slow down cause I was eatin up an S-3 in front of me






Reminds me of a time flying a Cobra on a PAR into El Toro. The controller asked me to slow down because I was overtaking an F4 ahead of me. I was doing 160 kts, just because I could. Must have P.O.'d the F4 driver!

Good Luck & SF!

 

[Vicman]

In Hot..

yeah i second that....helicopters can do everything + more than their FW counterparts.. i.e. tracking airways, instrument approached and holds until flare to hover. I'll admit that learning to hover beats everything i've done in FW..RW is exciting and challenging and i'm trying to get a reserve/guard slot in FW or RW..hopefully RW. i learned to respect the chopper and those who've flown them and i'm quick to defend RW time to my friends/ FW cohorts.

regards.