How often do you fly with a CFI or instructor..

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Viper.R6

Filing Flight Plan
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Viper.R6
Even after getting your ppl, how often do you still fly with an instructor or CFI?
 
At least once a year for club reviews. Last year I flew with a CFI fairly often while working on my commercial.
 
Usually about 3. I do a FR every spring and an IPC every fall. And another to knock out a wings level. Just because, and my insurance company likes me.

Lately I've had some time and have been expanding my flight envelope. This year I got my ASES and ME and am working on a helicopter add-on so it's been a lot. Something I read about lifetime learning or such.....
 
The life learning and always be learning is what sparked the question..
seems like for most folks after getting the ppl, they transition to working on their instruments rating..
so it seems like we’re constantly working with an instructor…
 
New aircraft checkout when I move, or every two years for FR. Normally I am the one giving FRs for everyone else.
A rental club I fly with just changed their rules to checkout flight every year.
 
Depends on how often I fly. I have a personal rule that if I don’t fly for over about a month, I fly with an instructor before going PIC again. Had that happen twice in 2023. Any additional flights with CFI depends on if I want to learn something new or do some instrument training.
 
About twice a year to do IPCs and get a 3rd party view of my IFR skills. Every other year roll this up with a flight review as well.
 
Lots. I’ll continue to work on certificates, ratings, and endorsements until there are no more to get. It’s my hobby to do so.
 
My friend is a standards check airman for a major airline. I fly with him often, we are not always in the training mode when we fly together but I learn something from him every flight. Like last flight told me to get on the center line after landing. I said I am and said I wasn't. He said you can feel the center line in the front tire, he was right.
He also says the brakes are only for holding the plane for the run up. Shows me how he can taxi and stop the plane with no brakes smoothly for the passengers. On and on he is a 40+ year aviator. His hangar is right next to mine.

We did my IPC a couple weeks ago. 2 hrs in the air and over an hour of ground school. I was tired when it was over with. We have both of our hangars setup for ground school. He prepares paperwork study questions for each IPC and he drills me on them.
He makes me work for it.
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Chrisgoesflying said:
Depends on how often I fly. I have a personal rule that if I don’t fly for over about a month, I fly with an instructor before going PIC again. Had that happen twice in 2023. Any additional flights with CFI depends on if I want to learn something new or do some instrument training.
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That's interesting and pretty unusual. What is the basis for your rule?
 
At least twice a year, nips any bad habits in the bud.
 
Walboy said:
That's interesting and pretty unusual. What is the basis for your rule?
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There is no real basis for my rule. It’s something I came up with very early on after I got my PPL and always kept. It just makes me more comfortable I guess. And it’s a good excuse to go do something I couldn’t do by myself every now and then. I usually do under the hood training on those flights, practice scenarios I haven’t practiced in a while or fly into airports or in conditions that are below my minimums.
 
In my experience as a CFI, once every 2 years is inadequate for the typical GA hobbyist pilot.

I've had pilots fly with me every few months whether they need it or not, and they are far more proficient.
 
A lot, like about 4 times a week. I started Instrument and Commercial just a couple days after getting PPL. After that it varied. I always got Flight reviews annually instead of bi-annually. I was a renter for a number of years and there were checkouts in lots of different airplanes at a lot of different airports. And IPC's. And new equipment checkouts.
 
Every two years at least. Although I have lots of CFI friends and we fly together from time to time generally not in a student/CFI relationship.
 
I took a long time off- 11 1/2 years. So I flew with one instructor a fair amount. Then checked out at a different flight center. Then essentially redid HP and complex endorsements, got checked out at 2 places to rent hp (various 182s) and complex (an arrow).
Currently checking out in a da-40ng, did a mountain checkout. Then time for my flight review.
And I wanted some time in actual instrument conditions, which I’d never done prior to just over a year ago.

