What factors lead Army pilots to choose between fixed wing or rotor wing aircraft?

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 08 Sep 2018 23:58:57 -0400

When it came to decided which route you wanted to take: (IE fixed wing or rotor wing aircraft). What went into this decision beside the obvious “You were deadest from the beginning”
A little background, I was talking to my MTP and we went into a long talk about from his first time as a W01 till now and that if I wanted to be a pilot that I could also be a fixed wing pilot. So with that being said lay you wisdom on me?

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 9 at 2018 2:58 AM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 09 Sep 2018 02:58:46 -0400

You can want to do something all you want. When you select aircraft it comes down to the needs of the Army. Very few manage to get to select fixed-wing.

For me personally I find the fixed-wing mission boring. They go up, they fly around in circles, they land. I much prefer the more down and dirty assault mission. Being a helicopter allows you to do some pretty cool stuff normal fixed wing aircraft can't do.

Response by CPT Nicholas D. made Sep 9 at 2018 6:42 AM

CPT Nicholas D. — Sun, 09 Sep 2018 06:42:13 -0400

Army Fixed Wing is an option that you may be selected for when you do your Aircraft Selection at Rucker (assuming you're RA, it’s a different process in the USAR & ARNG). 2LT Isley is correct that it is challenging to get. Usually the first few folks on the OML will be given the chance to select FW.

I recommend doing the one that you will enjoy the most and will take you where you want to be in the future. I’ve done both RW and FW, and I will confess I am preferential to the FW side. A Headset and a coffee cup beat hauling around helmets, vests, and body armor. The VIP mission is much more interesting than the MI/ISR (flying in circles thing). At least the VIP mission gets you out in the airspace, flying international, seeing different places, collecting hotel points, and building a pretty exciting coffee table picture book. Most Helicopter Pilots will fly 100 (96 min) to around 200 hours a year. Some of your IPs and deployed folks will do more. FW Pilots can get much more. 300-500 is not out of the realm of possibility. It’s a lot of time in a tube, but your best flights are when everything goes smoothly and you have a sizable entry into the old logbook.

Lastly, what do want to do with all this Aviation expertise? If you want to fly Helo’s for a living in the civilian world, try to get out of the Army with 2000 hours. That could take you a decade if you are mashing the pedal. If you see yourself as an airline pilot, you could do an RTP (Rotary-Wing Transition Program), spend a few years making peanuts at a regional and pray for a flow through to a major someday. As an Army FW Pilot, you are flying a turbine ME, so you are getting the time you need to take to a major. You might need a “touch and go” at a regional to sure up your ATP, Jet Type, and some 121 time... but you’ll be getting sized for your new uniform at a major in less than a year. Several colleagues of mine went straight to American, United, Southwest, and FedEx with no Regional time required.

OR

If you could care less if you ever fly in chapter next (post Army), then just enjoy the ride. Any and every Army Aircraft Platform has a unique niche and most Pilots love what they fly.

Simply: It’s a great career either way.

Response by CW4 Anthoney Lowry made Sep 10 at 2018 9:42 AM

CW4 Anthoney Lowry — Mon, 10 Sep 2018 09:42:08 -0400

things have probably changed over the years but, when i was still in, the fixed wing board selected 40 pilots per year. once you completed the FW transition, you incurred a 6 year ADSO. that doesn't mean 6 years of flying FW. i know plenty of guys who did a 1 year tour in Korea and then went back to flying helicopters. Needs of the Army. By the time i became competitive to even come close to getting selected for a FW slot, there was no way i was going to give the Army another mandatory 6 years. i wanted to be able to tell the Army when i was going to retire not the Army telling when they would graciously allow me to.

Response by WO1 Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 10 at 2018 7:13 PM

WO1 Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 10 Sep 2018 19:13:15 -0400

Fixed wing positions are far and few between.

Response by WO1 Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 10 at 2018 7:14 PM

WO1 Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 10 Sep 2018 19:14:36 -0400

Also it depends on if your course instructor allows you to pick you might just get assigned an airframe without choice

Response by PO3 Christian Brielmaier made Sep 25 at 2018 4:43 PM

PO3 Christian Brielmaier — Tue, 25 Sep 2018 16:43:53 -0400

This is an older post so I hope you’re still following it. I started flying in 06 and went fixed wing because 1) it was cheaper and 2) all my pilot friends convinced me helicopters were boring. I finished my commercial multi and instrument ratings and loved every bit of it.
Fast forward a few years and I decided to pick up my commercial helicopter rating.
Heres my take away:
Its way cheaper to fly airplanes.
It’s “easier” to learn in airplanes because things happen much slower. This makes learning the radios and instrument procedures, as well as emergency procedures pretty simple. You have a lot more time to react at 18k feet than you do at 50.
Here’s the downside to fixed wing flying: It’s boring. You typically “fly” the airplane at take off, landing, and during emergencies. The rest of the time it’s usually in autopilot.

My take on helicopters: they are more challenging to fly from a technical stand point and require considerably more pilot “attention”.
I also think the flying is more interesting and there’s a lot more things to master. Landing for instance. Mastered landing on the 1000 footers? Start landing on a pad. Mastered the pad? Start landing on a trailer. Perfected the trailer? Start over with a hook and external load.

At the end of the day it’s all about personal preference but I hope my comment helped shed some light :)

Response by CPT Robert Swain made Jul 12 at 2019 10:28 AM

CPT Robert Swain — Fri, 12 Jul 2019 10:28:58 -0400

I was in Chemical warfare school and the two pilots sitting beside me advised me to go into helicopters, "you can always go to Fixed wing" BOY WERE THEY WRONG! My advice go FW if at all possible. You can always go to helicopters later.
PS: you will be a better pilot if you go to helicopters first. Don't believe me. Check the required time to transition to each.