Err, that is what I said earlier in the thread. Ascent will only hire ex-mil pilots, because they will do the job better than a civvy pilot, and Ascent will be able to pay them less because they have a military pension.

Ascent will not need to pay them the same salary that a civvy turboprop captain earns (as Beagle and others claimed) because ex-mil pilots would not be able to walk straight into a captain's job on a civvy turboprop. Nor would a civilian turboprop captain be considered for a job with Ascent - as you say it is the wrong sort of experience.

Ascent will get plenty of takers from ex-mil aircrew who would prefer to fly as captain on an Ascent KA than start as a co-pilot on a civilian fleet.

Just remember to put the gear down more often then;)

A valid point well presented.

Tell you what, if you and your civvy colleagues can remember to fly into mountains/the sea/the undershoot, skid off the runway, run out of fuel, forget to de-ice and fall asleep less often then we'll have a deal :ok:

I wasn't really winding you up:)

Just making the point that an experienced military turboprop captain would not be able to walk into a civilian turboprop captain's job in today's market not only because the civilian market is so poor, but also because the jobs are very different. The principle difference is in the regulatory responsibility, knowledge and paperwork required, not the standard of flying.

At this precise moment it must be hard for anyone to get a job in the civil market, regardless of background, but until only recently experienced military turboprop captains where walking into civil turboprop captains jobs at FlyBe.

I have just read through the posts and have found it quite interesting. If anyone is interested, excluding Ascent there are now 5 uk operators advertising for King Air pilots.