Type Ratings
If you wish to be hired to fly for a company that makes money off their flights, then you will need to get a type rating in whatever type of aircraft they operate. You may be fortunate enough to already have a type rating from a military aircraft with a civilian equivalent, or maybe you still need to file the paperwork, but either way, if you can get your pilots certificate endorsed with your type ratings, you are far more valuable to employers. You do this by proving you’ve completed a checkride in that particular type aircraft and a FSDO can update your certificate with the appropriate type.
Not every military aircraft has a corresponding civilian equivalent. If your aircraft is listed below, it does — but check the FAA’s own list before you count on it, because that list is the only thing that governs and it gets updated. Several aircraft people assume are on it are not, including the KC-46, C-17, C-5, and P-8. If yours is not on the list, you convert with no type rating. That costs you nothing and the airline will type you in training. It is just an expectation worth resetting early rather than at the counter.
Military Aircraft With A Civilian Type Rating Equivalent.
Fixed Wing:
A-1; B-18; B-25; C-7; C-9; C-12; C-18 Variants; C-20; C-21; C-22; C-23; C-26; C-29; C-32; C-32 Series; C-34 Series; C-37; C-38; C-39 Series; C-40; C-42 Series; C-47; C-54; C-56; C-57; C-59; C-60; C-74; C-117; C-118; C-130 Variants (excluding J models); C-135 Variants; C-137 Variants; C-141; C-145; C-146; C-147; CN-235 Series; CV-2; E-3 Variants; E-4; E-9; HU-16; HU-25; KC-10; O-5; P-3; P-38; SA-16; T-1; T-39; T-43A; T-47; TC-4C; U-125; UC-35; UV-18; VC-4A
Helicopter:
CH-46; CH-47; CH-53; CH-54; H-3; H-21; H-37; H-60 Variants; HR2S-1.
List last checked against the FAA registry in August 2026. The FAA updates the airplane and helicopter tables separately — verify yours at the FAA link above before making plans around it.