Haven't flown in ages

[bd01uk]

Hello everyone.

This is only my second time in writing on here. The first time was just before my radiotelephony oral and my skills test at 17 years old. Well i'm still 17 and I passed them both but that was way back in June last year. June 23rd in fact. But the problem is, is that i havent had the money to fly since then. I cant wait until the weather gets better because hopefully i will have money then. I leanr't to fly with Cabait at Elstree. Does anyone know what the rules are for when I want to get back flying. I mean what checks and everything else will I have to go through? Have I left it to long to feel confident flying because I do still feel confident.
Any advice will be helpful.

Thanks in advance.

Ben

[rustle]

bd01uk

Um, This is only my second time in writing on here: Posts: 4 :confused:

Anyway, your question...

Rules:
CAA/JAA: you can fly solo as long as your CofT/CofE are valid (incl. medical) - which they are, based on the dates you said.

CAA/JAA: you can take passengers provided you have made at least three takeoff and landings in the preceding 90 days - to do so at night requires one of these three to have been done at night (plus night qualification/rating or IR obviously)

Group/club: will probably require check-ride more regularly. You mentioned Cabair, so we'll use their example. Cabair require you to do a "dual check" every 6 months to hire their SEPs. (every 3 months to hire their MEPs) - since it's been > 6 months since your last Cabair check-ride, to hire their aircraft you will need to do a dual check.

It's also worth mentioning that Cabair require you to do a circuit detail and PFL with an instructor if you've not flown anything in the previous 28 days.

Other schools/clubs/groups have their own systems - but I doubt they're too different...

Okay so far? :D

Add to all that a damn good helping of common sense, and you will see that > 7 months without flying you really need a check-ride...

Have fun :D

[bd01uk]

Thanks for you help rustle.

Maybe I lost count of the posts that I made????????

I thought I'd ask on this board because I feel embaressed asking the school seeing that I;m a pilot and haven't flown for 7 months.

But thanks again anyway.

[rustle]

No worries :)

And, when you phone them, you can ASK for a dual check and they'll be well impressed you know all the rules :D

[BEagle]

Well done on asking the opinions of others, bd01uk! You show an admirable sense of prudence in asking what you should expect; it would be good for others to follow your example.

I would suggest that, when you can afford it (and I know that isn't easy!), you should just go and fly a dual trip involving a take-off, departure to the local training area, revision stall, perhaps a PFL then come back for 2 or 3 circuits. That'll cover a reasonable number of skills which you probably need to refresh.

Then, when you can afford to treat yourself, plan a little navigation trip to another aerodrome about 30 min away, go and have a cup of tea there and then fly home again. Next, do the same thing with a friend. You will learn a lot - and will get a very warm feeling from the experience! Good luck!!

[Sensible]

It doesn't matter how little or much flying you have done in the past, a club instructor will always do a check flight with you before the club lets you fly solo with their airplane. If the instructor doesn't feel confident with your flying skills you then he/she won't cut you loose! You will be required to demonstrate competence with general handling including power on/power off stalls and traffic patterns and landings, much like a shortened General Flight Test which you would have done for your PPL check ride.

[Bluebeard2]

Hello bd01uk

I haven't flown for ages either - grrr! :(

All of the advice above is good stuff and is something I follow myself. Elstree is my home field and if I haven't flown for a while then my routine is usually:

- get a club checkout (this is mandatory under club rules but is a pretty thorough shakedown anyway, blow the cobwebs away etc.)
- do an hour local flight just to happy on my own again
- tea and cakes at a landaway, for Elstree nice and easy trips are Stapleford, North Weald, Southend, Rochester.

Unadventurous perhaps, safe definitely, and for me actually very enjoyable after a bit of a layoff :)

[MLS-12D]

bd01uk,

There's no need to feel embarassed about not flying recently. Most of us can't fly as often as we might wish, due to a lack of time, money, weather, spousal tolerance ;), or all of the above.

I don't know how much time has to pass before a 'pilot' becomes a 'former pilot', but it's got to be longer than seven months.

