keeping current
 

Just how important is it to keep current? Do airlines like to see that you keep flying? At the moment I am finding it hard enough to pay back loans, rent etc. and as much as I would love to I really can't afford to go flying. Is this going to go against me when applying for jobs?

Any thoughts/suggestions would be welcome.

Nimbushead, it seems the airlines want what ever they fancy at any given time ie type rating, 1000 hrs etc. I think if we were to try and keep up with requirements other than the basic licence we would all be more broke and very dizzy. A case in point, if you fill out the Britannia application form they ask about number of hours flown in last six months, well I had to right a big fat zero for that.. my IR is not current and has no intention of being and yet right out of the blue they called me for an assessment day, so it seems they were not too bothered about currency to let that stop them ringing me. Also as far as airlines go, a single pilot multi IR is pretty useless as all flying is conducted multi crew, so while it is important to achieve the initial rating, unless you are going to use it regularly I wouldn't waste any more money, take a good holiday instead, buy some stamps and wait. Another point of course is that you can always become current at the drop of a hat if necessary, it just boils down to the size of your wallet!;)

No personal experience with recruitment, but from reading PPRuNe, and talking to lots of people, I would say that the most important thing is to be able to go to a sim session and know roughly what you are doing. So flying on instruments occassionally wouldn't be a bad thing. Probably of equal use would be paying for some time on a jet sim - although it's not actual flight time, it's closer to the sim that you'll be flying if you're lucky enough to be called in by the airlines. And if you really can't afford that, then just keep playing MS FlightSim.

FFF
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Would have to agree with FFF. Pretty skint so spent what cash I had on doing multi-crew jet sim time this last year rather than SEP/MEP. When I got an interview my lack of recent 'real' flying wasn't mentioned, altho' luckily my ratings were still valid, but when I got into the sim for the check ride, found it a lot easier than if I'd only had an hour or two practice the week before...You can always throw in a bit of cheap (relatively) VFR for fun!
oap

Can I throw in my tuppence worth?

The currency issue is tied up with supply and demand just like all the other employment issues. The airlines want the best and cheapest they can get and will haggle hard. If there are no current pilots out there then they will have to look at new guys and others who have not flown recently.

In my time I have known:

A. A pilot who took redundancy from British Airways and ran a business for over ten years. He returned to flying in his fifties and recently retired as a B737 Captain.

B. A Monarch Captain who ran a building business for three years, went broke, got a job with a charter outfit and ended up flying for Cathay.

C. An RAF Harrier pilot who ran a farm for seven years and then picked up a jet job in the late 1980's. He is presently a Captain with a national carrier.

D. A number of brand new CPL/IR's who bought B767 ratings and got their first job flying overseas on a contract. One is a Virgin Captain, others fly for BA.

E. Pilots who have bought their own type ratings and not got jobs at all!

If you have not flown for a few years you are perfectly capable of checking out for an airline and never mind your experience. A full blown type course would get you current in the process.

The only problem is with the bean counters. If all it takes is one extra SIM to get you up to speed and they won't pay for it . . .

For my own part, I was out of work for a year having just checked out on a jet some years ago. A year later I had two SIMS and was back on the line. You don't forget your flying training but you need to work hard after a layoff.

Ask the yourself how the military cope with lack of flying. A military carer might include ground tours of several years. Their experience of the issue does not suggest that flying skills are lost.

At the end of the day it all comes down to money and you have to study the market carefully to work out your options.