How competitive are guard/Resere units exactly?

wannabejetpilot said:
My main goal is to apply to mostly fighter units. I heard that the reserves(not including the guard) have very little number of fighter units. Is this true? Do you know exactly how many fighter units do they have?
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You can find all the info about the various reserve bases here: https://afreserve.com/

The following is a mostly up to date list of all the guard units: http://www.ang.af.mil/sites/

If you feel like counting them all I'll leave you to it. :)

wannabejetpilot said:
awesome!! What type of airframe do you fly?
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To make a long story short, I will have the opportunity to compete for my airframe in UPT just like the active duty guys.
 
wannabejetpilot said:
When I stated "starting out" I meant entry level jobs. I heard that RW pilot entry level careers pay more than an entry level career for fixed wing pilots. The airlines start to pay well during the later half of their career, based on what I've researched.
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Then your research was not very thorough.
Starting regional pay is no longer in the $20s except, perhaps, at bottom feeders or those who have been in contract talks for a number of years. At the top 50% regionals, once you make captain your pay will probably surpass the majority of the RW pilots in the private sector. Regionals are already having to get creative to find pilots- some are experimenting with helping prospective employees pay for their training, free ATPs, signing bonuses, etc.
That's not to say the RW flying is bad. As MikeD pointed out it can be rewarding. Perhaps not as lucrative at the top end as FW flying, but you won't be the poorest slob in the graveyard. Mike mentioned the 777 pay- on the flip side many of those international captains look rough and make me wonder if the age 65 rule wasn't changed to the age 90 rule but I never heard about it. Much of it depends on what you want from life.
 
Blackhawk said:
Then your research was not very thorough.
Starting regional pay is no longer in the $20s except, perhaps, at bottom feeders or those who have been in contract talks for a number of years. At the top 50% regionals, once you make captain your pay will probably surpass the majority of the RW pilots in the private sector. Regionals are already having to get creative to find pilots- some are experimenting with helping prospective employees pay for their training, free ATPs, signing bonuses, etc.
That's not to say the RW flying is bad. As MikeD pointed out it can be rewarding. Perhaps not as lucrative at the top end as FW flying, but you won't be the poorest slob in the graveyard. Mike mentioned the 777 pay- on the flip side many of those international captains look rough and make me wonder if the age 65 rule wasn't changed to the age 90 rule but I never heard about it. Much of it depends on what you want from life.
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So are saying that you would not be getting good pay until you are older. I have heard about the new 1500 hour rule and heard that to become a first officer at a major, you would be around age 50 or so. I want a career where I am paid more while at a much younger age.
 
wannabejetpilot said:
So are saying that you would not be getting good pay until you are older. I have heard about the new 1500 hour rule and heard that to become a first officer at a major, you would be around age 50 or so. I want a career where I am paid more while at a much younger age.
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Ummm... not sure who told you that you won't be an FO at a major until you are around 50 but that is not the case, unless maybe you start out in your late thirties or forties. I've flown with several FO's in their 20's and early thirties who have class dates at legacy carriers.
In addition, at $102/hour my pay is less than third year 717 FO pay at DAL it's not too shabby.
 
Blackhawk said:
Ummm... not sure who told you that you won't be an FO at a major until you are around 50 but that is not the case, unless maybe you start out in your late thirties or forties. I've flown with several FO's in their 20's and early thirties who have class dates at legacy carriers.
In addition, at $102/hour my pay is less than third year 717 FO pay at DAL it's not too shabby.
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In their 20's? How did they get to the majors so fast?
 
wannabejetpilot said:
I want a career where I am paid more while at a much younger age.
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If this is your primary motivation, do something other than aviation for your civilian job (seriously). Big money at a young age is definitely not what you might end up with, whether you go RW or FW. Possible? Sure. But with far less certainty than many other careers.
 
Going into a career based solely on earning potential is a good way to end up in a career you hate. My wife loves being a doctor, but she never went into it for the pay and was a pilot (among other things), before she was a doctor.
On the flip side I know numerous doctors who went into it for the money and hate their jobs.
In my case I went into aviation because it was what I loved. I may not die the richest guy in the graveyard, but I've done ok and I enjoy what I do.
 
Blackhawk said:
Going into a career based solely on earning potential is a good way to end up in a career you hate. My wife loves being a doctor, but she never went into it for the pay and was a pilot (among other things), before she was a doctor.
On the flip side I know numerous doctors who went into it for the money and hate their jobs.
In my case I went into aviation because it was what I loved. I may not die the richest guy in the graveyard, but I've done ok and I enjoy what I do.
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I love flying and I really want a flying career. I just can't decide between RW or few and I plan to start flight school soon. I was looking at 'earning potential' as a final decision maker.
 
Ruck said:
If this is your primary motivation, do something other than aviation for your civilian job (seriously). Big money at a young age is definitely not what you might end up with, whether you go RW or FW. Possible? Sure. But with far less certainty than many other careers.
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I want a career in aviation regardless if its RW or fw. I'm looking at salaries to help me decide which way to go.
 
