Professional Pilots on MooneySpace

[GeeBee]

9 hours ago, J0nathan225 said:

Army Blackhawk pilot trying to cross to part 121 world soon. I interview with Endeavor in 2 weeks!  Also looking to cross into AF reserve/NG when I leave AD Army, if anyone can help with that?

I'm currently the commander for all Initial Entry Rotor Wing (IERW) training for the UH-60M (Blackhawk with glass cockpit), which when typing or thinking about is pretty surreal. 

The best fix wing pilots as a group are Rotor Wing pilots. Always very situationally aware, which when you think about, makes sense.

 

[A64Pilot]

31 minutes ago, GeeBee said:

The best fix wing pilots as a group are Rotor Wing pilots. Always very situationally aware, which when you think about, makes sense.

 

As I have about 4,000 RW, thank you. I think Harry Reasoner nailed it in his article in 1973, if anyone has a full transcript I’d appreciate a link, seems it’s gone, just excerpts of it, it’s not long, maybe a full page? But RW is more demanding than fixed wing flying, especially a complex RW.

‘But that’s not the issue, part 121 is scheduled carrier, IE Airline?

Issue is how does an Army RW guy get the hours and type rating etc to fly an airliner? 

I got my fixed wing Commercial / Instrument at Central Tx College on my own nickel years ago as part of their “Professional Pilot” program so I could get a degree to stay in the Army long enough to retire, as a Warrant Officer I didn’t need a degree to go to flight school, but even as an AH-64 guy who was critically short and paid an extra $1,000 a month I wasn’t going to make CW3 without a degree, most likely.

‘just getting the Professional Pilot degree in night school was tough, and the money required to get 100 hours in airplanes for a CW2 was tough, yes the Army paid a tiny fraction, Army paid up to x dollars per credit hour and the flying was a 2 hour “lab” so the Army portion was a tiny fraction of the total.

‘I can’t imagine how an Active Duty RW guy could possibly get the hours and ratings required, even if they inherited enough money to do so.

Army can send you to Flight  Safety in Dothan and you can get a King Air rating, it wasn’t open to me as an AH-64 pilot at the time but UH-60 guys could.

But even then all you get is a multi engine rating and if a King Air is over 12,500 a type rating. I don’t know if one is or isn’t.

But if he has a way to get there, more power to him. 

Edited July 2, 2021 by A64Pilot

[Marauder]

Seth:
I have flown all professionally in Helicopters since leaving the US Army in 1999. I got into FW and purchased my M20C in 2017.
1989-1999 US Army
1999 Papillion Grand Canyon - Seasonal Tours Part 135/141 (We had a scheduled flight down to Havasupi Res)
1999-2000 Industrial Helicopters - Offshore Oil Field work Part 135
2000-2005 Timberland Logging - Utility Helicopter Chief Pilot Part 135/133
2005-2016 Erickson Air Crane Part 91/133/137
2016-Present Los Angeles County Fire Dept Air Ops Part 91/133/137
Fly Smart....
Ryan

I think I found the guy to move my ladies around. Can sell that dump truck now.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

[Immelman]

A320 FO until the pandemic hit, now winding down the days of extended leave... family time, more Mooney flying than in past years... gotta keep in the game!

Will be back at work soon, and perhaps some new and very exciting things coming.

[PT20J]

10 hours ago, A64Pilot said:

I think Harry Reasoner nailed it in his article in 1973, if anyone has a full transcript I’d appreciate a link, seems it’s gone, just excerpts of it, it’s not long, maybe a full page?

[Jetdriver]

Day job is 747 Captain for an ACMI company but the real fun is flying my Mooney.

[DV8Pilot]

15 years of 121 operations with 4 different carriers, currently on long term leave from the most recent (COVID Pause)

CFI since 2002, always remained actively teaching 

DPE since 2017, all gliders ops and limited ASEL

DynCorp pilot on the CalFire contract 

[Immelman]

2 hours ago, DV8Pilot said:

15 years of 121 operations with 4 different carriers, currently on long term leave from the most recent (COVID Pause)

...

DynCorp pilot on the CalFire contract 

Out of curiosity, did you do firefighting concurrent with 121 or was that something that came along during covid leave?

