Considering a transition to FTS after Active Duty, specifically the VR community. Are there flight hour/NATOPS qual/Instrument currency or minimums required or recommended to apply?
Thanks in advance
Thanks in advance
Absolutely nothing to do with your post....but are you the originator of the famous flight school gouge??
Lately VR has been tough to get for helo guys, even ones in the VTs. Obviously there's no "always," but I'd guess right now, if you're a helo guy w/ no fixed wing time, and you're not currently flying, chances are low.
What you need to keep in mind is "junior most qualified." This does not mean most qualifications in the plane.
When some of you mentioned being "released" from your detailer, what does that mean? Does that mean I need to have a resignation letter filed, or actually be separated? I thought the idea with FTS was to do a separation on paper after the new job has already been secured, making for a seamless transition as far as pay/PCS/Tricare/time-in-servioce/etc is concerned, and move to the new duty station, continuing to work full-time just as if one were still active duty?
There's two ways to make into FTS for aviators. One is to be released from your REGNAV community (PERS) and the other is to apply from w/in the Reserves. For the release, it's based off of YG. If you go to the FTS section of the PERS website (and it's horribly laid out, just to warn you), there's a document you can download before a board that states how many people from each YG in each community can be released. The document will look something similar to this:
YG98 unlimited
YG99 unlimited
YG00 3
YG01 2
YG02 1
etc. Each community has this. It's basically the number that the Active component guys in that community are willing to give up from each YG. Just because there are 2 spots from a particular YG DOES NOT mean 2 people will be selected from that YG (or at all from that community). VP is notorious for that. The problem is that many more end up getting out if they don't get picked up for FTS (at least in the VP and HSL world), so it's a silly equation. Historically, once you put your letter in, you're no longer considered part of that restrictive YG by the board. Same when you apply from the Reserves.
I'm not meaning to suggest you should get out and then hope to get picked up, just that if you're a "FTS or bust" guy, there's still hope if you drop a letter.
Thanks for all of the input. It has been very helpful.
As to the gouge questions, yes, I did write it. My policy was to write gouge every time I had a scheduled flight canceled. So.. that's quite a few cancellations I guess. I don't know if I should be pleased or worried that one of my systems drawings made it into a NATOPS manual. I mean, those drawings in the back of the SH-60B NATOPS were pretty bad, but I would assume that new NATOPS manuals would be made with some high-tech drafting and publishing programs.
When some of you mentioned being "released" from your detailer, what does that mean? Does that mean I need to have a resignation letter filed, or actually be separated? I thought the idea with FTS was to do a separation on paper after the new job has already been secured, making for a seamless transition as far as pay/PCS/Tricare/time-in-servioce/etc is concerned, and move to the new duty station, continuing to work full-time just as if one were still active duty?