Inactive pilot needs help

Hi all,
I got my private VFR ticket back in the early 80's but haven't flown
since the late 80's. Well, I'm ready to jump back in with both feet and an
RV QB kit.
I'm wondering what other's of you in the same position (returning to
flying after laying off for many years) have pursued as far as resources on
how to not only get flying again, but to catch up on all the changes in the
last 15+ years.
I intend to take a dozen or so hours of instruction before my required
bi-annual to get legal again, but I don't want to waste the instructors time
by making him go over lots of stuff I should already know.
Suggestions?

MJC

MJC wrote:

Hi all,
I got my private VFR ticket back in the early 80's but haven't flown
since the late 80's. Well, I'm ready to jump back in with both feet and an
RV QB kit.
I'm wondering what other's of you in the same position (returning to
flying after laying off for many years) have pursued as far as resources on
how to not only get flying again, but to catch up on all the changes in the
last 15+ years.
I intend to take a dozen or so hours of instruction before my required
bi-annual to get legal again, but I don't want to waste the instructors time
by making him go over lots of stuff I should already know.
Suggestions?

MJC



Get a current copy of an FAR/AIM manual and dive in. That is mostly
what I did. I also decided to upgrade my license to commercial and
studying for that has covered most of what I had learned years ago for
the private and even touched on my IFR stuff a little.

However, the best thing is to find a good instructor and get back in the
air. You will pick up a lot just by experiencing things again with an
instructor to keep you out of trouble.


Matt

On Sun, 12 Dec 2004 07:40:53 -0500, Matt Whiting
wrote:

MJC wrote:

Hi all,
I got my private VFR ticket back in the early 80's but haven't flown
since the late 80's. Well, I'm ready to jump back in with both feet and an
RV QB kit.
I'm wondering what other's of you in the same position (returning to
flying after laying off for many years) have pursued as far as resources on
how to not only get flying again, but to catch up on all the changes in the
last 15+ years.
I intend to take a dozen or so hours of instruction before my required
bi-annual to get legal again, but I don't want to waste the instructors time
by making him go over lots of stuff I should already know.
Suggestions?

MJC



Get a current copy of an FAR/AIM manual and dive in. That is mostly
what I did. I also decided to upgrade my license to commercial and
studying for that has covered most of what I had learned years ago for
the private and even touched on my IFR stuff a little.

However, the best thing is to find a good instructor and get back in the
air. You will pick up a lot just by experiencing things again with an
instructor to keep you out of trouble.


Matt

no you'll waste a lot of time that way.
I returned after an 18 1/2 year break and did it in just under 5
hours. I'm sure anyone could use the methods I did.
(btw make sure you have a current medical)

first is to study all the aviation theory again as though you will
have to sit an exam for it. that'll get the theory back alive in the
memory again. (and maybe better that you knew it before)

book a flight every second day.

the first flight will show you how far out of it all you have become.
dont be discouraged. the main differences will be airspace, radio and
all the small things that you once did without thinking. things like
attitude for slow and fast flight that sort of thing. (I even forgot
how to turn off an aircraft engine.)
After the flight go and sit somewhere quiet and go back through the
flight in your mind. lots of questions will come as well. go and
research the answers to these in the regs and the theory texts.

repeat the exercise after every flight and try to get on top of your
deficiencies. by working in the intervening days with a quite focussed
mind you will find that the lost knowledge will gradually be
reinstated.
talk to your instructor and take advantage of all the assistance on
offer.
the thing is to devote your full attention to the task.

at 4 3/4 hours I was walking back from my first bienniel.

I've done 300 hours since.

Stealth (you can do it)Pilot

"MJC" wrote in message
...
Hi all,
I got my private VFR ticket back in the early 80's but haven't flown
since the late 80's. Well, I'm ready to jump back in with both feet and an
RV QB kit.
I'm wondering what other's of you in the same position (returning to
flying after laying off for many years) have pursued as far as resources
on
how to not only get flying again, but to catch up on all the changes in
the
last 15+ years.
I intend to take a dozen or so hours of instruction before my required
bi-annual to get legal again, but I don't want to waste the instructors
time
by making him go over lots of stuff I should already know.
Suggestions?

The same resources which you need to develop to have a successful building
experience can help you get back in the air with minimum strain. You will
need to meet local EAA'ers who are both builders and flyers to share
knowledge and resources. They can also ease you back into the air.

