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.

I started at PSA Airlines in April of 2015 after eight years of active duty Army service as a Warrant Officer Aviator. In the Army I flew the UH60A/L/M at Fort Riley, KS and the UH-72 at Fort Rucker’s Flatiron Air Ambulance Detachment. There were several reasons for leaving the Army both personal and professional. Being an airline pilot is what I always wanted to do but the lack of hiring and abundance of furloughs made it seemingly impossible.

With about eighteen months left of my service obligation remaining I re-opened this idea of flying for an airline and this is when I saw the writing on the wall. The looming pilot shortage seemed to be quite real and there would be a lot of seats to take at a major airline, so I committed to it.