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Old 30th Dec 2009, 19:45
  #21 (permalink)  
IrishJetdriver
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Southampton
Age: 60
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Don't pay for line training or a TR. Not without a firm job offer. When you've got low hours (total) you've not much ingrained skill and what skill you have is quickly eroded through lack of practice. Add to that, the skills needed to operate highly complex jet aircraft both safely and efficiently are also rapidly lost without continued practice and basic line training hours are not going to get you anywhere near the level you need where a quick trip in the sim is all you need. You need at least 500hrs on type to be reasonably proficient/consistent. I've got 8000hrs, 6300hrs on commercial jets and very very current, yet when I take even a couple of weeks leave the first day back feels very much like an out of body experience. Imagine you've only 70hrs on type, and you haven't flown that type for a year, maybe more, then you will most likely be right back at the same point you were before you started. You'll probably spend a fortune on getting revalidated each year and you'll still need line training at any other employer anyway. And by the way, it's not easy to fly different SOPs on the same type for a different operator. The majority of my remaining hours were built flying instructing. 13 years. Part time. Just building experience because I couldn't afford to fly any other way and saving money for the commercial. I loved it (but admit I don't particularly desire to do it again) and it gave me a very solid foundation of flying skills. OK, instructing jobs are like hens teeth also, but the rating is nowhere near £30k+ to obtain and is a damn sight easier and cheaper to maintain than a jet rating.
Hope this makes sense. The glass of red wine was quite strong.
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