Special Crew Time?! Anyone?!

John Bussard

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John Bussard
SO.
I’m an F-18 WSO in the Marines with over 2,000 hours of special crew time.
I’ve long accepted that to be worth the paper it’s printed on, but today I heard from a similarly aged colleague that there’s been some folks who have made SOME use of it. I don’t expect to be able to use it for much, but is there anyone here with experience seeing it counting for... anything?

Thanks for any help.
 
SO.
I’m an F-18 WSO in the Marines with over 2,000 hours of special crew time.
I’ve long accepted that to be worth the paper it’s printed on, but today I heard from a similarly aged colleague that there’s been some folks who have made SOME use of it. I don’t expect to be able to use it for much, but is there anyone here with experience seeing it counting for... anything?

Thanks for any help.

It may help landing a job, but from a flight logging perspective there is no provision under 61.51 to log non-pilot flight time towards a certificate or rating.
 
SO.
I’m an F-18 WSO in the Marines with over 2,000 hours of special crew time.
I’ve long accepted that to be worth the paper it’s printed on, but today I heard from a similarly aged colleague that there’s been some folks who have made SOME use of it. I don’t expect to be able to use it for much, but is there anyone here with experience seeing it counting for... anything?

Thanks for any help.
The experience will enhance your resume, but it won’t count towards any required or preferred flight time. My take is that the experience really does mean something towards practical knowledge and overall competency, but employers need to check the boxes.
 
SO.
I’m an F-18 WSO in the Marines with over 2,000 hours of special crew time.
I’ve long accepted that to be worth the paper it’s printed on, but today I heard from a similarly aged colleague that there’s been some folks who have made SOME use of it. I don’t expect to be able to use it for much, but is there anyone here with experience seeing it counting for... anything?

Thanks for any help.

It could help with rounding out your resume from a practical aviation experience standpoint, but as others have said, it won't count for much other than that. You'll need to get all your certificates and ratings, build up your experience as a pilot, etc.

I had a good friend who was one of the last Navigators out there, he had over 3,000 hours of time in that capacity. For the purposes of starting an aviation career after that, it didn't do anything for him at all.

Thank you for your service.
 
Options are to be some sort of instructor contractor. I see adds for CSO's/ WSOs instructors while browsing jobs. Will help out on a resume but actually counting for something on the civilian side kind of out of luck.
 
SO.
I’m an F-18 WSO in the Marines with over 2,000 hours of special crew time.
I’ve long accepted that to be worth the paper it’s printed on, but today I heard from a similarly aged colleague that there’s been some folks who have made SOME use of it. I don’t expect to be able to use it for much, but is there anyone here with experience seeing it counting for... anything?

Thanks for any help.

Like others have said, it is relevant experience that unfortunately doesn't check the boxes on an app for hiring. I've known a few double anchors who had a love for aviation strong enough to do the footwork required to get experience on the outside, eventually get the ATP and ultimately get hired. If you are in the check of the month club, the pay cut will probably not be as painful. I know those folks seemed to think that their (similar to yours) SCREW time made a difference in the interview process. If I were hiring blank faces, I'd probably look favorably on someone who might be newer to wiggling the stick, but also has 15-20 years of tactical flight experience. Then again, I am in no way affiliated with the airlines and I am also biased since I know what a 2000 hr WSO means in our little corner of aviation.
 
Like others have said, it is relevant experience that unfortunately doesn't check the boxes on an app for hiring. I've known a few double anchors who had a love for aviation strong enough to do the footwork required to get experience on the outside, eventually get the ATP and ultimately get hired. If you are in the check of the month club, the pay cut will probably not be as painful. I know those folks seemed to think that their (similar to yours) SCREW time made a difference in the interview process. If I were hiring blank faces, I'd probably look favorably on someone who might be newer to wiggling the stick, but also has 15-20 years of tactical flight experience. Then again, I am in no way affiliated with the airlines and I am also biased since I know what a 2000 hr WSO means in our little corner of aviation.
“Wiggling the stick”... that’s a new one on me, but it sounds a bit naughty.
I think I’m in...
 
Like others have said, it is relevant experience that unfortunately doesn't check the boxes on an app for hiring. I've known a few double anchors who had a love for aviation strong enough to do the footwork required to get experience on the outside, eventually get the ATP and ultimately get hired. If you are in the check of the month club, the pay cut will probably not be as painful. I know those folks seemed to think that their (similar to yours) SCREW time made a difference in the interview process. If I were hiring blank faces, I'd probably look favorably on someone who might be newer to wiggling the stick, but also has 15-20 years of tactical flight experience. Then again, I am in no way affiliated with the airlines and I am also biased since I know what a 2000 hr WSO means in our little corner of aviation.

Precisely. With 2500 hours of Prowler SCREW time myself all it did was give me all the SA that actually moving to the left seat let me focus on the stick (OK yoke) wiggling and getting it right in minimal time. The only NFO's I know that worked a bit of a deal was in the S-3 where they had a stick and throttles on their side and most got a lot of flight time. I understand with a NATOPS qual many logged SIC time. Those of who's only aerodynamic vote was Martin-Baker get left out of that.
 
“Wiggling the stick”... that’s a new one on me, but it sounds a bit naughty.
I think I’m in...

I think you’re thinking of this “special crew time.”

 
SO.
I’m an F-18 WSO in the Marines with over 2,000 hours of special crew time.
I’ve long accepted that to be worth the paper it’s printed on, but today I heard from a similarly aged colleague that there’s been some folks who have made SOME use of it. I don’t expect to be able to use it for much, but is there anyone here with experience seeing it counting for... anything?

Thanks for any help.

You all ever get to put the stick in the back like the B or is the plumbing removed?
 
Don't worry bud, at this particular phase of the pork cycle, you're not missing much from your a-word stick wiggling brethren on the job front.
 
You all ever get to put the stick in the back like the B or is the plumbing removed?

B's were always "trainer" configured, i.e. dual controls. The FRS's would configure a few D's the same way, though fleet/operational D's were missionized with the hand controllers and no stick/throttle. Same thing goes for the F and G. The "nub" where the stick attaches to is always present in any 2 seat variant, which can be moved with some effort on the part of the WSO.
 
Don't worry bud, at this particular phase of the pork cycle, you're not missing much from your a-word stick wiggling brethren on the job front.

This is also true. Although now might be a good time to get started if this is his long term goal. Gonna take at least a few years to be in a position to be hired, which could probably be said about most of us without a current 121 job
 
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