Source: https://mil2atp.com/category/uncategorized/
Timestamp: 2019-04-18 15:19:01+00:00

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Last week, we posted an article about adding ratings to an existing pilot certificate rating; this week, we’ll cover instructor add-on ratings. If you haven’t already, recommend reviewing what ratings you are eligible to hold based on your military experience: What ratings do I hold? and What instructor ratings do I hold?. If you would like a full explanation of FAA certificates and ratings, you can read Civilian Ratings Explained.
Recommendation: As mentioned in the previous articles, before applying for the airlines, make sure to mil comp as many of your military ratings as possible; however, we do not recommend pursuing add-on ratings (requiring flight training and check rides) simply for your airline app – the additional points won’t be worth the time/money spent on obtaining the additional ratings. If you want to use additional ratings (e.g. you want to instruct on the side), then the training and check rides are worth it – read on!
If you have only instructed in single or multiengine military airplanes and you would like to add-on the other rating, see the table below. *NOTE: If you have only instructed in a military multiengine aircraft limited to center thrust and received a Flight Instructor, Instrument – Airplane certificate from the FAA, you can now hold a full Flight Instructor, Multiengine Airplane certificate based on a rule change last summer. You will need to visit a Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) or mil comp designated pilot examiner (DPE) to be reissued your flight instructor certificate; no additional testing needed. For a mil comp DPE, check with your FSDO or ask around – there is no list available online; for Goldsboro pilots, we have 2 mil comp DPEs here!
*You must have a commercial or ATP certificate in the class (single-engine or multiengine) before you can take your instructor check ride for that class (reference §61.183(c)). If you need to get your commercial or ATP add-on in either single or multiengine, refer to Pilot Certificate Add-on Ratings.
**Per §61.191, you must meet all the requirements of §61.183 for an add-on rating, including having a spin endorsement in your logbook (reference – §61.183(i)(1)). Check with your examiner ahead of time – some consider the spin endorsement requirement met if you hold an instructor certificate already (since you met all the requirements to get the certificate). Others will want to see the endorsement in your logbook. If an endorsement is required, you can ask any FAA-certificated instructor who has done spin training with you (in any airplane, military or civilian) for the endorsement, or call around to local flight schools; most experienced military pilots only require a single ride. The spin endorsement required can be found in Advisory Circular 61-65, Appendix A (current version is AC 61-65H, but that changes frequently; use the most current version).
Since you will be adding another category (airplane vs powered-lift / helicopter) to your instructor certificate, the check ride will be more involved, but the process is similar to airplane instructors.
*Military powered-lift pilots qualify for a commercial pilot certificate with an airplane multiengine land rating. For details, reference What ratings do I hold?.
**Once you hold one airplane instructor rating, use the previous chart for any additional airplane instructor add-on ratings.
To know what will be required of you for any instructor check ride, reference the Practical Test Standards (PTS) for that certificate. *The FAA is moving from the PTS to the Airmen Certification Standards (ACS); eventually all check rides will use the ACS. The ACS and PTS are the FAA’s check ride guides; each certificate (private / commercial / ATP / instructor) has either an ACS or PTS broken into Areas of Operation and associated Tasks for each Area of Operation. If you have an existing rating, you do not have to complete all tasks; check the Additional Rating Task Table (example shown below) to determine what tasks you need to accomplish. For example, if you hold a flight instructor certificate with single-engine and instrument ratings and you plan to take the multiengine instructor add-on check ride, go to the PTS for Flight Instructor and scroll down to the Additional Rating Task Table for the Airplane Single-Engine check ride (shown below); take note of the required tasks in the column for AME (Airplane Multiengine) and IA (Instrument – Airplane).
When you’re setting up flight training for an add-on rating, talk to the flight school and ensure your experience and ratings are clear and that the flight school’s training plan meets the requirements and prepares you for the check ride. The school should double check with the examiner and/or FSDO for any additional requirements if your specific check ride is not given routinely.
We hope this series of articles has been helpful! We only covered the most common ratings / add-ons for military pilots, so if we did not cover your situation, feel free to contact us.
In our previous two articles, we covered what pilot certificate and instructor certificate ratings you can receive based on military experience (your mil comp ratings). Now that you know what certificates and ratings you hold via mil comp, we’ll go through how to earn additional certificates/ratings that you can’t get based on the military aircraft you’ve flown. If you’d like a full explanation of how FAA certificates work, please see our previous write-up, Civilian Ratings Explained.