After your project is underway, participate in local events such as fly-ins.
It won't be long before you'll be riding back seat and redeveloping the "Air
Sense" you had when you were flying previously. The physical skills of
handling the airplane will come back first. Kinda like riding a bicycle,
there. Just listening to the radio chatter will bring back familiarity in
that area. Looking at a sectional or local area chart for a while will bring
old knowledge back on line and give you a whole bunch of new questions.

A couple of months of this sort of thing and you'll be able to select an
instructor whose area of familiarity includes homebuilts. Let him direct
your course of study - after all, he *is* an instructor. He'll figure out
pretty quickly what you need to concentrate on. Don't presuppose you need a
certain amount of dual to get back on the horse. It may be a lot easier than
you think. Mostly, make it fun.

Welcome back,
Rich S.

"MJC" wrote in message
...
Hi all,
I got my private VFR ticket back in the early 80's but haven't flown
since the late 80's. Well, I'm ready to jump back in with both feet and an
RV QB kit.
I'm wondering what other's of you in the same position (returning to
flying after laying off for many years) have pursued as far as resources
on
how to not only get flying again, but to catch up on all the changes in
the
last 15+ years.
I intend to take a dozen or so hours of instruction before my required
bi-annual to get legal again, but I don't want to waste the instructors
time
by making him go over lots of stuff I should already know.
Suggestions?

Sounds good. I would recommend a good BFR video refresher course or, if you
prefer to read, the ASA guide to the biannual flight review. Get some
current charts for the local area and familiarize yourself with the symbols
again. Sign up for DUATS and start reading weather reports. Get a current
version of the FAR/AIM.

The flying might take a dozen hours, or as few as five hours; I could
probably tell in the first hour or two just how rusty you are. It also
depends on how much instruction you want in advanced avionics.

Some instructors will not fly in a homebuilt airplane. Too bad for them.
Which RV are you looking at?

Thanks guys; combined, you give me good direction on getting back into
the air. After some google searching, I also found AC No. 61-10A which is a
rough guide and syllabus for Refresher Course training, but it's dated
9/27/72. However, it looks like it also points me in the right direction.
I'll be dropping by my local FBO this coming weekend to load up on all
the books and manuals mentioned as well as to chat with one of the flight
instructors and beg for mercy. It's funny because when I got my ticket 20
years ago in '84, all the instructors were older than me. Now, they're all
younger than me. I think I waited way too long to get back in the air.

CJ, I'm building the RV7-A Quickbuild kit. I've already got the QB fuse
and wings and am working on the empennage. One reason I need to get back to
flying soon is because I'm figuring out how to go with the instrument panel.
At the moment, I'm leaning heavily toward a glass panel (Dual Grand Rapids
EFIS's w/EIS) with the radios being the GNC 300XL GPS/Com and the SL-30
Nav/Com plus a 2-axis AP (TruTrak DGII) and then the rest of the usual
"stuff".
A panel like that is a lot different from most GA/SE aircraft today with
steam gauges and basic Nav/Coms so I am a little concerned about finding a
CFI that will not only instruct in my RV, but will also continue on with
instructing me to get my IFR ticket. My panel WILL be "certified" in that
all the nav equipment is certified for GA aircraft, but it's still an
Experimental aircraft and I don't know how you CFI's feel about that.

MJC


"C J Campbell" wrote in message
...

"MJC" wrote in message
...
Hi all,
I got my private VFR ticket back in the early 80's but haven't flown
since the late 80's. Well, I'm ready to jump back in with both feet and
an
RV QB kit.
I'm wondering what other's of you in the same position (returning to
flying after laying off for many years) have pursued as far as resources
on
how to not only get flying again, but to catch up on all the changes in
the
last 15+ years.
I intend to take a dozen or so hours of instruction before my
required
bi-annual to get legal again, but I don't want to waste the instructors
time
by making him go over lots of stuff I should already know.
Suggestions?

Sounds good. I would recommend a good BFR video refresher course or, if
you
prefer to read, the ASA guide to the biannual flight review. Get some
current charts for the local area and familiarize yourself with the
symbols
again. Sign up for DUATS and start reading weather reports. Get a current
version of the FAR/AIM.

The flying might take a dozen hours, or as few as five hours; I could
probably tell in the first hour or two just how rusty you are. It also
depends on how much instruction you want in advanced avionics.

Some instructors will not fly in a homebuilt airplane. Too bad for them.
Which RV are you looking at?

