May fortune favor the foolish...

This thread is (or is not) what I wanted to see.

First of all - congrats on making the leap!! I'm in ponder mode about making such a leap. I have "golden handcuffs" in that I make okay money but the job I'm in - and industry in general - has worn me to the bone. Everyone I grew up with wonders why I'm not a pilot (for a living) and I honestly cannot answer that question. Ragrets, I guess. lol

Unlike you, I have much lower time. It'll take a bit longer, but I can probably knock out the additional ratings while I work. It's the transition from leaving work with ratings but no marketable time, to getting marketable time. Maybe I should find an old C150 and just bomb around the country IFR for awhile. Or an old multi...hmmm. Or CFI on the side. It'll probably take a few years.

At any rate, wifey tells me I need to do what I love (which is fly) and that she fully supports me. Financially it's not going to be as lucrative but she doesn't care.

I don't know if I have the guts to do it. But I sure as hell want to.
 
The second you get the atp mins make sure envoy knows it. the call will come very quickly after that. Don't believe the stories, as regionals go it's a pretty good place to work, I spent 17 years there.
 
unsafervguy said:
The second you get the atp mins make sure envoy knows it. the call will come very quickly after that. Don't believe the stories, as regionals go it's a pretty good place to work, I spent 17 years there.
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Velocity173 said:
Yeah but if a pilot has gotten so spatially disoriented during IMC that they're now into SWP, I'd say they're pretty much done. That is until they fall below the cloud layer. A good challenge in training none the less.

I've read about Nick Lappos doing vertical autos in S-76s at over 5,000 FPM. That would be a ride!

Of course there's the whole argument that VRS and SWP are two completely separate things. VRS is a specific airflow state that exists on the blades due to a high ROD. Where as SWP is a situation where the aircraft is descending because of too little power but yet has a normal downwash. Love reading the debates online. Sometimes trying to determine if an accident is SWP, settling with too little power, VRS or mushing can be a confusing thing. :confused:
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I've got to say, I'm glad I had the opportunity to train with an organization outside of the Army. The Army has its POIs, and if something isn't in it, it really doesn't get trained (at least in a hands on way- SWP for example). We actually played around with vertical autorotations. Imagine the $#!t you'd catch for doing that in an Army aircraft.

We would come to a high hover, dump collective, and fall like a rock. It sounds crazy, but I learned a ton about aircraft controlability. We did 360 degree pedal turns in a dead-vertical descent until we found a suitable field, then picked up airspeed and the rest was pretty indistinguishable from a normal auto.

Despite having such a high rate of descent (easily a few thousand FPM), controlability was a non issue because of the reversed airflow through the rotor disk. Where the prospect of the high descent rate gets scary is when there's power applied and the normal induced flow is disturbed, making attempts of a power recovery an aggravator.

And while I probably could have stumbled through a description of the distinction beteeen the two back in the day, I can say I've experienced it now!

Your point about VRS and SWP brings up an important learning point for me as a CFI. Though two distinct things, the fact that one is a function of another leads you to talk about them in a way that could lead a new pilot to believe they are one and the same. I'm really going to have to focus on speaking with precision as a CFI- something that I'm sure will take some practice!
 
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3 in the green said:
This thread is (or is not) what I wanted to see.

First of all - congrats on making the leap!! I'm in ponder mode about making such a leap. I have "golden handcuffs" in that I make okay money but the job I'm in - and industry in general - has worn me to the bone. Everyone I grew up with wonders why I'm not a pilot (for a living) and I honestly cannot answer that question. Ragrets, I guess. lol

Unlike you, I have much lower time. It'll take a bit longer, but I can probably knock out the additional ratings while I work. It's the transition from leaving work with ratings but no marketable time, to getting marketable time. Maybe I should find an old C150 and just bomb around the country IFR for awhile. Or an old multi...hmmm. Or CFI on the side. It'll probably take a few years.

At any rate, wifey tells me I need to do what I love (which is fly) and that she fully supports me. Financially it's not going to be as lucrative but she doesn't care.

I don't know if I have the guts to do it. But I sure as hell want to.
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Yeah I know all about those golden handcuffs. After all of this, I've just decided to resign myself to fate. I needed a change when I left my job, there was no question about that. I am so glad I decided to pursue this effort; it kept me focused, gave me something to strive toward, and was/is fulfilling from a personal growth standpoint.

