Rotor Transition Program
What are Restricted ATP / R-ATP minimums for military rotary wing pilots to get hired by an airline or charter operator?
Your helicopter flight experience is credited toward the aeronautical experience requirements to become an airline pilot. It is paramount that you understand the different gates and types of aeronautical experience required for either unrestricted Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) certificate or Restricted Airline Transport Pilot (R-ATP) certificate.
14 C.F.R. §61.160(a) Restricted ATP Requirements
Total Time: 750 flight hours
Cross-Country Time: 200 flight hours
Night Time: 100 flight hours
Instrument Flight Time: 75 flight hours
Age: 21 years
Take note that these flight hours pertain to general flight experience, not airplane or helicopter specific flight hours. Total, cross-country, night, and instrument flight time could be any combination of experience between category and class of aircraft. You could even fly in an airship or glider and still meet the requirements, though non fixed-wing hours will be viewed less competitively by the chief pilots and HR departments who will pore over your logbook during a compliance review. Your best bet for competitiveness is a structured, accelerated, fixed-wing training program.
You're always trying to fill three military R-ATP buckets before you meet hiring minimus at an airline, cargo, or charter operator. US Army rotary wing aviators will typically need to fill all three "buckets". US Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard aviators will only need to fill the last two "buckets". Once you're done filling those buckets, you're off to ATP-CTP and within a few months you'll be flying a jet.
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