Starting again, anyone done it?

[Cessna Boy]

Hi folks,
Just wondering if anyone has given up flying for a few years and then went back to it? I am about to resume after a 3 year lay off (down to cash, major knee reconstruction and having a bub).
What is the process? Is it a case of maybe a dozen hours retraining, PPL flight test again and then it's back to the good stuff? Or can it be a nightmare of 20 odd hours training or worse (half a PPL again)?
Is it the full PPL flight test, or just a flight review?

FYI, UK and Australian PPLs have been held, night rating, some aeros, UK ATPL exams covered (so theory should be ok), and a tad under 150 hours TT.

Also assumming from various posts, Redcliffe is the place to be doing this around the BNE area? if anyone has other recommendations, I am happy to investigate them.

Thanks in advance for any info.

CB

[Rojer Wilco]

Yep. I took six years off and came back. I'm a CPL though and I did it by renewing my IR-CME, which had lapsed so long I had to redo the initial.

:ugh:

This took a bit of prep which was (according to my logbook) about 10 hrs plus 5 in the sim.

I wouldn't think you'd need anything like that, but I guess it depends on how much work you'd need to get up to scratch for a flight review because... (drum roll please)...

The short answer to your original post is that you just need to pass a flight review and the person who conducted that review to make an appropriate entry in your log book. Check CAR 5.81.

If you want to take pax you need 3 TO and lands within the preceding 90 days (or nights if you want pax with you while you exercise the privs or your NVFR). Check CAR 5.82

[Aerozepplin]

I had around 4 years away from flying after getting my PPL, then came back to do my CPL.

It took 7 hours of dual training, then a 2.3 hours BFR. I found it was circuits and forced landings that took the time to rediscover, specifically getting nice x/wind landings and judging the glide in the forced landing.

Just flying the airplane came back very quickly, as did navigation and radio work. I was lucky though that I'd completed CPL law in the weeks before starting flying again, which was quite lucky as I'd forgotten a majority of the important stuff from PPL.

[fudwinkel]

I have stopped a few times, anything from 1 year up. Longest break, so far, was 9 years. I dont think its the mechanics of flying the plane thats difficult, its a bit like a bicycle up to a point, I find its the theory that requires the most work. Even the instruments look unfamiliar after a long break. Of course its instrument flying that is really tough to get back on top of. Its certainly a lot less painful, and probably cheaper, to keep current. Even if its only a few flights a year.

[Cessna Boy]

Thanks for the replies so far folks.

Yeah Fudwinkel, I am starting to realise currency needs to be kept, even if once every 3 months for an hour. The Mrs will probably ensure this is met in future after she sees the estimate to get back in the air! :}

[werbil]

I've had a number of breaks, but generally managed to keep a BFR current even if I flew only once in between. My BFR's were all only about an hour, however I did have over a thousand hours at the time.

Each time I got back into the plane I found that precision and SA is what suffered the most. IMO an hour every three months is not the best option, by the time the hour is up you still won't have picked up your skills to the same standard as they were three months ago. It is my understanding that this is the reason that minimum flying was replaced with a flight review back around the 80s.

[kingRB]

I think I went almost 8 years on my break.

Lost interest due to lack of funds to complete CPL as a 20 year old back in 2000 with about 120 hours TT.

Getting back into it (at least single VFR) is fairly straight forward. As much as I thought i'd have no idea how to fly an aircraft after that amount of time, soon as I was back in front of the controls it was pretty much like i'd never stepped away. Instructor was quite happy for me to fly solo after the first circuit :ok:

Brush up on all the airlaw / airspace / procedure changes, couple of short nav's with an instructor including a BFR and you are done (oh, and a medical).

Get back into it, you wont regret it :ok: