Not current? We still have a job for you.
In this very vibrant market, even for pilots who have lost currency, it can also be variable.
There are 2 different understandings regarding currency (recency):
Pilots who have not flown for more than 3 months on type (number of months with flight disruption can be diversified); the airline requires pilots to do three, or up to eight take-offs and landings on simulator of that type to be qualified for airline’s operations.a
Or at the recruitment process, the airline needs pilot to do the recurrent (or type rating renewal) if he/she has not flown on type for more than 6 or 12 months depending on each airline and regulation of airline’s national civil aviation authority
With the second case, it’s more costly than take-offs and landings due to more tests, more facility, time and resources needed.
Pilots can choose to do the recurrent with one flight school, with one flight training centre/ ATO or with current airline. As far as the pilots have report of completing the recurrent, it’s accepted to move forward with the operations/recruitment entry.
There can be issues happening during the recurrent.
An airline can use different references to advise pilots for the recurrent; such as one of Brookfield’s clients advised to use standard Airbus/Boeing flight crew training program (refresher course) to recommend pilots for the recurrent. According to this, if pilots have not flown in 6-9 months; the recurrent should be done in about 5 working days including the review of SKM + 5 FFS sessions with 20 hours on SIM of the type.
Accordingly, with a 9-12 month flight interruption, the requirement is higher. Especially when pilots have not flown for more than 12 months, a course equivalent to a new type rating may be required.
To be on the safe side, before doing the recurrent, pilots should check carefully the specific requirements (every stage) needed with the airline they are trying to get a job with, and also check with airline/ATO/training centre how the recurrent is conducted. If not checked carefully in advance, it can be misleading and pilots can do it incorrectly causing time and financial waste.
Pilots could look at what the airline/ATO/training centre does for recurrent SIM training and evaluation which are approved by the pilot’s licensing authority. Then when finishing this recurrent, take the report to the CAA to request a verification (revalidation) letter as confirmation that pilot is current again at the moment. When finishing the recurrent, pilots will have certificate or report of recurrent completion. It’s always worthy asking to get logbook entries indicating the recurrent training conducted, signature of the assigned TRI/TRE and stamp of airline/ATO/training centre which would help pilots a lot because these can be needed to prove authenticity of training.
At Brookfield, we are not just simply supporting airlines’ manpower needs and helping people to get jobs in aviation, but we are thorough in small processes and details when dealing with irregular cases. These minimise the time and effort to deal with situations and bring results to our airline clients and job applicants quickly. We work hard on improving our consultancy skills and excelling our knowledge in industry and to keep our promise to continually better our services.
