From Helicopters to Airlines: My Rotor Transition Program Experience By Paul “PJ” Edmonds
If you’ve ever had the desire to travel further, faster, and higher, your time is here. I’ve flown helicopters commercially for 13 years. As a civilian I attended a small flight school in Florida where I obtained all my training from Private through CFII, where I used my GI Bill benefits.
Until recently, most Part 121 air carriers did not count helicopter flight hours towards their hiring minimums. In recent years, this trend is on the decline. If you are an experienced helicopter pilot and have ever wanted to fly for the airlines, opportunity may be on the horizon. With as little as 250 hours of airplane pilot-in-command (PIC) time and a commercial multi-engine land add-on certificate, you can be eligible for hire at a regional airline that may provide a stepping stone to the mainline carriers.
In late 2016, I decided to acquire my private airplane add- on rating in my off time. I wasn’t convinced I was ready to take the traditional route and pay for all my training out of pocket and go back to being a CFI to gain the 1,500
hours of PIC time necessary to get hired by the airlines. Additionally, regional first officer pay was quite dismal still. Throughout 2017, many changes began to take place in the airline industry that made me seriously consider finishing training and going the airline route. Salaries began to increase, legacy airlines began hiring again and, most intriguing, rotor transition programs (RTPs) were developed to entice military-trained helicopter pilots to transition to airlines.
The reason for targeting military-trained pilots is two-fold: 1) the military has excellent flight training; and 2) military pilots would be eligible for a restricted ATP certificate with as few as 750 hours of total time (including the 250 hours PIC airplane time). However, experienced civilian helicopter pilots were being overlooked. I had just over 4,000 hours of helicopter flight time and had gained experience in various segments including news, offshore oil and gas, EMS, and contract work. I had flown various airframes to include the R22, Bell 407, H135, and AS332 Super Puma, amongst others.
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