Hello all,
I have just read back through all of the sound advice you gave me in August. I have another question to pose in a minute but would like to give you a quick update on what I have been doing since then...
So I found a flying group down here in the southwest which offered exciting flying at competitive rates. I parted with 2k and renewed my SEP commercial after 6 hours. It was tough - having not flown for over 4 years I found I had forgotten an awful lot, but I also found that the 'basics' did not take long to come back. I passed the renewal test and became a permanent fixture of the flying group
I now fly every weekend alongside members of the flying group from all walks of life - an airline training captain, builder, mechanic and so on. We visit random grass strips in all weathers and I am learning a lot from them - most have thousands of hours on all types of aircraft and have been all over the world to do them.
So I would like to thank you all for the advice and encouragement - you all deserve it. I have freed up time to make the flying happen and even moved house to be closer to the airfield. I have suddenly remembered why I embarked on this crazy adventure in the first place - the passion and enthusiasm are most certainly still there.
As for my next question... I now have an SEP commercial, but my MEIR is still lapsed. I am conscious of the fact that EASA regulations have changed so I think I have until September of this year to renew the IR. My line of thinking is as follows :-
I am enjoying the flying again and at the moment this is enough for me. I am a realist and do not see any chance at the airlines over the next year. With this in mind, is it worth renewing the IR on a multi engine? I believe I can renew on the SEP so that I will hold an SEP-IR - am I right in thinking this is enough to 'reset' the 3 year IR renewal window?
Would anyone recommend renewing the IR on the multi engine? I am enjoying the single engine flying so much that a flying job on a single engine e.g. air taxi, bush pilot etc. seems a much more exciting prospect.
Again, many thanks to all those who previously advised and I await your responses this time around with anticipation.