Preparing to get back in the saddle - BFR prep after 2 years grounded

Greebo

Greebo

N9017H - C172M (1976)
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Feb 11, 2005
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Retired Evil Overlord
So...for those of you who don't know, I haven't flown in a little over 2 years. The long and short of why was money.

By end of June, my financial picture should be (knock wood) much improved, and I'll have the disposable income available to put back into flying.

First order of business will be at least a few hours of dual with an instructor to shake the rust off, and I'm sure there's plenty of it, and then a BFR.

For the flight instructors out there - what pre-planning do you recommend for someone who's been on the ground for 2 years and is looking to get back in the air? Are there any good sources of recent regulatory changes that a PP-ASEL should know about?

Any input/advice/etc. is welcome. :)
 
Greebo said:
So...for those of you who don't know, I haven't flown in a little over 2 years. The long and short of why was money.

By end of June, my financial picture should be (knock wood) much improved, and I'll have the disposable income available to put back into flying.

First order of business will be at least a few hours of dual with an instructor to shake the rust off, and I'm sure there's plenty of it, and then a BFR.

For the flight instructors out there - what pre-planning do you recommend for someone who's been on the ground for 2 years and is looking to get back in the air? Are there any good sources of recent regulatory changes that a PP-ASEL should know about?

Any input/advice/etc. is welcome. :)
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Good for you, Chuck :yes:
 
Greebo said:
First order of business will be at least a few hours of dual with an instructor to shake the rust off, and I'm sure there's plenty of it, and then a BFR.
Click to expand...

Tell the instructor that you haven't flown in a couple years and want a BFR. It'll all be one process. A BFR is not really a checkride and the whole experience of bring you up to speed will do the job if they know what you want.
 
Greebo said:
By end of June, my financial picture should be (knock wood) much improved, and I'll have the disposable income available to put back into flying.
Click to expand...

Good for you, it's good when a plan comes together!
 
Great news, Chuck! I once was in a similar position. It came back so much quicker than I ever thought. I've got the Sporty's Flight Review DVD that I'd be happy to ship your way. It's not much, but it helped to get me thinking again when it was FR time.

We can pass it around to those that want it.
 
I don't believe that there ARE major regulatory changes in the last 2 years that would affect you (even if you are instrument-rated).

Take the ADIZ training from AOPA - it's worth the time.
 
That reminds me - to be honest I haven't kept up with things as much as I should because it was just frustrating to think about not being able to fly...

HAS the change to the ADIZ to make it smaller gone thru? Will it?
 
Greebo said:
HAS the change to the ADIZ to make it smaller gone thru? Will it?
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No, and probably not. User Fees are "more important" to those that were fighting it.

Can't wait to share the skies with ya again, Chuck.
 
SkyHog said:
No, and probably not. User Fees are "more important" to those that were fighting it.

Can't wait to share the skies with ya again, Chuck.
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Share???

I don't SHARE!
:D
 
Make it to Wings, we'll get ya taken care of.
 
In addition to the FAA courses (the ADIZ course is an absolute "must" for someone based where you are), go to the FAR/AIM and study all those sections they list for Private and Instrument (there's a study guide in the book -- it's in the front of the ASA, but the middle of the Jepp version). Also, review your aircraft manual, and try sketching out some of the systems (flight control, electrical, etc) to try to help re-learn them. Finally, practice planning a few XC's, both VFR and IFR, including the full weather/NOTAM package, and doing the route selection and number crunching manually (not DUATS or FltPlan or whatever) to grind off some of the rust on your aviation mental processes.
 
Chuck, I'm going on a year and a half for the exact same reasons. With an aerial photo gig coming up, that'll end soon. My Class II went great and my BFR is current, so all I need is a check from my client. You have my sympathy and support.
 
Chuck it will probably come back to you quicker that you realize. I was grounded for six years and just got back into it last May. I thought I would need a significant amount of dual to get back in the saddle, but as it turned out I only needed two flights totaling 2.4 hours and I had a fresh BFR.
 
sit down with the FAR/AIM, Airplane Flying Handbook, Pilots Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, and PP PTS. pretty sure all are available online so dont dump a bunch of dough if you dont already have them. skim through, find things you are not clear about. write them down. take that list to the flight review. list the manuevers you particularly want to work on. As Ed would tell you, the BFR is in no way a test, its just you and a CFI working together to get your Pilots License back up to snuff. You and the CFI will work together until this is accomplished. Have fun, and learn something!
 
