Civvy pilots opinion of Military pilots

[Gundog01]

Just curious what the civilian pilot perception is of military pilots.

Specifically, do domestic/international captains notice a difference between the civilian trained copilots and military copilots. I.e. Professionalism, skills, attitudes etc.

Cheers

GD

[yowieII]

Fantastic, if they can leave the Mil behind:} In saying that I have flown with a few guys that can't understand why they aren't check and training from induction and I have also had the pleasure to work for ex Mil guys and have the upmost respect for them and the way they operate,and I have had the rare pleasure of training an ex FJ driver and I can honestly
say he probably taught me more than I taught him:ok: As for comparison, horses for courses:ouch:

[Mr.Buzzy]

Not a bad word to say about ex-military.... Great drinkers too.:ok:

The only dramas seem to come from those that kick things off with.
"When I was a Metro checkie at skippers" or "When I was on the CRJ"

bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[hoss]

i'm similar to buzzy (and a bombers supporter to boot).

infact, i have my 2 year old son 'ear marked' for 3 squadron! (he's a good drinker and holds his bottle with both hands;))

fingers crossed.

[DeathStar-Alpha]

personally, I've found most chopper pilots (mil) to have an arrogant attitude.

Could just be me. And this is no reflection on their flying, I havn't flown with 1. But would sure as :mad: love to!! :ok:

[Old Fella]

DeathStar-Alpha. Why the hell would a military helo pilot be arrogant? Especially as you, by your own admission, have not flown with one. Pilots, whether trained by the Military or a Civilian organisation are all individuals and it is a nonsense to ask a question such as that asked by Gundog01. In my years as a F/E I flew with numerous pilots with vastly different backgrounds. Thankfully most were great guys to operate with and the very few "Self Opinionated Geese" were probably going to be that way regardless of with whom they trained. My advice to DeathStar-Alpha, and anyone else, would be to ignore the opinion of others regarding any individual and form your own opinion based on personal experience. It is a much safer course to take.

[j3pipercub]

tiz a lovely night for fishing...

j3

[Metro man]

The military turn out some really good operators and some real assholes. My opinion is they build up what's there already. A good ex military driver is a real pleasure to work with, an officer and a gentleman, I've had the pleasure of flying with a few.

However the assholes are in a class of their own, very few civilian pilots come close.

[c100driver]

After either have been airline flying for three years it is impossible to tell the difference!

[DeathStar-Alpha]

Settle down Old Fella, this is a thread asking opinions, and that's what I've given.

No I havn't flown with any military chopper pilots. But I've met a few and used to speak to them all the time on VHF during my training. They used to always speak down to us "trainees" at the time when it was completely unecessary. proof of this was the cadets who were always polite and kind (fixed wing) The several times I had met chopper pilots they were just the same in person, arrogant and unpleasant to chat with.

I know all pilots aren't like this, but that's just my opinion from my experience..

[Runaway Gun]

Oh, it's a Kiwi thing... Most of the 3SQN Huey crews are top blokes.

Maybe you confused the terms 'efficient', 'hard at work', and 'professional', for arrogant.

[GADRIVR]

'They used to always speak down to us "trainees" at the time when it was completely unecessary.'

TYpical KIWI........they're (meaning anybody) are always out to get ya eh bro:E

[Sand dune Sam]

Do the Kiwis have a military do they?.........as for military guys....top blokes:ok:

[glekichi]

Surely most have seen this, but I cant help it when theres talk of RNZAF pilots. :ok:

YouTube - Jet Pilot music video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BzU1sYPjzo)

[RENURPP]

My mother said if you don't have anuthing good to say .................

So I won't.

[Bullethead]

I reckon they're all good blokes even the arrogant ex-helo drivers like me! :} :E FIGJAM :eek: :8

[Howard Hughes]

I haven't met too many but the ones I have seem to...

a) Know their ****.
b) All be from the same mould.

And if they are FA-18 pilots...

c) Wear their flight suits to tower parties!:ooh:

[Brian Abraham]

They used to always speak down to us "trainees"
You'll find arrogant fools no matter where, irrespective of the uniform or background. Daughter recently did an extensive cross country to build command hours and came across two, one driving a PA28 at Ballarat and another in a PA31 at Whyalla. Nothing but good to say about the drivers of the Parafield tower however in accommodating her when she had a few electrical problems.

[framer]

I reckon its a mixed bag.
I fly with two ex military guys, maybe once a month, one is sharp as a tack and a great leader, the other is regularly making average decisions and not at all inspirational. They both did about ten years in the Airforce.

[zube]

Is possible people you have met colour your view of an entire group.

I once met a GA employer who wouldn't employ anyone from Tasmania or anyone called Ron. Christ knows what coloured his view to that extent.

In my airline experience military types vary from ****e -hot to ordinary battlers.

You can't lump them into one category.

[ZK-NSN]

You'll find arrogant fools no matter where, irrespective of the uniform or background.
Couldnt agree more. I have met some real assholes in GA as well as alot of good bastards. The ratio is probably the same in the Airforce too.
Chopper pilots are not really a good example anyway, they're not the full packet to start with.

[bushy]

The days when the military were the only ones with aviation skills and knowledge are long gone.
I am confident that our military pilots are good at what they do, but often that is very different from civil aviation.
Military pilots must believe they and their equipment are the best in the world, and their cause is just. We train them and pay them to do just that. They cannot help taking some of this attitude with them when they leave. Many do.
I remember an ex fast jet pilot who had difficulty flying a C206, and an ex RAAF trainee who was "chopped" a couple of weeks before graduation and went on to a long distinguished career in civil aviation. And an ex fighter pilot who earned great respect in civil aviation. And some ex military chopper pilots who did not.

Our major airlines would be looking for pilots who have jet transport training, and the air force have some of these. It's much cheaper for the airlines if they can reduce the ammount of training they have to do so they try to get trained jet transport pilots from the military or other airlines if they can.
Other military pilots may have experience with other heavy equipment, and have been taught to "shut up and do as they are told." But otherwise they still have to be retrained and that costs money, just like civilian trainees. And they will proably get a few more years out of the civilians.

[Cap'n Arrr]

I don't think it's going to work if you try and get into a "who's better than who" argument (not that I'm accusing anyone of it!). At the end of the day in both civil and military there will be some really good and really bad. The really good civvies may be better than most mil, and vice versa. So the only question left is what is your personal opinion of them.

To be honest I don't really have much of an opinion of mil guys. I don't have too much to do with them, definitely not enough to have an opinion. The few guys I've met, some are top blokes, and some are arrogant. It's the exact same on the other side of the fence though, so my opinion is they aren't that much different from civ, they're doing a different job.

As far as airline jobs, given the 11 - 14 year ROSO last time I checked, I'd be hoping I was up to airline standards after 10+ years in my line of work too!:ok:

[Brian Abraham]

Chopper pilots are not really a good example anyway, they're not the full packet to start with.
A lot of people tell me that!!!! :E

[Little NOTAR]

Done abit along side helo military guys mainly in a search and rescue roles over the years. I'm sure when given time to plan for their "mission"and have a little practice prior to going out then they could probably do a great job. Problem was, we would be home with the lost party before the best of the best had even left for the job....