Blackhawk said:
Hired by regional 7-8 years ago in their early 20's, hired today by a legacy in their late 20's early 30's.
Again, I'm not sure what people have been telling you.
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I heard that it just takes long to build up experience. If I'm correct, it goes: Private pilot license, instrument, multi engine, commercial, then when you graduate college, you go on to build more hours as a flight instructor, then you have to get an ATP, then you can go to the regionals (for about 10 years as a FO), then go on to become a captain at a regional( for 5 about years I think), then, finally, a FO at a major. It takes about10 years of experience to become a captain, right? I was exaggerating 50 years old but it is somewhere around there.
 
wannabejetpilot said:
I heard that it just takes long to build up experience. If I'm correct, it goes: Private pilot license, instrument, multi engine, commercial, then when you graduate college, you go on to build more hours as a flight instructor, then you have to get an ATP, then you can go to the regionals (for about 10 years as a FO), then go on to become a captain at a regional( for 5 about years I think), then, finally, a FO at a major. It takes about10 years of experience to become a captain, right? I was exaggerating 50 years old but it is somewhere around there.
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1. Correct up to the point of "...get an ATP..."
2. Some regionals now paying for ATP, though you need the minimums.
3. Even at ExpressJet and Horizon- currently the longest regional upgrades- current upgrade times are less than 10 years and slowly slipping down. Predicting the upgrade time for someone being hired today is tough, but I'd say even at EzpressJet and Horizon it will probably be less than six years. I don't see regional upgrades being 10 years in the near future.
4. Five years as a captain before being hired. Perhaps, but perhaps less. As I wrote earlier I know some pilots from ExpressJet who have been hired at a major while still an FO.
For someone hired today at a regional I think 10 years to a major/LLC is conservative.
Again, I'm not sure who is feeding you your information. It's not very accurate.
 
Blackhawk said:
1. Correct up to the point of "...get an ATP..."
2. Some regionals now paying for ATP, though you need the minimums.
3. Even at ExpressJet and Horizon- currently the longest regional upgrades- current upgrade times are less than 10 years and slowly slipping down. Predicting the upgrade time for someone being hired today is tough, but I'd say even at EzpressJet and Horizon it will probably be less than six years. I don't see regional upgrades being 10 years in the near future.
4. Five years as a captain before being hired. Perhaps, but perhaps less. As I wrote earlier I know some pilots from ExpressJet who have been hired at a major while still an FO.
For someone hired today at a regional I think 10 years to a major/LLC is conservative.
Again, I'm not sure who is feeding you your information. It's not very accurate.
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I've done some research online. I'm not sure but it may have been dated. There are regionals that do that? What are the minimums? Had the pilots you have known had military experience?
 
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I know ExpreeJet pays for your ATP, as does SkyWest. I think a few others.
The FOs I flew with that are going to regionals have no military experience.
Much of what you read on line, especially if it comes from the other board, is pretty negative and pessimistic. I've been around the industry a few years and I'm realistic about what expectations should be.
 
Blackhawk said:
I know ExpreeJet pays for your ATP, as does SkyWest. I think a few others.
The FOs I flew with that are going to regionals have no military experience.
Much of what you read on line, especially if it comes from the other board, is pretty negative and pessimistic. I've been around the industry a few years and I'm realistic about what expectations should be.
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Ok, did they have experience in any flight academies, or did they start from the ground up?
 
wannabejetpilot said:
I heard that it just takes long to build up experience. If I'm correct, it goes: Private pilot license, instrument, multi engine, commercial, then when you graduate college, you go on to build more hours as a flight instructor
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Depending on the college, you may well be able to start building hours as an instructor before you finish your degree. (Salukis and Riddlerats, please advise?) Disclaimer: I went to college for something totally unrelated, got a decent job and then when I decided the time was right to do this thing, I had enough money to throw at the problem.
 
My major was in German Literature and Europen History. Thank God I'm a pilot. Not sure what I would do with that double major today.
 
MikeD said:
Nah, I'm being funny. There's good future in RW, but obviously not 777 international captain pay. But still respectable work that is easily into the low to mid 6 figures, especially RW corporate work and some oil rig work. It really is better than it used to be.....certainly has improved. Entry level stuff like CFI, mid level work in air tour, then longer term work that will pay good pay.
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A friend of mine asked me if I had a RW license last summer. He was looking for a RW pilot for cropdusting in the SE USA. Pretty sure he said a Huey was the platform, flight times were something like 1200 RW without any cropdusting experience, or 800 RW with 400 hrs cropdusting or something like that.
I can't remember exactly anymore, it was last year and I wasn't even remotely close to being qualified so I didn't really commit it to memory. Anyhow, pay was ~$200k/season.
 
modernicarus said:
A friend of mine asked me if I had a RW license last summer. He was looking for a RW pilot for cropdusting in the SE USA. Pretty sure he said a Huey was the platform, flight times were something like 1200 RW without any cropdusting experience, or 800 RW with 400 hrs cropdusting or something like that.
I can't remember exactly anymore, it was last year and I wasn't even remotely close to being qualified so I didn't really commit it to memory. Anyhow, pay was ~$200k/season.
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*Must live in the helicopter and fly 22 hours/day
 
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