Navy Helicopter Pilots to Outnumber Fixed Wing

[wink]

You may see the day when NFOs are on helos. When the H-60 first came to the LAMPS community (before some of you were born I bet) putting an NFO in the co-pilot's seat was seriously considered. With no experience with NFOs and the persuasive argument that even the then new H-60 was still a labor intensive aircraft to fly with long night over water missions the copilot configuration was kept. As I recall, the Brits fly their H-3s with NFO type airmen. The S-3 Viking was developed for two pilots mostly because that was the experience of the prop ASW community, S-2s and P-3s. Many of the same arguments were used to justify a copilot in the S-3. By time it hit the fleet NFOs were part of the crew flying in the copilots seat. Over the years the crew composition has changed to the point where pilots almost never fly in the right seat of a Viking. Remember, dollars drive most everytihng. NFOs are cheaper and faster to train. There is only one reason I see not to put NFOs on new generation helos. In the case of small detachment deployed squadrons like LAMPS, scheduling a complete crew would be complicated. If all officers are pilots any two make a crew. Not the case if half are NFOs.

 

[vegita1220]

Yeah the Navy seems to be looking heavily into "common airframes."

I've noticed for example:
in fighters we're looking at an entirely Hornet/Super Hornet based group for a long while.
the helos we're looking at an entirely 60 based fleet for just about everything.
the support aircraft is supposedly going to be based around a "common support aircraft."

Now, diversity is bad. []

 

[NeoCortex]

Commonality tends to save money in the long run. Look at the new F-35's between the AF, USN, and USMC they are basicly the same aircraft, so it costs less to replace worn out parts. By the Way, I have a question regarding helo pilots. When retiring, do any of the helo bubbas get picked up by the big airlines?

Ben

 

[Gatordev]

Originally posted by NeoCortex
By the Way, I have a question regarding helo pilots. When retiring, do any of the helo bubbas get picked up by the big airlines?
Ben

Yes, it happens, or did before the "crash."

The problem w/ commonality is that you get an airframe that's jack-of-all trades, master of none. The JSF is an example of how everyone wants there piece, and in the end we get a single engine aircraft. Romeo has a similiar issue, where it is supposed to fulfull all these missions, but it has an unsightly weight problem. And as has been said, the -60 just isn't the same as a -53E. Will the Navy make it work, sure, but a beefier, bigger helo is probably a better platform for what the -53 does.

As for the NFO thing...I know it would be a paradigm shift, and therefore "bad," but personally, I would want to have a pilot next to me coming to the back of the boat of a small boy. He's always there to take the controls if you lose your bubble. The NFO wouldn't have the experience (the stick and rudder kind) to put it in the trap on a dark night routinely. As for the DET concept, it's an excellent point. We had two crews on cruise, but when one guy went down for a leg infection (damn boat water), the other three of us could rotate the double bags. Just can't do that w/ NFOs as a crew.

My $.02.

 

[wink]

I know several helo guys that got to the airlines. They just have to get more fixed wing time. Most can get hired by a regional airline very easily and after a year or so make the jump. Some get fixed wing hours on shore duty. Problem is the huge pay cut for better than a year and the cyclical nature of the airline business. It sucks now. I wouldn't expect much hireing for 3-5 years. Airlines that are hiring will take many of the laid off pilots with heavy iron experience. That furthur reduces the chances for everyone else.

 

[46Driver]

My regional airline is chock full of helo pilots. Don't expect to go to a major with just helo time - or helo and First Officer Jet time. FedEx, SouthWest, JetBlue, etc don't even have a place to put helo time on the application (well, maybe under other along with glider and blimp).

Now, it takes some serious PILOT IN COMMAND hours to get hired by a major. That means you have to go to a regional, do your best to upgrade to captain (which is entirely based on seniority and nothing you can do about it) The majors want multi-engine jet aircraft commander (pilot in command to civilians) hours. If you get stuck at a regional where there is no growth (say American Eagle), you could be a First Officer for 8 years - and not have 1 single hour towards the minimum PIC time to get hired. Its not pretty - but then again, its all timing. Thankfully, you can make plenty of jack in the reserves to hold on for at least 6 to 10 years. (For what its worth, I have averaged about $25k a year for my first 3 years in the airlines and over $50k a year in the reserves.) It ain't easy going from helos to the major airlines - I would seriously recommend something else like US Customs rather than trying the helo to major airline path.