Taking Time Off From Flying

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HangarLolo@reddit

How much time have you put into flying? Because if you have put any substantial time in, you’d be able to answer your own question.

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I'm almost done my ppl and took 2 weeks off cause I moved houses, I didn't flare at all on my first landing back lol, was really embarrassing, I was with my instructor at least doing a hood dual flight.

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tempskawt@reddit

Just want to point out that the way your flying skills depreciate is very much like losing muscle mass after taking a break from the gym. Logging a thousand hours and taking a year off goes a lot better than logging a hundred and taking a year off. That's why taking a break during PPL is rough. If you need to, then do it, but if you're debating it, then don't. Preparing for the check ride, passing it, and using that license for a while before taking a break gives you a lot of formative knowledge, experience, and memories that stick around longer.

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Happy-Scratch-2656@reddit (OP)

thanks!

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AIRdomination@reddit

You lose proficiency the more you take time off, but this really is only relevant if you’re in training. If we’re just talking leisure or professional flying, there are other avenues to get proficient again afterwards. But for training, you end up spending more time and money getting it back.

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supercar12124@reddit

I haven’t flown in over a year and a couple months. The weather where I live has been brutal, rain and thunderstorms most days. I completed my ppl but haven’t flown since my Checkride. There is no mandatory refresher however some schools might force you to do one in order to fly their planes.

If you’re still in training then it makes a difference, when I was doing my ppl I flew to 48 hours and my instructor at the time kept pushing back my exam saying that this needs to be fixed and that. I flew with another instructor who was more experienced and said I was ready. I ended up switching flight schools and took some time off. It took me around 10 hours to get back and be ready for my flight test after taking the time off.

So it becomes more costly because you will forget stuff and loose the feeling when you take time off.

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Reputation_Many@reddit

I left aviation for 13 years. It took 30 hours for me to get back to where I was before I quit. Commercial standards. Then for medical reasons I left for 2 years and it took 20 hours in a level d sim (which I had 100 hours previously In) to get back to where I needed to be. (I passed checkride not much better than the 1st time I took that same checkride). You don’t use it you lose it.

I’m now 7 months without flying except in my friends airplane once and I’m sure I’m going to be awful again for 10-20 hours.

Good luck

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ArutlosJr11@reddit

Because flying is a lot learned repetitive movements and thoughts. The more you do, the better (theoretically) you become. The opposite is true. The less you do (less often) then the more likely you are to regress - making it more expensive in the long run.

It’s the old “that’s one step forward then two steps back approach.”

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RaiseTheDed@reddit

I'll give you an example. I flew with a kid who wanted to get checked out in our airplanes. He got his PPL at another school 9 months prior.

He had forgotten almost everything. He could barely fly the airplane. I did not sign him off to rent our airplanes.

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Happy-Scratch-2656@reddit (OP)

so unless you retain skills (which is unlikely from what i read) the school/instructor wont allow? got it thanks

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Bunslow@reddit

this isn't about the school or the instructor, this is about the fact that, after 9 months, a "private pilot" literally forgot how to fly. full stop. they wouldn't have been able to fly the plane they trained on.

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RaiseTheDed@reddit

If I wasn't there, he was likely going to bend metal. The skills are perishable, if you don't use them, you lose them. If he had at least maintained the knowledge, it probably would have been easier. But he didn't retain anything.

This was a checkout at a new school. He probably could have hopped in an airplane at his old school without any issues, depending on that school's policies. It still would have been a terrible idea.

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walleyednj@reddit

It’s because flying skills are highly perishable, especially at the beginning. I’m a 120 hours past my ppl checkride and can tell the difference if I haven flown in more than a couple weeks.

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Happy-Scratch-2656@reddit (OP)

damn, good to know. thanks!

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McCheesing@reddit

I had 2500 hours over 10 years , took 18 months off for a staff job, and I feel like I forgot everything. Fortunately it came back quickly, but that was a nerve-wracking few weeks.

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olek2012@reddit

It’s because skills begin to decline quickly if you don’t exercise them often. This is especially true if you’re lower time like student pilot or private pilot level.

Here’s an extreme example, let’s say you got your PPL and then immediately stopped flying for 20 months. Legally you could step into a plane and fly as PIC. That’s what we call currency. You’re within the timeline for a flight review so you don’t have to do anything special. But most people would not be proficient at that point to safely complete the flight. The smart thing to do would be to go with a CFI and get some more dual time to make sure everything is up to standards.

That’s where the cost comes in. If you take a break you have to spend time and money reviewing stuff you previously learned before you can move on to new stuff.

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Anthem00@reddit

flying is a perishable skill. Your skills, decision making, memory will all be worse after not flying for a few weeks.

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rFlyingTower@reddit

This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:

Hey! I always see posts where people advise against taking time off flying, saying it will be more costly. But I'm confused as to why. Do schools require you to take "refresher" flights after extended periods of not flying? Or is just that personally one would want to take an extra hour or so, to brush up on their skills? Thanks!

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