Over the course of this transition, I was offered a corporate job that I couldn't turn down. Great company, fantastic people, good pay, and even the possible opportunity to fly on the side as we expand our capabilities into flight training. They've also been considering a King Air for shuttling execs around which could give me a nice diversion from the day to day routine.

Will the change in corporate culture be enough? Will the job itself work out for me? Who knows. What will I do if/when the regionals finally do decide to call? I have absolutely no clue.

The way I see it, I made a deliberate leap into something completely different, but fate put me here. All I can do is devote myself to working as hard as I can for my family, and hope it all works out.
 
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unsafervguy said:
The second you get the atp mins make sure envoy knows it. the call will come very quickly after that. Don't believe the stories, as regionals go it's a pretty good place to work, I spent 17 years there.
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That's the puzzling thing for me. I've got all the mins for the full ATP let alone the restricted ATP, so I'd have thought I would have gotten a response by now. I'm going to start taking it personally soon!
 
Well at least you have some good career options. That's always nice.

The military helo to regional program is starting to gain traction. I know of two pilots in our company that just left helos for the regionals.

Career decisions are generally about QOL and we all have our personal definitions of what that means. Trying to determine the best path in life for you and family can be tough. No crystal balls out there. Good luck.
 
Blue Doughnut said:
That's the puzzling thing for me. I've got all the mins for the full ATP let alone the restricted ATP, so I'd have thought I would have gotten a response by now. I'm going to start taking it personally soon!
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Have you applied anywhere else?
 
Hacker said:
Have you applied anywhere else?
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I did PSA and Envoy. I'll reevaluate everything once I'm done chasing my FW ratings to see if adding a couple airlines to that list is warranted. I have at least 6 months worth of ratings to add on, and I figure I'll have a better feel for life in the new job by then and will be in a better position to develop a new 5 year plan.

If my phone rings between now and then... who knows!
 
Blue Doughnut said:
I did PSA and Envoy. I'll reevaluate everything once I'm done chasing my FW ratings to see if adding a couple airlines to that list is warranted. I have at least 6 months worth of ratings to add on, and I figure I'll have a better feel for life in the new job by then and will be in a better position to develop a new 5 year plan.

If my phone rings between now and then... who knows!
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I think you'll find that the market is such that you'll be the one balancing competing offers, and not the other way around. Either way, I recommend you apply at several places, as there are differences in compensation, bases, schedules, etc, that should influence your decision and will have bearing on both how rapidly you move up and what your lifestyle is like as you do.

Good luck, but you honestly won't need it.
 
I appreciate the insight and feedback, thank you.
 
Blue Doughnut said:
That's the puzzling thing for me. I've got all the mins for the full ATP let alone the restricted ATP, so I'd have thought I would have gotten a response by now. I'm going to start taking it personally soon!
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i was going by your first post, that said you were at 1400 an needed the CMEL they will not interview you without the CMEL they will call people with less than 1500 if they are close or are from one of the bridge programs.
 
unsafervguy said:
i was going by your first post, that said you were at 1400 an needed the CMEL they will not interview you without the CMEL they will call people with less than 1500 if they are close or are from one of the bridge programs.
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Ah, got it. I hit the 1500 hour mark shortly after the original post (trying to get the most out of my Grumman Tiger ;)). There's also a restricted ATP they're giving guys coming on with just 750 hours which I thought was interesting.

Apparently they will pick you up without the CMEL through the military rotorywing transition programs they are running and the Piedmont guy I spoke to (forgot to list them as one of the regionals I applied to) said they'll pick you up and offset some of the training costs, but you won't be drawing a salary until those ratings have been added on.

Edited to add: CMEL is also on the horizon. The training starts Memorial Day weekend. I'm very fortunate to have an MEI friend with his own twin who VERY graciously offered me training to take the CMEL practical for the cost of fuel.
 
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3 in the green said:
This thread is (or is not) what I wanted to see.