Pass the ATP check ride.
If you are interested in adding on more ratings to your existing commercial or ATP certificate (i.e. you would like to add single or multi privileges to your certificate or you are a helo pilot looking to fly airplanes), see below.
Recommendation: As mentioned in the previous articles, before applying for the airlines, make sure to mil comp as many of your military ratings as possible; however, we do not recommend pursuing add-on ratings (requiring flight training and check rides) simply for your airline app – the additional points won’t be worth the time/money spent on obtaining the additional ratings. If you want to use additional ratings (e.g. you want to instruct on the side or rent a single-engine airplane to fly your family around), then the training and check rides are worth it – read on!
*Note: This section applies to powered-lift pilots (AV-8B, V-22, F-35B) because powered-lift pilots qualify for commercial pilot certificates with an airplane rating; see the “What ratings do I hold?” article for further information.
*If you plan to get your ATP, that will give you multiengine privileges, and the commercial add-on check ride is unnecessary.
**Review the ACS (Airmen Certification Standards) for the commercial check ride and the PTS (Practical Test Standards…this will eventually be replaced by an ACS) for the ATP check ride to decide which option to choose; most military pilots find the ATP add-on check ride to be easier – the ATP check ride is instrument approach focused, whereas the commercial check ride will have a number of new maneuvers. NOTE: The ATP add-on does not work the same way going from ATP AIRPLANE SINGLE ENGINE LAND to ATP AIRPLANE MULTIENGINE LAND; if you have an ATP single-engine, to get the ATP multiengine, you will need to complete the CTP and written (reference – §61.165(f)).
***The only difference in the ATP single-engine mins from your ATP multiengine mins is you must have 50 hours of airplane single-engine time (reference §61.159(a)(3): “50 hours of flight time in the class of airplane for the rating sought”…the class of airplane is single-engine). If you don’t have 50 hours of single-engine time, you can choose Option 1, the commercial single-engine add-on check ride.
If you have a commercial certificate with only helicopter ratings and you would like your airplane ratings, see the process below. Once you have an airplane rating on your certificate, you can reference the chart above for additional add-on ratings.
*Some transitioning helicopter pilots prefer to get a private airplane single-engine add-on first and then work up to the commercial certificate. There are some good write-ups (see this article from jetcareers.com) available online comparing the processes. To determine which works best based on your flight experience, compare the flight experience requirements for private pilot (§61.109) and for commercial pilot (§61.129); you will need to meet those mins before accomplishing your add-on check ride.
To know what will be required of you for any check ride, check the Airmen Certification Standards (ACS) OR Practical Test Standards (PTS) for that certificate. *The FAA is moving from the PTS to the ACS; eventually all check rides will use the ACS. The ACS and PTS are the FAA’s check ride guides; each certificate (private / commercial / ATP / instructor) has either an ACS or PTS broken into Areas of Operation and associated Tasks for each Area of Operation. If you have an existing rating, you do not have to complete all tasks; check the Additional Rating Task Table (example shown below) to determine what tasks you need to accomplish. For example, if you hold a commercial multiengine rating, and you plan to take a commercial single-engine add-on check ride, go to the ACS for commercial and scroll down to the Additional Rating Task Table for the Airplane Single-Engine Land check ride (shown below); take note of the required tasks in the column for AMEL (Airplane Multiengine Land).
We’ll tackle add-on instructor ratings next! As always, if you have questions, please feel free to contact us.
What instructor ratings do I hold?
Last week, we shared information on verifying which FAA ratings you can receive via the mil comp process (What ratings do I hold?). This week, we’ll run through instructor ratings. Again, for a full explanation of civilian ratings, you can check out Civilian Ratings Explained. We’ll cover the basics below, but if you have a situation or question that is not covered, feel free to contact us!
Your instructor certificate (i.e. your instructor license) will be a separate card from your pilot certificate. The front will show FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR. What you’re qualified to instruct in will show on the back.
Two notes under the LIMITATIONS section: First, you have to fly with your pilot certificate when instructing. Second, your flight instructor certificate expires! The FAA recently made reinstating an expired certificate less painful for military pilots (you have to visit a FSDO with proof of a military instructor check within the past 6 months – reference 14 CFR 61.199), but recommend not letting it expire. To renew, you can visit a FSDO with an updated military instructor check (reference – §61.197 (2)(iv)) or complete an online renewal course like American Flyers, King Schools, etc. (reference – §61.197 (2)(iii)).
