First BFR due this summer. Suggestions?

jpower

jpower

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James
I've been flying for nearly three years now. First year as a sport pilot, then private for the next (nearly) two. So now I get to decide what to do for my first BFR! It's due in August, so I have some time, but I'm going to be out of the country not flying for eight weeks starting this weekend. I'll either be doing it in the DC area or in SE Michigan (as close to ARB as possible) in the last week of August. I'd like to do something fun without breaking the bank toooo too much.

I've been thinking about doing a SES rating just for kicks, but I'm not sure where would be best. I've found these guys (http://chesapeakeseaplanes.net/Cheasapeake Seaplanes - Instruction Information.htm), but I know next to nothing about it. Or the rating as a whole, for that matter. Is getting the SES rating a good thing to do for a BFR? And is there anywhere to rent floatplanes/amphibs after getting the rating?

Another possibility is a taildragger endorsement, but I know even less about that than I know about flying on floats. How long does it usually take? ("It depends!" I hear you cry. How about average ish? I'm a young guy so I like to think that I'm likely to catch on quickly.) The flight school near me in DC rents a Champ, and there's one at ARB that rents a Citabria, so I have access in both places.

...which brings us to aerobatics. As much as I'd love to do aerobatics for my BFR, it's not happening quite yet. I'm still a dependant on my parents' taxes (even though I pay for all my own flying), and as long as that's the case, there's no way I'm going inverted. I've tried to reason with them, but they don't fly, so it's a lot harder.

High performance/complex endorsements are also possible, I guess, but I'm not going to use them any time soon, because I can't justify taking the 182 or getting checked out in the Arrow for boring holes in the sky, which is the vast majority of what I do.

Any other thoughts? If nothing else, I'll probably get it done as a checkout in the 152s at ARB.
 
Any of the endorsements are good ideas, it advances your aviation skills.
Just remember that the endorsement alone is not enough, the instructor still has to sign off the flight review. Just discuss it with them upfront so they can cover the flight review ground and air requirements.

Adding the SES requires a check ride with an examiner. That alone will reset the clock for a flight review.
 
I'd say do the taildragger or a glider add-on. Taildragger endorsement for a competent 152 pilot is ~5-10ish hours depending on plane, conditions, and prior training.

Less if you are really on the ball, more if you have to untrain bad habits trikes cover up.
 
If it's your first why not just let it happen and see what you've forgotten or never knew in the first place?
Don't use the same instructor! Find a tough one.
Worry about the cool BFRs in future years when you have a few hours under your thin belt....
 
If you want to go the seaplane route, ask yourself if you ever want to rent one. Most places will train you for the rating, but will not let you rent. Those places that do rent want you to do the rating in their plane or will require a higher minimum time to rent.

If you want to do something else, remember to discuss prior to your training that you want a BFR too. I'd hate for you to take an aerobatics course and then have someone say that they won't sign off a BFR too.
 
I went for my complex during mine (concurrently, I know it didn't count as the BFR). My plane was down for maintenance at the time, so I rented an Arrow.
 
Go for the seaplane rating. It will remind you why you wanted to learn to fly in the first place. Even if you never fly a seaplane again, it will be a great experience you will not forget.
 
I would do the seaplane ride,a lot of fun ,and you get to increase your skill level.
 
If you can do it, seaplane or glider. Glider will take a lot more time, not just airtime, but screwing around time. Worth it if you have the time. If you can't do one of those just get a vanilla one covering how you normally fly.
 
I'm a big fan of expanding your skill set during a BFR. Yes, you can do a standard run-of-the-mill flight review and just do the minimums, but why? In 21 years of flying, I have had exactly 2 "normal" flight reviews.

If you're going to have to pay for the flight review anyway, why not do something interesting, and get some new skills while you're at it? Even if it costs a little more, then you're getting that additional training at a very small marginal cost.

Also, the WINGS program can be a valuable way to get your FR done.

As others have stated, not all of this list inherently counts as a flight review, but a flight review can be signed off concurrently with any of them if you tell the CFI ahead of time.

(Some of these the OP has ruled out already, but this is a general list of possibilities.)

New rating (seaplane, glider, etc.)
Tailwheel
Complex
High performance
Aerobatics/upset training ("upset training" is becoming very popular and sounds more like useful "safety training" to non-pilots than playing-around "stunt flying")
Mountain flying training
Vintage aircraft (I did my FR one year in a Stearman, just because I could!)
Modern aircraft - if you've been flying typical 1970's-era aircraft, find something like a Cirrus to rent.
Along those lines, get some time in a glass panel aircraft - or a round gauge aircraft, whichever you're not used to.
Maybe just a "new plane to you" - if all your time is Cessna, fly a Piper or something.

Make it interesting!
 
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Yes, but (a) not so much for a FIRST BFR, and (b) take it easy!

It's eye-opening how much gets forgotten in two years.

Maybe, add ONE new thing. Like, maybe try a chandelle for the first time, or a power-off 180 if you've never done that (that one's a REAL good skill in case of an engine failure).

I learned canyon turns in mine. Real canyon turns, not what you learn out of the AFH. If the stall horn isn't blaring, you could have turned sharper.
 
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