If I did not have a young child.... I probably would have applied during my leave. Must be fun. I don't see how it would work very well concurrent with 121 flying but I'm curious!

[DV8Pilot]

1 hour ago, Immelman said:

Out of curiosity, did you do firefighting concurrent with 121 or was that something that came along during covid leave?

If I did not have a young child.... I probably would have applied during my leave. Must be fun. I don't see how it would work very well concurrent with 121 flying but I'm curious!

Came about as a result of the COVID pause. I figured that I was going to be furloughed in spring of 2021 so I started calling in a lot of favors. There’s no feasible way to do both. I was able to get a leave approved to fight fires before there was an indication that travel was going to turn around so quickly.

Under the previous CalFire schedule I couldn’t imagine doing this job with kids. The current schedule works with a family.

[A64Pilot]

14 hours ago, PT20J said:

There just part of it, he goes on to talk quite a bit about flying in Vietnam, and finishes if memory serves with the statement of if it weren’t for the honor of it they wouldn’t do it.

Thwt wording is wrong, but it’s close.

Only place I know it was published in its full was an Article for Approach magazine in 1973

[A64Pilot]

found it, I think

“You can't help but have the feeling that there will come a future generation of men, if there are any future generations of men, who will look at old pictures of helicopters and say, "You've got to be kidding." 
Helicopters have that look that certain machines have in historical drawings. Machines or devices that came just before a major breakthrough. Record -changers just before the lightweight vinyl LP for instance. 
Mark Twain once noted that he lost belief in conventional pictures of angels of his boyhood when a scientist calculated for a 150-pound men to fly like a bird, he would have to have a breast bone 15 feet wide supporting wings in proportion. 
Well, that's sort of the way a helicopter looks.
The thing is helicopters are different from airplanes. An airplane by it's nature wants to fly, and if not interfered with too strongly by unusual events or incompetent piloting, it will fly.
A helicopter does not want to fly. It is maintained in the air by a variety of forces and controls working in opposition to each other.
And if there is any disturbance in this delicate balance the helicopter stops flying immediately and disastrously.  
There is no such thing as a gliding helicopter. 
That's why being a helicopter pilot is so different from being an airplane pilot, and why in generality airplane pilots are open, clear-eyed, buoyant, extroverts. And helicopter pilots are brooders, introspective anticipators of trouble.
They know if something bad has not happened it is about to. All of this, of course, is greatly complicated by being shot at. American helicopter pilots are being shot at more often and more accurately these days from Khe Sahn to Tchepone than at almost any other time in this whole War. 
It's been a helicopter war all along. And the strange, ungainly, unlovable craft have reached the peak of being needed and the peak of being vulnerable at the same moment.
Everyone who has flown over combat zones in VN in a helicopter knows the heart-stopping feeling you get when you have to go below 2.000 feet. 
Well the men going in and out of Laos rarely get a chance to fly that high. 
They must be very brave men indeed.
This is a War we could not have considered without helicopters.
The pilots are beginning to feel like Mark Twain's man who was tarred and feathered. 
If it weren't for the honor of the thing they would just as soon have missed it.”

[M016576]

On 7/2/2021 at 6:43 AM, Raptor05121 said:

No F-16? Booo

I’ve had a couple familiarization flights in the F-16, but never a qualification in it.  It’s OK… I like the others better though.

[flight2000]

Ya’ll pulled me out of lurking on MS with this thread....

I’m retiring from the Army later this year (27+ years as a logistics officer) and 5 days after getting my “walking papers” I’ll be in ground school with a larger Regional Airline.  Finally going after that dream I had as a teenager all those years ago.    

Edit to add that I agree with the sentiment of striving to be as professional as possible - flying for hire or not. 

Cheers,

Brian

Edited July 4, 2021 by flight2000

[J0nathan225]

On 7/2/2021 at 10:38 AM, A64Pilot said:

As I have about 4,000 RW, thank you. I think Harry Reasoner nailed it in his article in 1973, if anyone has a full transcript I’d appreciate a link, seems it’s gone, just excerpts of it, it’s not long, maybe a full page? But RW is more demanding than fixed wing flying, especially a complex RW.

‘But that’s not the issue, part 121 is scheduled carrier, IE Airline?

Issue is how does an Army RW guy get the hours and type rating etc to fly an airliner? 