Below are the instructor ratings you will receive based on military aircraft flown. Your instructor certificate will not show type ratings or land / sea; you can instruct in any aircraft which falls under the rating listed on your instructor cert (e.g. if your instructor certificate includes an AIRPLANE SINGLE ENGINE rating, then you can instruct in whatever single-engine aircraft are listed on your pilot certificate; if your pilot certificate shows AIRPLANE SINGLE ENGINE LAND, you can instruct in single-engine land but not single-engine sea planes.).
*As mentioned in the pervious article, the FAA did away with the centerline thrust restriction in August 2018. If you received your FAA instructor certificate AFTER the rule change, you will receive AIRPLANE MULTIENGINE; INSTRUMENT – AIRPLANE just like standard multiengine instructors. If you received your instructor certificate before the rule change, you will need to visit a FSDO with your paperwork to receive the AIRPLANE MULTIENGINE rating.
If you also instructed in helos and/or powered-lift, you will also have one or more of the below. For powered-lift pilots, you will not receive an airplane instructor rating – reference FSIMS 8900.1 Vol 5, Ch 2, Sec 15, 5-620 E.2.
If you have not visited the FSDO to get your instructor certificate, then you will need to: 1. Take the mil comp instructor written test (study via Sheppard Air and then either test on base at the education center if they offer FAA testing or at a local test center). 2. Take your written and instructor check ride paperwork to the nearest FSDO or a Designated Pilot Examiner who can handle mil comp paperwork (check with your FSDO or ask around – there is no list available online; for Goldsboro pilots, we have 2 mil-comp DPEs here!). If you have previously completed the mil comp process for your instructor cert but now fly another military aircraft that qualifies you for an additional instructor rating, you do not need to take an additional written test; simply visit the FSDO or mil comp DPE with your paperwork.
Next up – what can you do with these ratings in the civilian aviation world? And how do you add other ratings that you can’t get via mil comp?
The FAA gives military pilots a Commercial Pilot Certificate (i.e. your pilot’s license) with ratings based on military aircraft flown. This article was written to help walk you through what ratings should be included on your certificate based on your military experience. (If you would like a complete explanation of how the FAA certificate system works, see our previous article Civilian Ratings Explained).
The front simply shows that you are a Commercial Pilot; specifics are on the back (see below).
Under RATINGS, you will have COMMERCIAL PILOT, and under that will be listed all your ratings (single-engine, multiengine, etc). The options are shown below.
After your airplane ratings, you will also see INSTRUMENT – AIRPLANE.
*As of August 2018, the FAA decided to do away with the centerline thrust restriction category (so if you fly an aircraft with no VMC, you will receive a multiengine rating with no restrictions). If you received your certificate before the rule change, your ratings will show the centerline thrust restriction. You can have it removed by visiting a FSDO (or FAA examiner qualified to do mil comp paperwork) and be issued a new certificate. You can also have it removed during your ATP check ride by performing a VMC maneuver.
**These are the most common. For a complete list, look up your aircraft in the “Equivalent Military Designation” column of 8900.1 Figure 5-88.
NOTE: If you received your Private Pilot Certificate before pilot training and you ONLY flew multiengine aircraft in the military, then under COMMERCIAL PILOT and your ratings from the military, you will see PRIVATE PRIVILEGES AIRPLANE SINGLE ENGINE LAND; but if you flew a military single-engine plane, you will get a COMMERCIAL AIRPLANE SINGLE ENGINE LAND, which supersedes the private, so PRIVATE PRIVILEGES will no longer show on your certificate. If you had other civilian ratings before joining the military and have questions, feel free to contact us to discuss.
If you flew helos and/or powered-lift, you will also have one or more of the below, again based on your Form 8 / NATOPS check and aircraft flown during pilot training. Please note that powered-lift pilots also qualify for airplane ratings (reference FSIMS 8900.1 Vol 5, Ch 2, Sec 15, 5-619 G).