So, a bunch in the last 2 1/2 years, with 8 different CFIs. Overall it’s made me a better pilot. Certainly has given me a good sense of which types of instructor/instruction work best for me. Most were a very positive experience, for me. One, the more I think about, the more annoyed I am.
 
Gary Ward said:
told me to get on the center line after landing. I said I am and said I wasn't. He said you can feel the center line in the front tire, he was right.
He also says the brakes are only for holding the plane for the run up. Shows me how he can taxi and stop the plane with no brakes smoothly for the passengers.
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Your friend and I would get a long great. I also like practicing flying the pattern with only one finger on the yoke, when needed. This teachs how to use the trim, how the power and flaps affect the trim. Of course it does require a bit of pull for initial rotation and round out and flare, at least to do normal ones.

Brian
CFIIG/ASEL
 
I would think that pilots would do it at least every 2yrs since FAA rules dictate currency is important.
 
brcase said:
Your friend and I would get a long great. I also like practicing flying the pattern with only one finger on the yoke, when needed. This teachs how to use the trim, how the power and flaps affect the trim. Of course it does require a bit of pull for initial rotation and round out and flare, at least to do normal ones.

Brian
CFIIG/ASEL
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If the airframe is square there is no "front tire." :D
 
RussR said:
In my experience as a CFI, once every 2 years is inadequate for the typical GA hobbyist pilot.

I've had pilots fly with me every few months whether they need it or not, and they are far more proficient.
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What skills do you see degrade between flight reviews? Basic plane handling? Or more on the side of flight planning & decision making?
 
AlleyCat67 said:
What skills do you see degrade between flight reviews? Basic plane handling? Or more on the side of flight planning & decision making?
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Probably depends on how often one flys, someone who flies a few times a year vs someone who flies 100+ hours.
 
Not enough. I’ve been a pilot for 22 years and 1100 hours, and a flight review every other year doesn’t really do diddly dick for skills improvement. I aim to go up with a CFI quarterly for emergency procedures, pushing the envelope and nav problems. I haven’t been diligent enough about it, but am starting on the Wings program and whether or not it’s a Wings activity will get on track with more frequent recurrent and advanced training.

Edited twice because my typing-with-thumbs-only skills are deficient!
 
AlleyCat67 said:
What skills do you see degrade between flight reviews? Basic plane handling? Or more on the side of flight planning & decision making?
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Most of the stuff they don’t do goes away…stall recoveries, emergencies, crosswind landings, and ant decision making related to those areas.

Plus some stuff they do regularly and THINK they’re still good at.
 
ateamer said:
Not enough. I’ve been a pilot for 22 years and 1100 hours, and a flight review every other year doesn’t really do diddly dick for skills improvement. I aim to go up with a CFI quarterly for emergency procedures, pushing the envelope and nav problems. I haven’t been diligent enough about it, but am starting on the Wings program and whether or not it’s a Wings activity will get on track with more frequent recurrent and advanced training.

Edited twice because my typing-with-thumbs-only skills are deficient!
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Agree^^^^
I am lucky to be friends and fly with a great Captain and standards check airmen.
He is a very humble guy. He said to me in the past while flying with me in the right seat, both in my plane and his planes as he fly's right seat a lot. I am giving you this advise/knowledge because your my friend and I don't want you to get killed a couple times when we were not training, just flying for fun. I pay attention to what he says.

BTW I have only been flying for 8 years and 1450 hours and more than 2600 landings. Mostly in my 172, also pa-28 140, pa28r-200 and c182 time mixed in.
I fly lot but go nowhere most of the time but always honing my pilot skills.
 
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AlleyCat67 said:
What skills do you see degrade between flight reviews? Basic plane handling? Or more on the side of flight planning & decision making?
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Basic ability to hold heading and altitude without an autopilot, especially when having to divert attention like tuning a radio.

Holding an airspeed like Vy on climbout.

Losing 400 feet in a steep turn.

Stuff like that.
 
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