Looking to get back in the saddle

[AussieNick]

Hi everyone,

Been a little over 3 years since I last sat in the pointy end of anything as a pilot and while I've moved away from the commercial aspect of aviation, i'm looking to get back into from private flying. I only racked up a little over 550 hours total, and i'm surprise at how fast and how much I've forgotten, but it is fair to say I'm getting the itch to go flying again.

Just wondering if people can point me in the direction of some reading material, as I understand there have been a fair few changes over the last few years regs wise so I can start reading up on things again before trundling into the local flying school.

Now I hate to admit this but when pulling out the old CR2 the other day I struggled to remember how to use the bugger so any recommendations on come text books to brush up on things? Are the bob tait books still a safe bet, bearing in mind I want to bring myself back up to, and maintain myself to the CPL level, regardless of if i'm going to be exercising the privileges of this licence or not.

Also, since I find myself with a lot of free time on my hands during the days, I'm wanting to read through the ATPL stuff (never know I might sit the exams) and i'm after recommendations on ATPL theory books.

Thanks in advance everyone

[Old Akro]

3 years is not that long. You'll find it comes back faster than you expect.

Whats a CR2? I seem to have a dim memory about something like that. Get AvPlan or Ozrunways and become familiar with it. You;l burn a few hours on that alone.

Run through your checklists and get that routine back. You can go to a school and sit in an aeroplane on the ground and get familiar with the knobs & dials again.

Aeroplanes still fly the same and most procedures are still the same. You'll pick up what you need in the air. But, after each flight, I'd self critique and use that as the basis for some remedial reading, practice, etc.

[Ixixly]

Honestly, the best thing you can do is get and instructor, sit down with them and let them figure out where you're at, then go for a fly with them and really figure out what you've forgotten!!

[Centaurus]

Honestly, the best thing you can do is get and instructor

Just make sure the instructor allotted is a Grade One and not just a 250 hour Grade 3 newbie. No offence to any grade 3 but in your case a Grade One instructor is best value for money

[AussieNick]

@Centaurus and @Ixixly I'm definitely planning on going and talk to CM and the boys in Darwin once I get some time and cash during to have a chat and work out a plan to get myself proficient again. Figured I can do some theory work before hand so I don't look like a complete newbie walking back in haha.

@Old Akro I used to used ozrunways when I flew a year years ago and loved it. Will be getting a subscription again, once I get anew iPad and once i'm flying again. Want to get my old map reading skills back up again.

@Raptor090 have read ya PM mate, will reply when I get a chance

[Arm out the window]

The regulation changes since Sep 2014 have been sweeping and confusing, but you can get a bit of relatively plain language guidance from the CASA website where they have put up a lot of 'information sheets'.

https://www.casa.gov.au/licences-and-certification/standard-page/licensing-information-sheets

It's still not particularly easy to find things, and the stated aim of getting all the regs in one place (the CASR) seems to have made it harder in some instances. They've changed the names and/or meanings of certain things (e.g. endorsements, ratings) and I think a fair description of the rules at the moment is 'in a confusing state of flux'.

Anyway, the fact sheets noted above should get you going some of the way. Enjoy the flying anyhow!

[Lancair70]

I once went 14yrs between sitting up front. The flying part is like riding a bike. The rules and regs part took some brushing up/re-learning tho. Enjoy!

[AussieNick]

Thanks for all the advice and pointers everyone.

And for those who got a hold of me via PM, thanks a ton, the info you guys gave me has been amazing.

AN