Nothing at all wrong with that question, assuming you answer it professionally.
Here is my personal reason for having gone warrant instead of RLO.
While I appreciate the leadership role that RLOs have, I understand that their flight duties are secondary to their command roles. We certainly need good leaders, especially ones that know and understand aviation. I also understand that warrant officers are leaders, but generally more in a mentorship, training, and advisory role. I don't mind supervising others, and feel I have been successful at it, but I prefer training and mentoring others to perform a task directly related to supporting the commander, not being the commander. For me, that happens to be flying helicopters. For my personality, it simply happens to be a better fit.
Now don't steal that.....unless you mean it. But it's a legitimate answer to a legitimate question.
And yes, warrant officers do fly more than RLOs. It is actually fairly equal in the first few years of service, but after the first few years the career paths tend to diverge. Warrant officers are more likely to remain in flying roles, though not always.
Many, many, Army aviators fly more than their civilian counterparts. Civilians tend to fly more in the beginning (if they are successful as a CFI and then that first tour gig, etc). But civilian flying also tapers off quite rapidly, especially if one chooses to go the air ambulance route - which seems to be where many would like to go. I started as a civilian, went military, and am now back to civilian (also Guard). I have more hours than most of the people I started civilian aviation training with (or that were training at the same time). If you get deployed as a new aviator you can rack up 500-700 hours in a year. You'll also get a lot if you go to Korea on a tour. If you get a tour at Rucker after either of those, you're looking at another 300-500 hours per year for another 3 years. Instructors at line units also fly a lot.
The funny thing about hours. You fight for hours to get to a certain number. Then you get that certain number and you don't care so much. But then you end up flying more than you did when you cared about it. I fly 70-80 hours per month right now. I'm happy to do it but I don't need it anymore and wouldn't care if it was half that.
Yes, new Army aviators sometimes find themselves fighting for flight time. That is not across the board. Some of it is luck of the draw. But it is not unusual to see a CW2 with 2000 hours. Personally (and I've flown both civilian and military), I feel that 2000 hours in twin engine turbine aircraft, with plenty of time in actual instrument condition, and plenty of NVG time is worth more than 1000 hours of CFI time, 1000 tour or gulf time, and perhaps an NVG course for the first air ambulance job.
That went way past your original question, but there's not shame in an honest answer as to why you'd rather be a warrant than an RLO. How about this, "Hey, my passion is flying. I am not necessarily passionate about being the commander in charge. I am willing to sacrifice a little in pay to focus on what I am passionate about. That is supporting the troops by manipulating the controls."