Your certificate does not automatically update, so the only ratings that will show on your certificate are the ones which you had flown the last time you visited the FSDO (Flight Standards District Office). If you have additional ratings you would like to add, simply visit the FSDO (no additional testing required if you already hold a mil-comp Commercial Pilot Certificate). Make sure to set up an appointment (most do not accept walk-ins; at some locations, mil comp is only done on certain days of the week). When scheduling the appointment, try to get the contact info of the inspector who will be doing your paperwork so you can confirm what documents he / she wants to see. To save yourself a trip to the FSDO, ask around your unit to see if anyone knows a mil comp rep (we have two here in Goldsboro, NC!) or ask your FSDO if there are any examiners who handle mil comp paperwork.
NOTE: This article assumes you hold a commercial certificate; if you have never completed your mil comp paperwork, you will need to take the mil comp written test and then visit the FSDO. Study via Sheppard Air, and then find a nearby test center (or ask your base education office if they offer FAA testing). Then call the FSDO for an appointment.
As always, if you have questions about this, feel free to contact us!
As a military pilot, you probably have plenty of hours to meet FAA mins (for your ATP check ride) and airline mins (for your airline app/interview). The problem: in order to prove it, you will need to learn and apply the FAA’s and airlines’ flight time definitions to your flight records. Of note, the FAA and airlines use different definitions…and unfortunately, military records do not cleanly translate to either. So you will need to wade through your flight times and translate them using a little judgement. The good news: as long as your numbers are reasonable and conservative (and you can explain them!), you will be fine. The bad news: in order to be able to explain them, you will need to wrestle with your military records a bit.
Below is a summary of the information that you will need as you’re working on your ATP and airline applications; recommend reading the referenced regs yourself, either in the FAR/AIM or at ecfr.gov.
The ATP checkride is an FAA event, so you will use the FAA’s definitions. (For any of our MIL2ATP students reading this – you can calculate your times for the FAA check ride before arriving for ATP training but it is not required! We’ll help you with this when you arrive.) The primary concern for the examiner is that you meet minimums (they are certifying that you are legal to hold an ATP), so the closer to minimums you are, the more conservative you will need to be with assumptions and the more proof you will need to show from your military records.
Total time: Per §61.1 Pilot Time, this is flight time when you are a required crew member, receiving instruction, or acting as an instructor. No other time or special crew time is included.
PIC time: Per §1.1, this is flight time when you are rated to fly the aircraft, are designated PIC for the flight, and have final authority / responsibility for the flight. As further defined in §61.51(e), PIC time includes: when you are appropriately rated and sole manipulator of controls; solo (sole occupant); acting as PIC when more than one pilot is required; performing the duties of PIC while under the supervision of a PIC in a PIC training program; or instructing.
SIC time: Per §61.51(f), this is flight time when you are qualified as SIC for that aircraft (the FAA definition for SIC qualification can be found in §61.55), occupying a crewmember station, and the aircraft requires more than one pilot (i.e. for FAA purposes, you should not log SIC time in an aircraft that can be flown solo – T-6, T-34, etc.).
Cross-country time: Per §61.1 Cross Country (vi), when applying for an ATP, a flight can be considered cross-country if you navigate at least 50 NM straight-line from point of departure (landing not required). We recommend assuming a conservative percentage of your time – 80% is a good rule of thumb which can be adjusted (e.g. if your practice areas were within 50 mi of the base, consider lowering the percentage).
Instrument time: Per §61.51(g), this is time when you are flying solely by reference to instruments in actual or simulated instrument flight conditions OR instructing in actual instrument flight conditions. You may use simulator time if being instructed in the sim (the most simulator instrument time you can count toward your ATP is 25 hours [ref §61.159(a)(4)(i)]).
Night time: This one is a direct translation. Per §1.1, night is end of night civil twilight to beginning of morning civil twilight (~30 minutes after sunset – ~30 min before sunrise). Fortunately, the military uses the same rules. Bottom line, if the time is logged as night in your military records, count it as night time.
The primary difference with your airline app will be your PIC time (this will be a much bigger hassle for heavy pilots than for fighters). The airlines are looking for the flights that you signed for the aircraft. For heavy pilots, you can typically assume a conservative percentage of your time after making Aircraft Commander; 80% is commonly used, but again, make sure it makes sense for your flight time and you can explain why you used the percentage you chose.
NOTE: Pilot Credentials includes IP time in PIC (PIC + SIC = Total); Airline Apps does not (PIC + SIC + IP = Total). After inputting your flight time, check the generated total to make sure it makes sense!
