Hey guys,
I am an Army Helicopter pilot transitioning out into the civilian commercial fixed wing world. I have around 1000 hrs of twin turbine time, currently gaining my fixed wing SE/ME Commercial rating and I am looking for advice and recommendations on how to gain around 180 hours of fixed wing time to get me up to the minimum required of 250 hrs for entry into the airlines. Thanks and I am looking forward your words of wisdom. Thanks
Welcome to the JC community! There is a lot of good information to be had here, as well as a lot of great people.
First, let's start with a splash of cold water. To the airlines (121 operators) you have 1000 hrs of Helo time. Airlines don't care if your rotorcraft has one engine or two, or if it is piston or turbine powered (Of course all military rotor is turbine). As far as they are concerned it is simply Helo time, don't fall into the trap when it is time to fill out applications in the near future.
As
@deadstick pointed out above, not all.....read - almost none, of the airlines count rotor time. Is it infuriating? Absolutely. However, you can rant, rave, hoot, holler, bitch, moan, all of the above, or none, as I have done all of then for you already, it ain't going to chance a thing. Just be ready for that, forewarned is forearmed.
That being said, I happen to fly for a carrier, B6, that has a very good policy towards military helo time. In fact, I recently met a guy at the company who came straight from Marine AH-1 directly to the airline, so it is not all dome and gloom.
I would recommend that, assuming you haven't separated yet, make sure you get your MilComp out of the way if you haven't already done so. That will save you a bit of time, and perhaps a few dollars in the future.
I went the flight instruction route to transition from rotor to fixed wing, however I did not transition right after I exited the service. I would recommend that you look WELL past your 250 hour target, and concentrate on building experience on the civilian side of the fence. Focus on your ATP as a goal, and network, network, network!!!