As long as you are renting aircraft, you won't have any difficulties staying well inside legal currency minima, because the school or club will keep you honest. It's only those lucky pilots who own their own machines that have to keep an eye upon themselves when they haven't flown for a while and may 'rusty'.

Good luck with your check-out,

MLS-12D

[Whirlybird]

bd01uk,

As others have said, don't be embarrassed. Look at the other thread on a similar topic - there are people who've left gaps of YEARS! :eek: Seven months is nothing, especially over winter. When I was learning to fly, a chap walked in who owned his own aircraft, but he hadn't flown for six months and wanted to go up with an instructor for an hour to make sure he was safe. The school didn't require it as it was his aircraft - but he said he needed to as he wasn't sure he was safe to fly solo. It's normal - but you will feel a bit rusty at first, especially as regards checks and stuff. I fly helicopters regularly, and f/w aircraft just occasionally, and I find my hands and feet remember what to do better than my brain remembers checks and so on - so bear that in mind and take care.

[bd01uk]

Well thanks a lot everyone. Everyone of you was really helpful.

I've booked in to to a dual check on the 10th or 11th of February so hopefully the weather will be good.

Again, thanks for all your help, and i'll let you know how I got on.

Cheers

Ben

[bluskis]

A trip with an instructor is still flying, and in many ways is as enjoyable and certainly at an early stage in flying as valuable as a solo.

Now is your chance to experience flight in iffy conditions safely, or practice routing around the LondonTMA, or even worse, Stanstead.

It will cost the price of an instructor, but you have saved this up in your 7 month layoff. You will get to route plan, do a take off and landing anyway, and probably a PFL could be fitted in.

As the weather will be unreliable until June, better to go for dual exercises to add to your experience, then do the check ride when you wont have to spend a couple more months twittering over TAF's.

PS I am not an instructor, but I did have the pleasure of a lot of post PPL flying with an instructor as a friend, and they were some of the most enjoyable trips.

[distaff_beancounter]

Ben
When you go for the dual check, ask the instructor if he knows of any other newly qualified PPLs, in your age group, who are looking for someone to share flights & the costs. Also there is a sheet on the school notice board headed something like MUTUAL FLIYING, where anyone who is looking for flying partners can put their name, preferred aircraft type & when they are free to fly.

I did just that when I got my PPL, many years ago. It meant that I went on much longer trips, with one flying the outbound leg, & the other the return, & each paying just for the leg that we flew. I found it a very good way to build up experience. Also going with someone of the same qualifications & experience, avoids an inexperienced pilot relying too much on a much more experienced one, all the time. Its also a good way to make more friends in aviation.

Good luck with the flying :)

[bluskis]

D-B
Very good advice for the spring through summer, however two equally newly experienced pilots will still be two who have'nt flown for ages in the average European winter.

Also, 17 is a great age at which to have been able to achieve getting a PPL, but might leave you a bit stranded for peer pilots.

[distaff_beancounter]

Bluskis Point taken :)

As I think that we probably fly at the same school, I would offer to share flights with Ben, but I did not think that the lad would want to share with a 600hr PPL, who is definitely old enough to be his mother! :D :D :D

[Aussie Andy]

Dangerously close to my birthday, on which it has been known to snow... ;) Good luck!

Seriously though, I think distaff_beancounter's advice is great: grab yourself a like-minded flying buddy (in addition to getting a dual-check done) and send yourselves off on various little trips / challenges, sharing the costs and doubling the experiences!

Anyway, having a buddy along is just more fun than sitting on your own with a cuppa tea and a jaffa cake like a sad git at some far flung airfield when you get there!

Andy :)

[SlipSlider]

Even better than getting together with a flying buddy and sharing out-and-back trips, is to find two buddies and fly triangles! I gained some good experiences doing just that. The additional benefit is that each leg is completely different from a nav aspect, and you can get three times the experience for one third the cost! Each person flies one leg P1, one leg right-hand-seat (doing/sharing nav or just keeping an eye out, as agreed with P1), and one-leg in the back.

