UH-60 Pilots, have you found the requirement to fly 5 hours, twice a week (to keep up with Aviation pilot standards), too time constraining?

2018-03-29T12:01:42-04:00

I am a prior service Cadet hoping to commission National Guard Aviation next year in NC. I have been told I would have to fly 5 hours twice a week to keep up with Aviation pilot standards. Any current NG Pilots, have you found this to be an issue with your regular full-time job or family life? I haven't moved yet from the WI to NC yet, but I am concerned about not having enough time to fit in another 10 hours a week to fly on top of a full time job.

Response by A1C Ian Williams made Mar 29 at 2018 12:09 PM

2018-03-29T12:09:02-04:00

Congratulations 2LT Private RallyPoint Member I look forward to hearing of great things in your service career

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 29 at 2018 1:23 PM

2018-03-29T13:23:50-04:00

Your job and their understanding will decide how difficult it is to maintain. If you live and work near the facility your unit operates out of it wont be nearly as difficult as if you live over an hour away.

Response by CPT Nicholas D. made Mar 29 at 2018 2:53 PM

2018-03-29T14:53:32-04:00

5 hours a week is a little high. If you fly 9 hours a month (3 x 3.0 hr AFTPs), you will meet you minimum of 96 hours a year / 48 hours a half. That is without IDT or AT factored in.

I do recommend your first year back, make sure you aren’t squeaking mins. Get through RL Progression and get as much experience as you can. 300-400 hours, your interest in Pilot in Command (PC) should be observed, with an eval shortly after. Your first year back will set the tone for the rest of your career, so prioritize getting what you can. The hard chargers get the first looks for PC, Tracks, Full/time positions, etc. Good Luck!

Response by CW5 John M. made Mar 29 at 2018 3:27 PM

2018-03-29T15:27:25-04:00

I’m not currently in the NG, but in my experience you had to have about 110-140 hours cumulative a year, with a minimum amount of night time, Instrument (hood and/or simulator), annual flight physical, and required check rides. You had to have at least three take-offs and landings in 90 days, or you had to undergo a flight evaluation. To keep from wasting time, you had to manage your night time and instrument time carefully - otherwise it left you “scrambling” the last few weeks or months of the year.
Much of that time could be obtained flying to/from and during Summer Camp (you could get 30 or so hours during summer camp). The rest of the required time had to be done either during Drill weekends, or during AFTP (additional flight training periods) weekends, or at a pre-arranged time(s) during the week. Single pilot aircraft were much easier to deal with b/c you didn’t have to coordinate availability times with another pilot or crew chief.
The 10 hours you mention is merely the optimum number of hours you could expect for a typical Drill (or AFTP) weekend, which broke down into: 2 hrs on Friday night (night time), 2 hrs Saturday morning, two hours Saturday afternoon, 2 hours each Sunday morning and afternoon - for a total of ten hours. That could be about 20 hours in a month if you got ten during drill weekend plus another ten during AFTP weekend. Of course, if you could arrange for additional flights during the week there would be more time. Most NG facilities had lots of weekday “mission” flying to do which would usually be taken care of by “on hand” staff pilots....
Most flight facilities worked closely with the pilots and crews to minimize civilian job conflicts wherever possible. However, your employer is required by law to let you attend drills and summer camps. Some employers encouraged their employees, and some groused about it..... The pay was very good. Some pilots opted to try to live off their NG pay. Not sure how it is today.

Response by SGT(P) Landon Mintz made Mar 29 at 2018 4:32 PM

2018-03-29T16:32:31-04:00

Check the most recent AR 600-105 for current minimums for RCM. For Active duty semi annual periods for the H-60 are 48 Hours of which some NVD, Night and Hood/weather time must be logged. There are also simulator requirements of which some can be used for “flight time”.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 29 at 2018 9:06 PM

2018-03-29T21:06:28-04:00

Per TC 3-04.33 (Aircrew Training Manual for H60s), Flight Activity Category (FAC) 1 pilots (most non-staff aviators) must maintain semi-annual flight hour requirements of 48 hours from the pilot or copilot seat, with 9 of those hours at night under NVG. You also have to log 18 hours of simulator time semi-annually if one is available within 200 miles of the unit. You get your normal drills, annual training, and up to 72 additional flight training periods (AFTPs, or 4-hour blocks of pay) to meet those minimums.

This equates to about 2 flight hours a week, of which you’ll probably spend 8 hours planning, prepping, and executing. That might be executed weekly, bi-weekly by dedicating a full Saturday and Sunday, or in chunks (I used to fly a week straight to fly with all the guys that could only come in 1 or 2 days). The point is it that maintaining minimums is a commitment, but shouldn’t be much harder than maintaining your personal fitness to pass an APFT. Maintaining PROFICIENCY, like a 270+ PT score, requires a bit more dedication that will eat into your work- and family-life balance. Having a supportive employer and spouse is important, as is a flexible command team that understands the struggle of part-time flight. If you’re lacking any one of those, the challenge of reserve aviation service may not be worth the payoffs.

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 15 at 2018 2:40 PM

2018-04-15T14:40:20-04:00

I have never heard of the weekly requirement regarding hours. You are required to semi-annual and annual requirements and it falls on you to properly plan and schedule flights to meet the requirements. You have to ensure that you schedule these flights to ensure you do not violate the duty day policy. I have never had an issue meeting them.