I got my fixed wing Commercial / Instrument at Central Tx College on my own nickel years ago as part of their “Professional Pilot” program so I could get a degree to stay in the Army long enough to retire, as a Warrant Officer I didn’t need a degree to go to flight school, but even as an AH-64 guy who was critically short and paid an extra $1,000 a month I wasn’t going to make CW3 without a degree, most likely.

‘just getting the Professional Pilot degree in night school was tough, and the money required to get 100 hours in airplanes for a CW2 was tough, yes the Army paid a tiny fraction, Army paid up to x dollars per credit hour and the flying was a 2 hour “lab” so the Army portion was a tiny fraction of the total.

‘I can’t imagine how an Active Duty RW guy could possibly get the hours and ratings required, even if they inherited enough money to do so.

Army can send you to Flight  Safety in Dothan and you can get a King Air rating, it wasn’t open to me as an AH-64 pilot at the time but UH-60 guys could.

But even then all you get is a multi engine rating and if a King Air is over 12,500 a type rating. I don’t know if one is or isn’t.

But if he has a way to get there, more power to him. 

As a Mooney owner and 60 pilot I have ~1500 hours split between the 2, not crazy high, but enough to get called back. So that’s amble time to be competitive for a regional atleast, they R-ATP is 750 TT after all.  
 

[A64Pilot]

I figured you would at least have to be multi engine ATP and type rated in what they fly?

I had no idea you could get in with just single engine land, Good luck, I mean that. I hope you get what you want.

I thought about PHI, but after retirement I went to work at the test activity when it was still at Ft Rucker, I did 20 years, 6 months and 5 days active and was never stationed at Mother Rucker, had to retire for that. I never thought I had a chance at any type of airline job, so I never even looked. Too old now

Edited July 6, 2021 by A64Pilot

[flight2000]

23 minutes ago, A64Pilot said:

I figured you would at least have to be multi engine ATP and type rated in what they fly?

Ever done time with 2/6 CAV when they were in Illeshiem, GE?  I was there as a young 67R (before they changed it to 15R) from 1994-95 before going Green-to-Gold.  I was also at Bragg with D Co AMC, 82nd ABDE before they got rid of the Apaches.  I was happy to get out of there as they destroyed my knees jumping out of perfectly good airplanes....   

Anyway, you do need to have a Commercial MEL as a minimum for the Regional's.  Most will send you through the ATP/CTP course and then you'll do the ATP checkride and type rating at the same time in the aircraft you're assigned to fly.

Cheers,

Brian

[Ragsf15e]

Previous USAF F-15E and T-6 Tex II.  Retired and Now flying corporate around the NW in a PA46T.  CFI/II Too, but I prefer flying to teaching.  Someone said it earlier, but CFI is more about the teaching with a good deal of patience.

Oh yeah, and if @M016576 had flown the F-16, someone would have had to teach him how to say “bomb” and none of his F-15C buddies would ever talk to him again.  See, his navy time was probably 2000 hours trying to score a 3 wire and 1 hour of how to use the weapons in a hornet, and nobody ever saw him in an F-35, so he can deny he ever carried a bomb.  Fight’s On, Fox 2!

[M016576]

On 7/5/2021 at 8:33 PM, Ragsf15e said:

Previous USAF F-15E and T-6 Tex II.  Retired and Now flying corporate around the NW in a PA46T.  CFI/II Too, but I prefer flying to teaching.  Someone said it earlier, but CFI is more about the teaching with a good deal of patience.

Oh yeah, and if @M016576 had flown the F-16, someone would have had to teach him how to say “bomb” and none of his F-15C buddies would ever talk to him again.  See, his navy time was probably 2000 hours trying to score a 3 wire and 1 hour of how to use the weapons in a hornet, and nobody ever saw him in an F-35, so he can deny he ever carried a bomb.  Fight’s On, Fox 2!

Did you type that all by yourself, or did your WSO do it for you?

tracking guns kill- hah!

[Ragsf15e]

10 minutes ago, M016576 said:

Did you type that all by yourself, or did your WSO do it for you?

tracking guns kill- hah!

Ha!  Good one!  Nah I thought of it all by myself, but I was on the wrong frequency the whole time.