Air Forces or Airline

[nomarrepiento]

I am a spanish military cargo pilot.We are "only" military pilots because we don't obtain CPL(A) nor ATPL(A).
These are questions for all the Air force pilots from all around the world
It is the same in your countries?
Is it easy to become an airline pilot if you are an experienced military pilot?
Are your salaries competent enough?In spain,not:*
I suppose that you have just commented this thread many times but i am new in this forum so i had to asked it...
Just give your impressions and thank you very much!:ok:

[rafloo]

In the UK military we are also Military pilots without any civilian licence although many aircrew do hold a PPL, CPL etc etc

In the UK it is relatively easy...a few exams, a fair bit of money, to obtain a civilian licence but whether you take that step or not depends on the current civilian pilot recruitment policy. At the moment the Airlines are recruiting heavily and therefore lots of aircrew are completing the required licences....in the few months following 9/11, the entire pipeline stopped and I know many guys who were on the verge of leaving opt to stay in.

The salaries are generally better in the airlines although there are many other perks and allowances that the military receive that balance things a little. There are also other benefits for and against the military... A friend of mine left the military as he was fed up of spending too much time away and is now considering re-joining because he is spending too much time away. It will all depend on the company you work for and of course the routes you fly. For Instance, if you opt to fly for an Airline who operate mainly for the holiday inductry then you can say good bye to having much time at home between May and October...


I would say that in general, the aircrew in the Uk military join for the fun and the chance to fly some awesome aircraft but then they get to around the 38 yr old mark, have a family, mortgage etc and opt to leave the military and fly with the civilian companies. I'm not sure what the percentage is but I would expect that a majority of Civilian airline pilots have a military background.
Hope this helps...

[BEagle]

It is relatively easy for an experienced UK 'military cargo' pilot to obtain an ATPL. All that is needed is:

1. Meet experience requirements on 'approved' aircraft such as C-130, VC 10, TriStar (2000TT including 1500 PIC of which up to 500 may be as PICU/S.)

2. Pass ATPL Air Law

3. Pass JAA Class 1 medical

4. Have an IR on type observed by a CAA IRE.

Fill out the form, pay the money, wait for the licence!

All JAA states have national obligations under JAR-FCL 1.020 to recognise the knowledge, experience and skill obtained during military service and to grant suitable credit accordingly. That's what we pushed for in the UK - and obtained! Perhaps there's someone in the FAE who could do the same for your pilots using the UK as an example of what was granted in another JAA state?

Saludos!

[scroggs]

I'm not sure what the percentage is but I would expect that a majority of Civilian airline pilots have a military background.

That may have been the case once, but it certainly isn't now - at least in UK. The outflow from the Services is somewhere around 100 QSPs annually, maybe less these days. Just Virgin, BA, Ryanair and easyJet between them will recruit over 1000 pilots this year. In Virgin, the proportion of new pilots that is ex-mil is around 8-10%. When I joined 8 years ago it was more like 20-30%.

[SPANISHPILOT]

Thank you very much guys!
My english is still really poor but i try to get to the understanding with all of you.
As my mate has said Spanish military pilot have many problems with Spanish Civil Aviation.We have to pass some exams to get CPL and frozen ATPL but the problem now is that there are no recruitment processes in Spain.Iberia has not recruited since 9/11, Spanair only once, Air Europa only once...There are other airlines but you are in if you have the best contacts...
I wish the best for the miltary pilots from the UK.And I hope things get better in Spain:sad: