Credit for Military Flight Crew Experience? (Airlines, Pt 135, Flight Schools, etc.)
Posted by SamArch0347@reddit | flying | View on Reddit | 13 comments
Do Airlines, Part 135 Operators, Flight Schools, or any other entity in the industry give preference to those with prior Military Flight Crew experience? There are alot of individuals with prior Military Flight Crew experience as Navigators, Boom Operators, Air Battle Managers, etc. who have thousands of flights hours and a wealth of experience which the FAA won’t give official credit to. Except for Flight Engineers who get credit at 1/3 of their logged hours. But their knowledge of aviation and especially real-world flight experience is invaluable. Wondering if Airlines or anyone else in the industry would unofficially recognize this with hiring preference for pilot positions. Of course those individuals would have also obtained all their pilot ratings on the civilian side and have the minimum number of flight hours for their desired position per FAA regs.
SamArch0347@reddit (OP)
To clarify, what I'm getting at is:
Would someone with 1,500 pilot hours and say 3,000 hrs of military flight crew time get hired over someone with just 1,500 pilot hours and no prior experience,
KCPilot17@reddit
No. You'd be looked at as someone with 1,500 hours.
Big_Assignment5949@reddit
Which makes sense, as thats what they are. I don't understand what the value of aircrew hours is supposed to be here; I view it the same way as the guy in row 12 who is working on his laptop. You were in an airplane and did a job.
SamArch0347@reddit (OP)
Negative. For instance a military Navigator/Combat Systems Officer sits in the Flight Deck behind the pilots and does everything a pilot does except touch the yoke and throttles. That includes preflight planning, takeoff and landing data calculations, talking over the radio to ATC, weather avoidance, in flight re-planning/navigation, fuel computations, managing IFEs, operating FMS, radar, and other systems, oceanic procedures, etc, etc. Someone who has 20 yrs of experience doing that is a better aviator than someone with 3 years of experience as a CFI. Even the the hours aren't officially recognized.
NoteChoice7719@reddit
They are not pilots. Some former Navigators and Flight Engineers have failed pilot training.
SamArch0347@reddit (OP)
No they aren't, but they know alot of the things a pilot does minus the stick and rudder skills. That is a huge advantage over someone who has had no prior real world experience.
SSMDive@reddit
They are not pilots, so the time is not considered valuable. Drone operators fall into the same category.
You think it is a huge advantage, others don’t and the only people who really matter, employers, don’t.
Big_Assignment5949@reddit
I think you'd find that varies wildly across platforms. Single pilots ops don't use that. Lots of multicrew ops don't use that. I work with a lot of these guys and it's certainly not a universal rule
0621Hertz@reddit
The meta of r/flying says that hours are everything and the only valuable experience that goes on your resume is legally FAA logged time behind the stick and throttle of a fixed wing aircraft.
Personally I beg to differ, a reasonable and thoughtful employer looks for a “whole person concept.” Your experience matters, just not in the way you think.
Don’t be a douche and put “flight crew experience” hours up there with your regular aircraft hours on the resume. Just mention your aircrew experience in years served, and only if they specifically ask, mention your hours.
CannonAFB_unofficial@reddit
Nope, at least not on the sense you’re talking (credit for hours)
-former AC-130 navigator/CSO turned KC-135 pilot
BrtFrkwr@reddit
Some will, the better ones, and some won't. Most people didn't serve in the military and some are a little resentful of the benefits and hiring preferences that they think veterans get.
grumpycfi@reddit
Veterans are major beneficiaries of DEI hiring initiatives, so it'll help you there.
As for the flying, no you don't get credit, although it can make the training a little easier.
rFlyingTower@reddit
This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:
Do Airlines, Part 135 Operators, Flight Schools, or any other entity in the industry give preference to those with prior Military Flight Crew experience? There are alot of individuals with prior Military Flight Crew experience as Navigators, Boom Operators, Air Battle Managers, etc. who have thousands of flights hours and a wealth of experience which the FAA won’t give official credit to. Except for Flight Engineers who get credit at 1/3 of their logged hours. But their knowledge of aviation and especially real-world flight experience is invaluable. Wondering if Airlines or anyone else in the industry would unofficially recognize this with hiring preference for pilot positions. Of course those individuals would have also obtained all their pilot ratings on the civilian side and have the minimum number of flight hours for their desired position per FAA regs.
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