Now, how to apply this information to your flight records. To get started, recommend creating a master sheet with all of your times – military, FAA and airline. (In my opinion, an excel spreadsheet is the easiest way to manipulate your information, whether you are creating a military-flight-records coversheet or a line-by-line logbook.) First, input the raw data from your military flight records (primary / first pilot, secondary / copilot, IP, etc.); if you’re using a line-by-line logbook, there should be a column for each of those categories, and if you’re creating a summary/coversheet, create a cell for each of those totals. Then add columns or cells for numbers you calculate, assume, or carryover to the various categories (FAA PIC/SIC, airline PIC/SIC, airline conversion factors, etc.). Annotate what calculations and assumptions you used to go from the raw data to the translated data (e.g. assumed 80% of AF primary time after making Aircraft Commander is airline PIC and assumed all AF primary time was FAA PIC). With the master sheet, you can easily pull (and explain!) any information to create tailored info sheets for the FAA check ride and airline apps. **We do not provide a template because it is important that the information makes sense to you, and we’ve found that pilots who build their own have a better understanding of their flight times.
We’ll throw in our 2 cents on the debate about creating a line-by-line logbook or not when applying to the airlines.
It is completely up to you. You have to present your flight times in a way that is easily and clearly understood during your interview, and you have to understand the data you are presenting. Some pilots feel that in order to make their application as good as possible, they need a line-by-line logbook while others go with the “if-it’s-not-necessary-why-do-it?” route. Either is fine – do what will make you comfortable on interview day.
Whether you walk into the interview with a summary page and your military records or a logbook, the important thing is that YOU understand and can explain the data you present. If you decide to create a line-by-line logbook, you can have a company convert your military logbooks to save time. But it is imperative that you understand what assumptions / calculations / conversions the software uses; go through every single number you place on your application – compare them to your military records, add up categories to make sure they equal your total, calculate each category as a percentage of your total (i.e. did you really spend 65% of your total flight time in night conditions??). An airline hiring rep has seen hundreds or thousands of flight summaries and will catch anything that looks unusual – you should be able to explain any “why?” question they throw at you. At MIL2ATP, we have many examples of students who hand us polished program-generated hours sheets that show more PIC time than total time, almost zero PIC time out of 100s of hours of single-seat fighter time, etc. You HAVE to be able to explain your hours – logbook conversion company or not, there’s no fast way around understanding the totals you are presenting.
*If you’ll be manually entering your own flight records into an e-logbook, feel free to e-mail us and we can send you an Excel template.
**If you decide to use a logbook conversion company, we tried out MilKEEP’s product – it took years of data and spit out a product that could be downloaded as a spreadsheet (my favorite format for being able to manipulate numbers) as well as some other formats for applications; after receiving the initial product, I went through the numbers and adjusted parameters to make sure the right assumptions were being applied. Like all conversions, it’s not 100% plug-and-play but it will keep you from having to manually enter years of data. MilKEEP, being military-pilot run, has a good understanding of military logbooks, and their customer service is excellent. They are a small team and answer all questions themselves, so you’ll be able to get help if something doesn’t go right or if you have questions/concerns.
Good luck and happy logbooking!
MIL2ATP, Inc. has been recognized for its excellence in flight training by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), the world’s largest aviation association. The flight school has been awarded the title of 2018 Best Flight School in the Southeast and is the only flight school in the Southeast to earn this recognition.
With current airline hiring (and the military ops tempo), “Should I jump ship and go to the airlines?” is discussed frequently in online forums, at the squadron bar, over pizza with the bros. Unfortunately, there is not a universal yes / no answer. The answer is always preceded by “If your priority is (fill in the blank)…” It’s a decision that every pilot has to make for himself / herself based on personal priorities and situation. Our best advice: BE INTENTIONAL.
A lot of military pilots come through our doors for ATP training; they are at all stages of military careers and each with a reason for going to the airlines. I love talking to the pilots who decided to separate based on something they want on the other side – improved family life, a new job, better opportunities. These pilots have loved flying for the military but are ready to take the next step and are excited about the future.