First of all - congrats on making the leap!! I'm in ponder mode about making such a leap. I have "golden handcuffs" in that I make okay money but the job I'm in - and industry in general - has worn me to the bone. Everyone I grew up with wonders why I'm not a pilot (for a living) and I honestly cannot answer that question. Ragrets, I guess. lol

Unlike you, I have much lower time. It'll take a bit longer, but I can probably knock out the additional ratings while I work. It's the transition from leaving work with ratings but no marketable time, to getting marketable time. Maybe I should find an old C150 and just bomb around the country IFR for awhile. Or an old multi...hmmm. Or CFI on the side. It'll probably take a few years.

At any rate, wifey tells me I need to do what I love (which is fly) and that she fully supports me. Financially it's not going to be as lucrative but she doesn't care.

I don't know if I have the guts to do it. But I sure as hell want to.
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Dude you only get one shot at this deal on earth.....don't waste it. Go fly
 
I've been broke, and was annoyed, mainly because I couldn't fly...now I have more money and still annoyed, so the problem is my day job. lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
3 in the green said:
I've been broke, and was annoyed, mainly because I couldn't fly...now I have more money and still annoyed, so the problem is my day job. lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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This sounds like life is going to be annoying anyway, so might as well fly. ;)

(Which is pretty much the conclusion I came to, and I want to confirmation bias my responses to your life dilemmas to my world view. Hahaha.)
 
denverpilot said:
This sounds like life is going to be annoying anyway, so might as well fly. ;)

(Which is pretty much the conclusion I came to, and I want to confirmation bias my responses to your life dilemmas to my world view. Hahaha.)
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lol! exactly.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Here comes the Trans-States Airlines version; I still think there are going to be more of these programs rolling out, and the deals are probably going to get ever sweeter as time goes on.

http://www.transstates.net/careers/Pages/Rotor-to-Wings.aspx
Rotor-to-Wings-header.jpg
 
For someone who is thinking (eventually, at some point in life) that they'd really enjoy CFI'ing, this thread is GOLD. You make it seem so attainable (with a good amount of elbow/brain grease). Good luck with all your training and with your new job. You have so many options now, options are always good!
 
I'm glad I could contribute something with this thread, thanks for the feedback.

I am living proof that it IS attainable. My plan was to hammer it all out in a month, but despite my hope to make it a full time endeavor, I ended up traveling a little and spending some time with the family, so it took just under 2 months.

I see the logic now of going from zero to hero with all the ratings from PPL straight through. I had to do a LOT of refresher studying to get proficient enough to teach this stuff whereas someone fresh off the PPL will be in a better position to keep the learning train moving as it's all building upon recently learned knowledge. My hope for myself though is that my 14 years of flying experience (and the MANY mistakes and lessons I've had along the way) will help me better shape students if I ever have them.

And I can also say I'm hindsight that there's no need to be intimidated at the prospect (as I was). There is no expectation that you'll be perfect coming out of the gate. I'm certain that a CFI's first student is just as much a learning experience as the path to get the ratings itself.
 
onezuludelta said:
For someone who is thinking (eventually, at some point in life) that they'd really enjoy CFI'ing, this thread is GOLD. You make it seem so attainable (with a good amount of elbow/brain grease). Good luck with all your training and with your new job. You have so many options now, options are always good!
Click to expand...


When I got out of the military 7 years ago, I'd have never believed the industry would be here. The airlines seemed absolutely unattainable for a thousand hour (back then) helicopter guy.

Maybe I'll hang tight and see what comes of this trend before making a play.
 
denverpilot said:
BD: Congrats.

3 Green: Will you regret not flying or being broke more? That's the bottom line. Ha.
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Thanks!


I think I'd regret the flack I'd take from my wife for being broke more than anything. That's the real bottom line.

She'd give me hell if I didn't give this new opportunity I've been given an honest shot. As the head of the household, I think this is the responsible thing to do. I can always instruct in me free time, and I still have my own plane to dork around with.

But again, if I do end up ever getting that call, I have absolutely no idea how I'll respond...
 
I guess I can't help myself now that the momentum is up. I just signed up for the Shappard Air Helicopter ATP prep course. I guess I'll knock the written out next week. I've got the practical scheduled for mid June, so plenty of time there.

I'll head up Labor Day and do the multi engine FW training.
 
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