Palau and others,
When estimating income in my experience, hope for the best and expect the worst. So for example;
- If you take your leave in two week chunks then you will not achieve any incentive pay hours for at least two months.
- There will be months when you are rostered for EP's, CRM, or other courses which will reduce your flying hours for that month.
- If you are off work due to sickness or injury you will not accrue flying hours for that month during that time.
- Cynical rostering may see you displaced on a flight if you are going into 'overtime' and another pilot could do the flight who is not (perhaps he is coming off leave or has been sick that month.)
DTA is an allowance to be spent on overnights, so don't factor that as income. I have seen too many examples of "slam-clickers" who are depending on DTA to pay the bills back home.
Paying for an endorsement to take a pay cut makes no sense. Add up what the endo costs, including accommodation, travel, food, and lost income while training. Take a really hard look at how long it will take you to break even on that investment. Think about being forced to move bases, or being stuck as an FO for whatever reason.
If you have a good job, stay where you are until you at least don't have to pay for an endorsement.
If you don't have a job, get your arse out of the country and do something financially far more worthwhile and probably very interesting, until pilots in NZ are recognised as the very fine aviators they are.