Osprey Pilot Civilian Job Outlook
 

With some of the first generation Osprey pilots entering the civilian job market, what kind of success are these folks having with employment in a standard helo airframe?

If they haven't flown a helicopter, how can they? If they have, it will depend on what their helicopter experience is.

So would you not classify the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey as a "helicopter" as far as accruing flight hours goes?

If any are Pax River or Edwards grads then apply to AgustaWestland and see if they can get onto AW609 program

Cheers

Whether rick1128, or you, or I consider the V-22 a helicopter is unimportant.

The regulator who has so far dealt with and categorized it (the FAA) does not consider it a helicopter.

That's important.

My guess is that those older folks who transitioned into the V-22 from helicopters will have an easier time finding helicopter jobs than those who were in the V-22 from the get-go, at least for some years. Until then, Agusta Westland or Bell-Boeing are going to be the places for those folks to go for jobs, and there won't be many of them.

I would suppose they will have it easier getting Fixed Wing Jobs than Helicopter Jobs.

The category for the V22 or AW609 is 'powered lift' So until the 609 program really gets going, there is very little for ex-V22 guys to do. And yes it will most likely be a good deal easier to get a FW job. From what I am hearing, most of the Marine V22 drivers do come out of the helicopter side of the house.

That was the model, largely because V-22 squadrons were replacing the CH-46E, those pilots had to go somewhere, and the earlier wisdom was that the V-22 was a helicopter. New trainees have their own training pipeline for powered lift. Pretty obsolete graphic, but it still is kind of a hybrid syllabus last I had a beer with a friend still instructing.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...n_Pipeline.jpg

An article on flying the thing a couple years ago indicated that for mid-career people changing platforms fixed-wing pilots had an easier time transitioning into the machine than helicopter pilots.