Being intentional about your future takes some time and some soul searching. It’s easy to stay busy dealing with the nearest threat (upgrade, running a squadron, deploy/spin up/repeat) and never get around to it, but make time to think through and plan out your future, so that in 5 and 10 and 20 years, you are where you want to be. Educate yourself on airline and military lifestyle/pay/opportunities/mission/security; at the moment, there is an abundance of information out there – networks, fellow pilots who have transitioned, transition assistance companies (the ones we’ve partnered with provide great write-ups on the good and bad of the airlines – checkout ECIC, Checkedandset, Cockpit2Cockpit, TPN). Then look at the factors that are the most important to you based on your goals, consider the pros and cons, and leave when it makes sense for you. Don’t chase money and be disappointed by the straight-and-level airline flying. Don’t feel obligated to stay for 20 and spend 7 years hating every minute of the crazy ops tempo. Don’t wait until year 15 and then realize you’ve missed out on potential seniority/earnings because you didn’t take the time to consider your options earlier.
And then once you’ve made your intentional decision, MAKE A PLAN. If you decide to stay in the military for now but plan to fly for the airlines at some point, read Cockpit2Cockpit to set yourself up for success. And get your logbook in order. And get ahead – the CTP and ATP never expire and have no currency requirements; you can knock out the training at any time.
If you decide to transition to the airlines, then it’s time to get busy building your plan. To figure out what to include in your plan, do some research – join The Pilot Network to hear about hiring windows / job fairs / the latest hiring trends; read Cockpit2Cockpit for transition gouge and helpful transition checklists; call us here at MIL2ATP to ask questions about training and preparation.
You will need to allow at least a year to complete training, prep your app, and get ready to interview, so start building your transition schedule at least 18 months before you want to start with an airline. The process is a lot less painful if you avoid the I-woke-up-this-morning-and-decided-to-go-to-the-airlines-tomorrow route. Training fills up early (our Mil-to-Airlines Course is currently booking up 6-9 months out), so if you want to be able to train when/where you want, planning ahead is crucial.
So if you find yourself asking the question “When should I transition?”, don’t stop at bar talk or scrolling through others’ answers on Facebook; make time to define your goals and educate yourself on the options. Then make an intentional decision and create a game plan.
As you can imagine at an airline networking conference, the topic of applications came up a lot. Charlie Venema (owner of Checkedandset) gave a solid overview of the process. Below is information from his talk as well as some other tips picked up during the conference.
There are two main websites that airlines use to standardize formatting on applications. If you want to work for Delta or United (as well as a number of other non-legacy airlines), you need to open an account on airlineapps.com. If you are trying to get hired by FedEx, American, or Southwest, you need to go to pilotcredentials.com (click on the desired airline at the bottom of the page). Pilot Credentials Global is currently having a lot of issues populating correctly to the various airlines; recommend not using it. UPS has its own application site.
Your application is the first impression you give a prospective hiring department…don’t skimp on time or effort when building your application. Pilots frequently take 40-60 hours to prepare the application.
After you’ve built your app, make sure to have a professional app company review it (recommend Checkedandset!) and make any needed adjustments.
You want your application to tell a story. Don’t get so caught up in including every detail that the story gets lost. This is one of the reasons a professional app review is important; a friend/coworker/family member who reviews your application won’t notice any holes in your application because they know you and your story.
Be honest! Don’t estimate GPAs; don’t leave out speeding tickets / DUIs / busted check rides; don’t inflate numbers / positions; use a realistic hiring date; etc. Remember, everything you put on your application, you will be explaining during the interview; if that thought makes you uncomfortable, re-evaluate.
Don’t worry about templates; your method is fine. Your application should reflect you.
When complete, print your application and review it on paper.
Applications becomes unviewable after 180 days; however, airlines can screen based on last update (general rule of thumb is 90 days); recommend updating at least once a month. UPS’s site does not allow updates; once your app is submitted, it is locked.
In Airline Apps, you can’t attach a resume (Delta will never ask for a resume; United will have you bring your resume to the interview), so ensure you paint a clear picture through your duties and reasons for leaving. In Pilot Credentials, you can include a resume; ensure that every time you update your app, you update the resume. They should always match.
Delta wants to see all of your flight training in the education section, so on Airline Apps, include all military ratings (pilot training, IFF, aircraft qual, instructor/evaluator upgrades; recommend not going to the level of flight lead upgrades) and civilian ratings (ATP, etc). School will be the flight training provider (e.g. 80 FTW) and the program will be the flight training event (e.g. pilot training). In Pilot Credentials, the education section specifies “College/University” – they are only looking for education leading to degrees.
