Worth Renewing the FI rating?

[portsharbourflyer]

I did my seminar last June, but as I ended up in a holding pool for a regional turbo-prop job based overseas, I didn't bother with the flight test (was only just short on the hours to revalidate by experience).

Anyway a month back I received news that the turbo-prop job wasn't going ahead. So now I am looking at renewing the FI rating (seminar is still valid so just need the flight test); but before I waste money on petrol driving round all the schools in a 50 mile radius enquiring about vacancies, I would like to gauge if there is much chance of picking up part time instructors work in the North, South and West London to Oxford region. I would normally only be available on sundays and some saturdays.

I am not interested in instructing full time again, mainly because of the financial implications, further I am not interested in hour building more just looking to retain currency . As well as ab initio PPL, I have tail wheel experience and experience of conducting complex differences training.

[RTN11]

How much instructing experience do you actually have?

I'd say there's a shortage of decent guys with 1000+ instructing hours, but a surplus of guys with less than 500 hours instruction, so if you have the experience you could well be considered a valuable asset to a flying school.

[portsharbourflyer]

Rtn, thanks for your response; 500 hours instructional, in reply to your answer, although I haven't done much in recent years. Further when I was full time it was at a rather remote location, so didn't actually fly that many hours (but had a good retainer which made it survivable, before any one asks that school is no longer trading), so my instructional hours are low for someone who had once been a full time instructor.

[RTN11]

Still, with some quality and varied experience behind you many schools would welcome your help. Things like the tailwheel experience you mention, night or IMC, or aerobatics would be the best thing for a part time guy.

The trouble you will of course face is the full time guys looking at you with the "don't steal my hours" face, especially if they're trying to do it for a living. I have an arrangement with a school where they will ring me if they need someone, if I'm free I'll help them out, if not they'll look elsewhere, I get enough hours out of it to stay current and pass something meaningful on, and I don't tread on anyone's toes since everyone needs a day off once in a while.

Perhaps start by finding if any schools have a vacancy for a part time guy that would suit your situation, if you find one then arrange to do your FI revalidation with them, since you only need to hire an aircraft and get an FIE to turn up.

What would a reval cost these days? Maybe £200 for the aircraft and £200 for the test fee, so at £400 for the three years you would only have to do 20 hours at £20 an hour to make it worth your while. Seems like a pretty reasonable effort to me.

[Mickey Kaye]

have you got 200 hours ifr and you instrument restriction lifted

[portsharbourflyer]

Bit if a long story but I only keep an MPA IR current these days and haven't kept the SPA IR current. Suppose I could get a single engine IR signed up in order to do the IRI. But I would be a little reluctant to spend close to 2k for the instrument restriction removal course.