Extended break from flying?
 

Hello all - I am concerned in that i have now had a reasonably long break in flying. I have over 200 hours but due to financial and personal reasons the flying has taken a back seat over the last few months. Had my last check around 2-3 months ago.

I will be joining a syndicate on an aircraft in June but concerned about my currency. The syndicate will enable me then to keep more current from then.

What thoughts and similar experiences do people have i would be interested to hear.

I had 3 years out from fixed wing between 2001-2004. I had about 600h TT prior to the break with an IR.

I was tutored in the dark ways of the helicopter pilot in 2002 and stuck with that as a sole aviation pursuit until I realised that cars below me travelling in the same direction would often be able to overtake my lowly R22 especially if there was a hint of headwind.

I got back into fixed wing (and changed the 22 to a 44) in 2004/5.
It's like riding a bike though - you'll get back in to it pretty quickly if it is VFR.
As far as instrument flying is concerned, I found refreshing this took more time - I flew with an unshakeable old albatross (retired jet captain) who got me up to speed pretty quickly.

Currency is a major issue for everybody, whether it is night, instrument or plain A to B VFR. Staying current costs money and right now I think a lot of people will be letting things go a little to save cash.

Right now I reluctantly have my plane for sale - if it is sold (and it may well not be in the current climate as I am not happy to give it away at a silly price - most buyers expect you to be desperate for cash if your aircraft is for sale at the present time) then I will have to go through the entire refresher process again.

SB

In our group we have a recommendation that pilots who have not flown for 3 months go up with another pilot.
I went 10/11 weeks without flying and then did a flight on my own,the conditions were good and I felt OK about it,and it was a good flight.
I normally try and fly every week,but of course weather plays a major part in the plans.
For medical reasons I have not flown for several weeks and may have a flight with a local CFI before I go solo again.
Lister:)

I can vouch for the "riding a bike" effect.
Two years ago I returned to fixed wing flying after a break of just over 28 years. Flew solo again after 3.5 hours in a new type.
However....currency is another matter altogether and would now feel that a break of one month requires me to apply some extra focus in planning and undertaking a flight.

If I'm concerned about my capabilities then I get an instructor and go out for an hour with them, he/she will tell you objectively how you are doing.

If all is OK in the first 20 mins you can either cut the flight short and save the $ or do some other fun stuff like PFLs which are often not practiced...