In the work history section, include all military moves at a minimum. You can include job changes and/or deployments within an assignment if they are significant (show leadership, etc). Delta asks for average flight times per assignment – calculate an educated estimate: total flight time during assignment / months at assignment.
Pilot Credentials includes IP time in PIC (PIC+SIC=total); Airline Apps does not (PIC+SIC+IP=total). After inputting your flight time, check the generated total to make sure it makes sense!
Use “N/A” for all blank cells.
Delta wants all failures listed, including pilot training. American, FedEx and Southwest do not want to see failures before receiving wings.
General references: These are input at the master level in Airline Apps; used for both United and Delta.
Professional recommendation: These are individual to each company; you will send a request e-mail from your application for them to fill out. Internal to the airline is better. You can ask for these before your app is published.
Internal recommendation (Delta only): This is the “silver bullet” internal rec from a Delta pilot to pilot selection that will get your app scored (although you might not receive an immediate invite); do not ask for this until your app is perfect, published, and ready to be scored.
MIL2ATP had the chance to hear directly from hiring representatives at TPNx (November 2018). Below are some of the details from their presentation and Q&A session.
Create an app at Pilot Credentials.
Apply at careers.southwestair.com. **Make sure your e-mails match!
Hiring windows will be open for 2-3 weeks; you can publish your app at any time, but you can only apply during those windows.
Expect to get a call a max of 6 months before your date of availability; it depends on what classes they need to fill – sometimes it’s significantly less.
Attend an expo! They are invite-only based on your Pilot Credentials app, so keep that updated. You will get to spend 10-25 minutes with a Southwest rep reviewing your app/resume. Also, they typically plan to offer a certain number of interviews to the expo attendees (it’s a much smaller pool to compete against).
Southwest is looking for 3 things: flight experience (not just hours), education and leadership.
When sorting apps after a window closes, hiring sets parameters and sorts apps until the resulting resume matches what they are looking for. Then apps are reviewed by reps (the “human touch”) before invites are sent out.
There are a number of items that require your judgement to answer; when asked those specific questions during Q&A time, the representative would give their opinion and then emphasize, “Just don’t lie” …and be ready to explain it during the interview. For flight times, ask yourself: Is it reasonable? Is it conservative?
Update your application at least once a month to avoid the app becoming inactive. If a question is changed in Pilot Credentials, your answer is erased.
Recency: 2/5 past years flying. To reset currency, you can build flight time (regional, contract, etc.) or get a type rating (they want to see that you can make it through training). If you’re low on PIC time (airline definition – you signed for the aircraft), recommend flying for a company with quick upgrade to captain.
Dual time can be counted as SIC.
Southwest is really looking at total and PIC – those are the important numbers.
Include instructor time in PIC.
There is no “accepted” percentage of A code or aircraft commander time to count toward PIC (typically 80-90%); just be ready to defend/explain – YOU know your military career best.
If you haven’t held the position, don’t check the box. **There is no Sq/CC box, so you can check Chief Pilot. Only check things that you are currently holding / are currently true (i.e. not “will have ATP by then” or “almost done with masters”).
1000 hours fixed wing turbine PIC is “preferred” – that’s what makes you competitive.
Although a bachelor’s degree is only “preferred,” they rarely hire someone without one.
Add 0.3 per sortie (NOT per flight hour), even if you don’t need the extra time.
For the question that asks about failed check rides (question 9?), they do not want to see any busts/downgrades before you received your wings (don’t include pilot training). You can include all failures in question 34. **Pilot Credentials might be updated to make this clearer.
Letters of recommendation don’t do anything for you until the interview.
You will need 3 on paper for the interview.
Internal recs will be added to your package (no need to upload at the Pilot Credentials link).
They prefer letters from people who have flown with you.
They will screen for app changes between interview offer and interview; they will notice any questionable updates (drop in GPA, added DUIs, etc).
You will be sent clear instructions on what to bring; included will be three letters of recommendation, documentation for positions and check rides, and contacts for past 10 years of work (preferably cells/e-mails from supervisors, but if not, co-workers).
The interview is a half day – 1-on-1 logbook review, 2v1 interview with a pilot and an HR rep, line oriented interview (looking for you to problem solve, come up with a solution, and execute plan…and debrief yourself well; done in paper cockpit – no knowledge of that cockpit needed).
