Question about Southwest...

[BrokenWing]

Your explanation is right on. In your original post you made it sound like you could add .3 for each leg, not for each sortie. I don't blame you for adding the .3 for each sortie as you're allowed to do - good luck towards your goal.

 

[YeOldeProp]

Just to throw a bit more gas onto the fire, what's the concensus on the "Time logged as Other Time will not be considered" (mentioned by Phrogs4ever)? If I'm the PIC (A-code on the flight orders for USAF types) on a mission with a couple of younger pilots and let them take the seats for a leg, I'm still considered PIC (responsible for the aircraft and crew) even if I'm standing and watching over their shoulder. Or, on one aircraft I flew, we carried an "NVG safety pilot" along on some missions, and when the night was done, the times got split among the pilots 3-ways (giving me a bunch of extra "other time"). But I was the A-code for the entire mission. This makes it interesting when you try to add up your PIC and your SIC, and then have your complete, overall total time showing several hundred hours higher. I have the mins for most apps covered and have chosen to try and ignore the other time as much as I can, but thought the group might have some comments on the subject. Be interesting to hear...

 

[Magic]

FWIW I counted NO "Other" time even though, like you, there were times I logged it when I was technically the PIC. There wasn't enough to make it worth raising anyone's eyebrow. Had I kept a civilian logbook and dutifully logged all of my time, I still wouldn't have used it. I would ALWAYS take the conservative approach. My goal is to not have worry about explaining ANYTHING about my flying time at an interview.

 

[Cosmo007]

YeOldeProp,

I totally agree with Magic. I also went the conservative route to keep things simple and easy. As mentioned in my previous post, I lost about 175 hours of true "A" time due to three pilot crews on P-3's. I had the mins without it, so I didn't use it, and it kept my flight times equal (TPT="A"+SIC+Student). Got not even a blink about logbooks/flight time at my interview, but it would have been easy to answer any questions.

Cosmo007

 

[Shooter38]

Ditto to Cosmo's post

Same for me, I did not want ANY doubts that I tried to count other time (~300 hrs). Yes, I had the mins by a decent amount so I figured it didn't matter. They didn't ask one question about my logbook at the interview, and the review lasted all of 2 mins asking about people the checker might have commonly known.

The funny thing was that after I subtracted all other time, and added the .3 conversion, it was within 10 hrs! Guess all those 1.1 T-38 sorties added up...

The other situation I ran into was what to do when I flew with another instructor. Our flight records have no "A" code like the navy or MWS, so I just figured a conservative % of the time I was not the senior IP, and subtracted it.

Keep it conservative and as easy to understand as possible, and you'll be fine.

 

[ivauir]

ditto again

I totally agree with Cosmo and Shooter, but let me give it a different spin.

This is Southwest! Hire for attitude, train for skill! Once you exceed the skill threshold(the mins) it just doesn't matter anymore. You are not going to impress the DB with your bizillion hours in a gyro jet. You need to avail yourself of every opportunity to demonstrate your attitude, including the logbook check. If meeting the mins is not a problem I suggest putting hours into the category that requires the least explanation or verification by the checker. Consider counting all UPT time as student. Yes solo time could go toward your PIC total, but you are also a student and this is how it shows on your form 5. Otherwise you force the checker to dig through your personal logs or you flying history folder.

I did this to make life easy on the logbook checker: times that are on the flying history report (student, MC, MP) translate easily into times on the SWA supplemental form (student, SIC, PIC) + .3 modifyer. I brought tons of supporting documentation in case they asked (they didn't) but what I left the log checker was: SWA form, AF Form 5, logbook (only civilian time), and a SIMPLE spreadsheet showing the raw data from the logbook and form 5 and the math to get the SWA totals with key numbers in BOLD. The logbook I keep that duplicates the AF flight manegment stuff and the vast spreadsheet that I use as a combined log stayed in my briefcase, ready to explain what I was doing on the first of November 1998 (hauling beans and blankets into Honduras). But of course no one asked! This isn't a United interview, they'd rather stay out of the detail and get to know you. Give them a chance by keeping it as simple as possible.

IMHO if you are honest and conservative with your times and then explain it in a way your mom could understand you will have a logbook check worthy of a rock star.

 

[MLBWINGBORN]

Well said and to the point..

The real reason you are going to Dallas is not whats in the logs beyond meeting the mins..They just have to find that you meet the mins quickly..

Who you are and what others that know you think about you is far more important..

Mike
MLBWINGBORN