Put a notice up on the club board, you may be surprised how many others are in the same position.

BTW don't feel embarrassed about not flying for a while. Since I gained my licence I've had to do at least 3 additional revalidation GFTs (pre-skills test!) due to lapsing on currency because of the economics of raising a family.
Good luck to you
Slip

[piotr]

Regarding going back to flying after a few weeks/months off -

Just a pedantic (and perhaps largely academic) point perhaps, but does anyone know what the "you need to have done 3 take-off's & landings in the same aircraft class rating in the last 90 days if you want to go up with passengers" stipulation precisely means?

i.e. are 3 touch-and-goes sufficient, or do these need to be "full stop & backtrack" landings?

Also presumably the "same aircraft class" in this context means e.g. SEP - so that I could theoretically do 3 t/o & landings in a Cessna 152, and then take pasangers up in a Turbo Bonanza? :confused:

[PilotOnline]

Piotr,

As far as I'm aware the 3 take offs and landings can be touch and go's and they must be done in a SEP if that is what your Licence permits, not sure if there are certain limitations concerning complex types etc. I don't have my Air Law book to hand!

[rustle]

These sorts of discussions never cease to amaze me.

The CAA/JAA rule is same class: So 3 T/O&L in a MEP won't count to take passengers in an SEP, but 3 T/O&L in a C150 will allow you legally to take passengers in any SEP (except one - any takers on which SEP isn't covered?? ;))

Whether it's sensible to do this or not is something you also learn during your PPL lessons. It's called "decision-making". :)

Same common-sense stuff we discussed earlier in this thread.

Just because legally you can not fly for 729* days then go solo to minimums doesn't mean it's a really good idea.

*assumes no leap year

[Flyin'Dutch']

Rustle wrote:

any SEP (except one - any takers on which SEP isn't covered?? )

Piper Malibu

So were do we collect the prize?

:D

FD

BTW complex sign off lasts indefinitely (IIRC) as does any difference training.

[piotr]

Rustle

Re: "These sorts of discussions never cease to amaze me." - you have a very low amazement threshold my friend! :D

As I said it my post - it was a "pedantic (and perhaps largely academic)" question and no-one has at any point suggested that it is a SENSIBLE thing thing to do - I thing we are all grown up here and the fact that a pilot must at all times make informed and sesnible decisions I would have hoped could be taken as read. I was just trying to clarify a legal point.

By the way, is it true re: Piper Malibu? Why should it be - I know it has a 350 hp turbo-charged high-performance engine, but so do some other SEPs :confused: And where does it say so - it's not mention in any air law docs I have come across (he asks nervously, fearing that someone will jump on his back again for asking a question ;) ).

[Flyin'Dutch']

Hi Piotr

The requirement was introduced when it transpired that a lot of new owner operators where killing themselves with their newly acquired mounts.

I dont think that people get jumped on here, sometimes however people get a bit of a robust prod.

FD

Rustle: Can you unedit your post? You must have edited that when I was tinkering with mine and my 'puter went belly up in the process. Did your post contain the info on how to get the prize?

[ajsh]

All good and very sound advice.

However try not to get caught out by the Certificate of Experience rules as I did last time round. I had – quite wrongly – assumed that the 12 hours (including 1 hour with an instructor) had to be completed in the preceding 24 months instead of the preceding 12 months. Consequently, I had to take a Certificate of Test and some considerable expenses.

Having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed the process and as always gain benefit from flying with an instructor and then examiner although I am not prepared to spend the same amount of money this time (equates to about 3 hours solo flying when taking into account the test fee….)

[rustle]

piotr

My apologies - I read (into?) your post that the pedantic bit referred to the T'n'Gs counting as T/O&Ls, rather than the C152 time allowing Bonanza time :)

Ref the Piper Malibu, it is a seperate rating much like the MEP is a seperate rating, and the rule is quite clear that the 3 T/O&L must be in the same type or class of aircraft.

FD

Post re-edited. The prize you can collect anytime you like - it consists of one year of you paying for my flying :D