Greebo, congrats on coming back after an extended period. I recently did the same after 19 months. I imagine it's different for everyone, but I'd make sure plenty of stall practice/awareness was included to make sure you're safe. I combined mine with a tailwheel endorsement in a different part of the country. Made it a whole lot of fun!
 
Greebo said:
Any input/advice/etc. is welcome. :)
Click to expand...

I had a period of about 10 yrs I didn't fly regularly because of other
stuff I got involved in. When I got back into it I bought a plane. So
I got a current AIM and reviewed it thoroughly and went thru the aircraft
manual. Spent about 4 or 5 hrs doing a thorough review/BFR with
a CFI. He actually wanted to cut me lose in about 1/2 that but I
had my own list of things I wanted to work on to get my proficiency
up to where I wanted it.

RT
 
Ok.... I gotta ask.... what's with the "i" in front of everyone's name? Did I miss a memo?
 
Chuck,
First off, you need to explain to your instructor that you have spent far too much of your time in the past two years reading/managing a certain internet aviation forum. As a result, your head is full of bad piloting advice, silly aeronautical notions and misconstrued FAR interpretations. It's going to be tougher than you think :)

Only kidding, I know you only believe two or three people on the forum anyway .....
Charles.
 
Just a quick update. It took longer than expected, of course, but the financial picture is now much, MUCH better. All of my revolving debt has been moved into a refinanced mortgage (80% value, fixed, 30 yr, 6.25%) and I've got a sizeable chunk of "disposable" income available now monthly.

So I just went hunting for this thread so I could review it and let y'all know that I'm getting started preparing for the BFR, so y'all can hold my feet to the fire and pressure me to get'r'done by the end of the month. :D
 
Awesome. So now, get your ass to Gastons next year, and bring some hot dogs for the BBQ.
 
Greebo said:
So...for those of you who don't know, I haven't flown in a little over 2 years. The long and short of why was money.

By end of June, my financial picture should be (knock wood) much improved, and I'll have the disposable income available to put back into flying.

First order of business will be at least a few hours of dual with an instructor to shake the rust off, and I'm sure there's plenty of it, and then a BFR.

For the flight instructors out there - what pre-planning do you recommend for someone who's been on the ground for 2 years and is looking to get back in the air? Are there any good sources of recent regulatory changes that a PP-ASEL should know about?

Any input/advice/etc. is welcome. :)
Click to expand...
Of course there are those who kept flying all the way to the poorhouse :redface: Or at least it seems like it :p

Have fun!
 
"Get back in the saddle" flight scheduled for Tue eve. My CFI wants to go up, run me thru the basics, shake off some rust, and then discuss preparing for the BFR.

I'm feeling that old antcipation too. :D
 
Greebo said:
"Get back in the saddle" flight scheduled for Tue eve. My CFI wants to go up, run me thru the basics, shake off some rust, and then discuss preparing for the BFR.

I'm feeling that old antcipation too. :D
Click to expand...

Why not just get it done Tues eve? Ought to be able to knock the rust off to PP proficiency in an hour and a half. If I haven't been flying in quite a while, I usually get one ugly landing, one workable, and from there, it's all good. Airwork is always the same as it ever was. The only thing that takes time is the ground catching up on changed and new regs.
 
Greebo said:
Just a quick update. It took longer than expected, of course, but the financial picture is now much, MUCH better. All of my revolving debt has been moved into a refinanced mortgage (80% value, fixed, 30 yr, 6.25%) and I've got a sizeable chunk of "disposable" income available now monthly.

So I just went hunting for this thread so I could review it and let y'all know that I'm getting started preparing for the BFR, so y'all can hold my feet to the fire and pressure me to get'r'done by the end of the month. :D
Click to expand...


Whoo-hoo! Way to go Chuck! Can't wait to read about Tuesday's flight.
 
Well, I'm all legal and current again! :D Finished up the BFR about an hour ago. Will write it up more in the morning in another thread, but just wanted to say:

I'M LEGAL AGAIN!!!
 
Greebo said:
Well, I'm all legal and current again! :D Finished up the BFR about an hour ago. Will write it up more in the morning in another thread, but just wanted to say:

I'M LEGAL AGAIN!!!
Click to expand...

Congratulations! Now:

Get your IR! :p
 
spiderweb said:
Congratulations! Now:

Get your IR! :p
Click to expand...

We discussed it.

I intend to first, get my landings back up to scratch. Then I wanna take a couple of trips and also save up enough money to do it quickly *without* borrowing to do it. I'm thinking about starting in the fall, when it's cooler, and darker, and some actual time is likely.
 
Nice, Chuck! I'm glad to hear that you're back among the winged.
 
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