New guy here

[the other german guy]

Hi,

New guy here.

My name is Titus. I Live in north Houston.

I ve had my pilot certificate for several years now,but I did the classic 'hurry up and get the license and then not fly due to lack of funds'. I believe I am ready to step back into flying,but I m not sure where to start. I got my license in shawnee okla, did very little flying in tower airspace. Do I just start all over? like i never had a license? Are there any pilots that regularly fly out of Hooks or Conroe that I could hook up with and do some fun flying with? I ll pitch in $$.

 

[Arbiter419]

Welcome to POA, Titus.

Glad to hear that you're getting back into it! I'll let the recommendations for getting re-started to the other folks.

Take it easy

 

[rottydaddy]

Welcome, and FWIW, here's 2 cents' worth from a pilot who had to lay off flying for about 4 years:
Bum some rides for inspiration, hit the books for a bit, then go do a flight review. There should be no reason to "start all over"... the PPASEL doesn't expire, it just needs polishing up from time to time. You may get back up to speed quickly, or it may take a few flights, but if you did it once from scratch, you will be able to do it again after a hiatus.
My FR after my hiatus was quite thorough, and it seemed like hard work.... it also took a few flights on my own to get that "fit to command" feeling back... but in retrospect, it was all a psych-out. As in many pursuits, the biggest hurdle was self-doubt. A little is healthy, for sure, but too much doesn't help. I'd advise anyone in that situation to question not only their confidence, but their apprehension (if that makes sense).

Once you get back into that balanced state of mind, you realize how well-trained you probably were in the first place, and the icing on the cake is that you have renewed that willingness to learn something on every flight.

As far as tower-controlled flying goes, it's really no different, except you have someone telling you what to do. The plane still flies the same, you still just talk, listen, and keep your eyes peeled. It's no big deal.

 

[AdamZ]

Welcome Titus! Hopefully PJ will chime in soon he is in your neck of the woods.

 

[BeRad]

Hi there. I recently started flying again after not having flown in over ten years. It's definitely not been like starting over for me. When I stopped I had about 50 hours and was almost ready for the check-ride.

I've flown around 6 hours in the last few weeks and am already signed off for solo again. I've found that I've pretty much remembered most everything I need to do, but it did seem to come at me a pretty fast the first few flights and I felt like I was always a little behind the airplane. (Having checklists and an instructor there to catch what you miss help to bring it all back pretty fast.)

Most of the maneuvers have seemed easy and I've been able to do them up to PTS on the first try. Landing has been the only thing I've had to work hard at to get proficient again. It's taken me about 15 - 20 landings to start to feel right about it again.

When I asked here on this board people seemed to agree that generally, about an hour of flight time for every year off from flying is what it takes to get proficient again, and that time frame seems to be holding true for me.

 

[Maxmosbey]

I quit flying for 26 years. Tony got me back up to speed. You do not need to start over. I ended up doing a flight review that consisted of two or three hours of ground work, and I think around six hours of dual. I still felt a little rusty even after Tony let me loose on my own, so I didn't take any passengers with me until I had another four or five hours in the saddle. That was it. I would guess that you will not require anything near that.

 

[SCCutler]

Welcome, Houston German dude!

Make some friends at the airport - you'll likely mneet some here, and you might also stick your toe in the pond at http://www.houstonpilots.net (but you can't stop posting hedre!).

Flying is where I have met the best people I know.

 

[skidoo]

It took me about 15 hours of dual including the FR after 3 decades of no flying. My instructor accepted the certificates from the FAASafety online subjects for the ground school portions.