Riding a Bike?

[psyan]

Ok, here is the deal........you have a career flying helicopters and do so successfully for many years. Say for argument sake 30 years continuous. Well for whatever reason, you pack it in and depart the sky god arena for other interesting diversions.

10 years later you decide to get back into the saddle after a gap in which you were so far from aviation you never even heard the sound of an aircraft.

Question: [1] Do you think you could just get back into the cab and lift off and pretend that the gap never existed?

Question: [2] If the answer to [1] was yes then how do you think it will turn out? Will all the old skills still be there.

[Whirlygig]

Nah, you'd be too old!

Cheers

Whirls

[Lutefisk989]

old VFR skills will be there. IFR will take a ball-peen to chip away a lot of rust. ;)

AND it will take a while to learn the proliferation of new technology: GPS/FMS, glass displays, autopilots, yada yada.

Bring your credit cards...

[outhouse]

For arguments sake that places the who-ever at around 60 ish. Pension almost arriving or arrived and the kids hopefully well away from home and not being a continual suck on the finances. Did the who-ever keep his license current, doubtful.
So, question, what authority license was held and type. Also what type of flying is the who-ever wanting to return to? The odd bit of pleasure flying would be a nice diversion and affordable, returning to a commercial well!!!!
The first option, pleasure is great, nice to mix with fellow aviators and feel that the world has not passed one by.
The second, well down to circumstances, individual situations, finances and how one views his/hers ability.
Me, I would stick with option one, and enjoy the pleasure of flying.
Outhouse
:ok:

[Flying Bull]

Hi psyan,
did it (nearly)
left the navy and was 6 years earthbound.
A pain in the a.. to get all the theory stuff back into the grey mass, especially all the things you know, you'll never need in a helicopter, i.e. jetstreams and so on for the exam.
On the flying side - Bo 105 - never flown before - needed the rating to do 18 hrs solo before the checkride - and it worked out quite fast on the first session.
Later a big surprise for the IP - he was totally relaxed after the first hour around the airfield and the hover rectangle when we hovered back in front of the hangar - and he said land.
Navy drill for shiplanding was so persistend, that I just plunged the helicopter on to the tarmac - only it wasn't a lynx with landing gear and long shockabsorbers ;-)
Loud bang - but nothing bend or broken - took me some fiddling to get used to skids again ;-)
Greetings Flying Bull

[vaqueroaero]

I have had the pleasure to fly with guys that have been out of the cockpit for a while.

Most memorable was the guy who flew in Vietnam and returned back home in one piece. Last time he flew was in combat.

We went out in a 300. The initial pick up was a little shaky but it all came back within 30 seconds. We had a great flight and it was as though he had never been away from it. I don't see why you should have any problems with basic control. As said previously though IFR stuff will be a little different.

Also flew with a guy who was a door gunner in Vietnam and wanted to get airborn again. He was a slightly different character all together............

[psyan]

vaqueroaero responded in terms I agree to.

The experience you describe is similar to a recent event of mine.

Best Wishes

[CYHeli]

Fear not maid whirls... It is the manner that psyan uses to introduce his posts.
I have noticed this trend of his in recent posts.
He appears educated in the language that he uses, but
he appears less than courteous in his manner.

The original question was an interesting one,
But I wonder if the poser was asking as if he was the pilot returning to the skies, or the instructor trying to decide how to let him sally forth?
Nuh. He’s the poser who is trying to return to the skies again.

[Heliport]

he appears less than courteous in his manner

The 'less than courteous' posts by psyan and the responses to them have been deleted, together with his thoroughly offensive post earlier today.


Heliport