On Sun, 12 Dec 2004 00:06:49 -0600, "MJC" wrote:

Hi all,
I got my private VFR ticket back in the early 80's but haven't flown
since the late 80's. Well, I'm ready to jump back in with both feet and an
RV QB kit.
I'm wondering what other's of you in the same position (returning to
flying after laying off for many years) have pursued as far as resources on
how to not only get flying again, but to catch up on all the changes in the
last 15+ years.
I intend to take a dozen or so hours of instruction before my required
bi-annual to get legal again, but I don't want to waste the instructors time
by making him go over lots of stuff I should already know.
Suggestions?

I was in a similar situation except that I originally got some flight
training when I was 15.5, and could not afford to continue once I left
home for college. By that time I had accumulated about 25 hours of
instruction and solo flight. I did not get my pilot's license at that
time.

Fast forward to the winter of 2002, 36 years later and I finally had
enough money to finish my flight lessons and get my PPL-SEL. I didn't
think there would be a problem getting it because I'd always felt
comfortable flying, but you never know. It was time to at least find
out because by then I'd been working at my Christavia Mk4 for 12-13
years.

Finishing the flight training was a whole bunch of fun and I've been
flying ever since. Well, I have actually flown off and on in the
interim years, but never solo and never PIC.

It would be good to sit down with a flight school and work out what
kind of program you should use. Obviously you will only need as much
as necessary to bring you up to speed, it's not like you have to learn
everything from the beginning. It might be a useful excersize to at
least map out the program ahead of time. The flight school will have
to evaluate what's necessary during your initial flying, and you
should also discuss with them what materials would be best for you to
read to bring you up to speed on current regulations and resources.

Corky Scott

"MJC" wrote in message
...
Thanks guys; combined, you give me good direction on getting back into
the air. After some google searching, I also found AC No. 61-10A which is
a
rough guide and syllabus for Refresher Course training, but it's dated
9/27/72. However, it looks like it also points me in the right direction.
I'll be dropping by my local FBO this coming weekend to load up on all
the books and manuals mentioned as well as to chat with one of the flight
instructors and beg for mercy. It's funny because when I got my ticket 20
years ago in '84, all the instructors were older than me. Now, they're all
younger than me. I think I waited way too long to get back in the air.

CJ, I'm building the RV7-A Quickbuild kit. I've already got the QB
fuse
and wings and am working on the empennage. One reason I need to get back
to
flying soon is because I'm figuring out how to go with the instrument
panel.
At the moment, I'm leaning heavily toward a glass panel (Dual Grand Rapids
EFIS's w/EIS) with the radios being the GNC 300XL GPS/Com and the SL-30
Nav/Com plus a 2-axis AP (TruTrak DGII) and then the rest of the usual
"stuff".
A panel like that is a lot different from most GA/SE aircraft today
with
steam gauges and basic Nav/Coms so I am a little concerned about finding a
CFI that will not only instruct in my RV, but will also continue on with
instructing me to get my IFR ticket. My panel WILL be "certified" in that
all the nav equipment is certified for GA aircraft, but it's still an
Experimental aircraft and I don't know how you CFI's feel about that.

I like the RV7 myself; although I will never find time to build one of my
own, I sometimes help others work on their planes.

Glass panels are becoming much more common. The Garmin G1000 will even be
available on the Skyhawk next year, so instructors better get used to them.
My guess is that virtually every plane Cessna sells next year will have a
glass cockpit. Cirrus, incredibly, has even managed to fall behind a little
bit in technology (bet they won't stay there for long!). The FAA, in
conjunction with manufacturers, has also developed special training programs
in advanced avionics for instructors.

The day of steam gauges is nearly over.

Go to Sporty's, or King, or whatever you prefer.
Get the DVD's and books.
Get all of your theory current,
then let a good CFI evaluate you and make recommendations.
That is probably the best, and least expensive way.

Tony

--

Tony Roberts
PP-ASEL
VFR OTT
Night
Cessna 172H C-GICE


In article , "MJC"
wrote:

Hi all,
I got my private VFR ticket back in the early 80's but haven't flown
since the late 80's. Well, I'm ready to jump back in with both feet and an
RV QB kit.
I'm wondering what other's of you in the same position (returning to
flying after laying off for many years) have pursued as far as resources on
how to not only get flying again, but to catch up on all the changes in the
last 15+ years.
I intend to take a dozen or so hours of instruction before my required
bi-annual to get legal again, but I don't want to waste the instructors time
by making him go over lots of stuff I should already know.
Suggestions?

MJC