A quick report in my log book as of right now shows 933 hours of time in type on the EMB-145 regional jet. This is certainly better than the “goose egg” that I had when I began. Additionally, I am showing 966.8 hours of multi engine time, much better than the 30 some odd that I had when I began.
In light of the last post, it becomes necessary to devise a good parking spot for my piloting resume while I splinter off to work on other things. I think the next good parking spot is 1,000 hours of multi/jet time. A quick subtraction yields the fact that I need to fly another 67 hours before walking away. It appears as though my build up line for Nov has me flying just over 70 hours for the month. Thus, at the end of Nov, I will have surpassed the 1,000 hour jet time mark, which feels like a good place to park for a while. My total time upon reaching that goal will be 1,756 TT. Even though by professional piloting standards, this is a pretty novice resume, I am satisfied with it. In general aviation, this number of hours is more than enough to walk around with proudly, demand low insurance rates, and appear experienced to most potential flight students. And if I decide to go back to professional flying, its significantly better than the lowly resume I had that first earned me this position.
The only obstacle is to keep my recency of experience going. If I can log anywhere from 50-80 hours a year, I can keep myself “recent” in the eyes of future employers. Between renting, instructing, and soon owning my own airplane, I feel that I will be able to keep in the air sufficiently enough to keep sharp.
No bridges are being burned. But rather I am going to build another one while this one is undergoing maintenance.