Do whatever you want/need to do to prepare, but when you arrive, leave the script in the car. Listen to the question asked and answer THAT question. They want to meet/know/learn about YOU. So be you.
After the interview, they will go through referrals. Expect to receive a CJO approximately 2 weeks after interview.
I’ve been out of the cockpit for 2-3 years…what now?
As with everything in the transition process, there are different paths you can take…which means you will find a lot of advice and a lot of “I know a guy who…” input. Below, we have laid out the facts which will hopefully help in formulating your plan as you decide which path to take. If you would like our advice on your situation, give us a call!
First of all, keep in mind that the FAA ATP minimum requirements are different than each airline’s minimum hiring requirements, and frequently, the minimum hiring requirements for the airlines are different than the experience that makes you competitive to be hired by that airline. Read on for an explanation of each.
So let’s start with the FAA ATP minimums – these are black and white. Eligibility can be found at §61.153, and flight requirements can be found in §61.159 (§61.160 for a restricted ATP). You must meet the minimums before taking your ATP check ride. If you don’t have a hard copy FAR/AIM at home, you can reference ecfr.gov (Title 14, Part 61). The hours requirements are listed below in checklist format.
*For restricted ATP, military pilots need 750 total hours and 200 cross country hours.
Per §61.153(d)(2), you do not have to hold an FAA certificate to qualify; as a military pilot, you can apply under §61.73. Recommend talking to your training provider and/or the FAA examiner ahead of time to be sure they are familiar with the process.
When calculating your flight times: do not apply an hours conversion, don’t include simulator time, don’t count other time.
Use the FAA’s definition of PIC (see §1.1 and §61.65).
Airlines create and publish their own requirements, so each airline is slightly different. Flight time requirements are listed below; the links provide additional requirements for education, medical, etc.
Pilot Certificate: Commercial, Instrument Airplane (and ATP written complete) *Note – this is the only major which does not require you to have an ATP in hand before applying.
Recency: Consideration given to quality, quantity, recency, type, complexity, PIC time. *Not an official min: Delta is looking for approximately 100 hours turbine in the past year. If you’ve been non-current/out of the cockpit for a few years, Delta is looking for a few hundred hours of recency; this is a recent change.
Recency: None specified *Not an official min: United is looking for approximately 100 hours commercial in the past year. Commercial includes military time and civilian instructor time; this is the only major airline that counts GA toward recency.
Recency: Actively flying two of the last five years *At TPNx 2018, the Southwest hiring representative said that if you are not current, you can regain your recency or get a type rating (they want to see that you are trainable).
Recency: None specified *Not an official min: American prefers 300 hours in the past 12 months.
Recency: Recent and type of experience will be considered; for example, preference given to candidates with demonstrated flight experience in transport category aircraft within the last 12 months from date of application.
This changes regularly – build a network and stay updated on the latest trends. The Pilot Network is a great resource for transitioning military pilots. Also consider job fairs, online airline Q&A sessions, Aero Crew News (https://www.aerocrewnews.com/category/issues/2018/).
Aero Crew Solutions offers virtual job fairs (https://aerocrewsolutions.vfairs.com).
Delta hiring has a Facebook page for answering questions (https://www.facebook.com/deltapilotrecruiting/).
So…I don’t meet the recency requirements – now what?
If you do not meet the recency requirements of your preferred airline, we recommend building recency via the regionals – in general, it’s the fastest route to regain your recency and most majors prefer 121 time to 135 time (this is a generalization – your situation might be an exception based on location, job opportunity, etc.). If you apply for the regionals, you can expect to receive an interview offer pretty immediately (most pilots report getting same-day interview offers, regardless of lack of recency). It shouldn’t take long to regain your recency to be competitive for a major airline.
If you are interested in United, you can build your recency by instructing in general aviation. If you know you won’t be current when you leave the military, plan ahead – start instructing at a local flight school and build your time before separating to skip flying at a regional.
If you’re interested in flying for Delta, completing their ATP-CTP has benefits, even if you wind up going to a regional to build recency.
Many regionals only require 25 hours of multi time. Most will hire you with only restricted ATP mins.
Most regionals now offer the CTP and ATP as part of training; pay attention to commitments or payback required if you leave within a few months.

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