"Actual time" important for the career?

[Mavmb]

\"Actual time\" important for the career?

How concerned should I be about gaining actual time in my logbook? Is it like multi-time and very valuable to a pilot's career? Right now I'm in AZ and never get any actual time. In fact, I've only got 1.1 instrument actual time right now, even as a CFII. Is actual time something I should begin to seek out or do most employers take into consideration that actual time is often too dangerous for GA planes?

 

[C650CPT]

Re: \"Actual time\" important for the career?

mavmb1
Based on a pilots total time and point in thier career, IMC time may not be a immediate issue. Skills and disapline are more important at this point in your career, and haveing flown in AZ at night I know you can fly procedures. Night flying in AZ can be scarier than IMC on the east coast (relatively flat). Logging IMC time implies a whole lot more than doing an approach to mins, it implies the ability to interpret various weather charts and reports and deal with frontal, air mass or localized weather phenonoma. It's moveing what you know academically and demonstrating the ability in applying it to the real world makeing real time decisions. At some point you may have to leave AZ or get on with a company that flies out of state to build this important part of your experience. I am not sure if there is a ratio that airlines look for, I generaly look at the overall experience. As an example, this week I had a phone call from a pilot looking for work, he just went over 300hrs king air time, single pilot turbine. Problem was it was all in the pattern flying sky divers. I told him he needed to get on trips where he could learn to fly IFR, not neccessarily IMC, but flying in the system.

I guess to answer your question, it is (as is multi time), important proportionate to whether you are going to be PIC, or how fast you will be upgraded to PIC. Good Luck