Getting back into flying........

Fatherof2

Fatherof2

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Fatherof2
Hi Gang,

First post here.

I have not flown in 17 years as PIC, but my 12 year old son wants to start flying.

We joined the local club, and I need to start working off the rust.

Can someone recommend a good online ground school? Is there a cost effective option? (Back in the day I had a collection of VHS tapes!)

Thanks for any input guys!
 
Welcome. Cool that your son wants to get involved, encourage him! Plenty of training stuff out there. Gleim.com, AOPA.org, Sportys.com, King, all have refresher courses, some free but most cost. All the FAA stuff is online and free, faa.gov.

Welcome back!
 
:yeahthat: You have the pick of the litter when it comes to training materials. I've had good success with Gleim.

Good luck and welcome back to the club!
 
You could Google King Ground School, or Sporty's Pilot Shop, and/or Gleim books. Really, if you have your PPL, buy a Gleim and get a copy of the AIM, and read those when you're bored? Believe it or not, if you intend to fly with a III Class medical and single engine land, not much has really changed, except airspace nomenclature in places. And GPS navigation is pretty much the default for most people. Otherwise, you'll feel at home - assuming you're VFR? GPS usage is ubiquitous in IFR now, enroute and approaches. You don't have to have it - but, for practical purposes, you really do. Anyway, you were likely using GPS in 2000, though most of those boxes have been supplanted, and some of the interfaces are counter-intuitive (or just user-hostile) and take quite a bit of study.

You can find PC based simulators and a lot of YouTube videos to assist in getting up to speed on GPS - the most common boxes are Garmin variants, like the G-430, G-530. Newer school aircraft may have G1000s, which has particularly convoluted buttonology. Not rocket science, but not intuitive, so requires quite a bit of attention.

Welcome back. . .
 
Low cost, just hit youtube that is what I did after a 20+ year time away. Really things are not that different and doesn't take long to pick it up. There is plenty of free content out there.
 
Wow.............thanks so much for the speedy responses!

Anybody use the Dauntless Aviation materials? 50 bucks seems to cover everything.
 
I should have checked youtube. I will do that now.

Back in the day, I had a Garmin 195 I think it was. It was the size of a brick and weighed about the same. Screen was not big either.

Any suggestions for a good cost effective had held GPS unit?
 
You'll open Pandora's box with that question! If you have an iPad, one option is an external GPS with Blue tooth (Dual, etc.). A GPS only-receiver is about $100 bucks, a couple hundred more for a iPad app like ForeFlight or WingX, and you'll have a solid GPS system, with charts overlaid with your position, time, distance, way points, all the necessaries, and myriad extra features.

Lot's of guys use an iPad that has wireless capability, and rely on the internal iPad GPS, and save the cost of the external. I prefer the external GPS, but that's just me.

You can buy yoke mounted boxes, all in one units, used and cheap now - the old Garmin 96s are still on eBay, I think. Very small, good battery life. For more $$$, you can get something like an Aera, big(ish) screen, weather, METARS, traffic (some, anyway), GPS navigator.
 
I got back in a few years ago under similar circumstances after 20 year hiatus; and son passed his checkride last summer. If you already have your license, you're really just doing a flight review. I'd self study with AIM, chart legend, and POH. It comes back pretty fast. Welcome back.
 
Welcome back. Also recommend YouTube. There's one guy who offers free ground school, although I can't recall his website offhand. Android tablets with built-in GPS are an alternative to the iPad. There are free apps for flight planning and GPS navigation. Good times!
 
Anybody ever do AOPA's Rusty Pilot seminar? From what I can see, sounds like it may be a good way to get back into flying.
 
old cfi said:
Anybody ever do AOPA's Rusty Pilot seminar? From what I can see, sounds like it may be a good way to get back into flying.
Click to expand...
Yes. Attended the one done by Pat Brown, the Texas AOPA representative. Well done and a good presenter. Worth attending by all.
 
Hey Aggie, is The Smokehouse restaurant in Denton still doing business? Use to work at the hospital back in the late 90's and ate there frequently.
 
old cfi said:
Hey Aggie, is The Smokehouse restaurant in Denton still doing business? Use to work at the hospital back in the late 90's and ate there frequently.
Click to expand...
Yes it is... Just as much of a dive as always, but the food quality remains good. I have had really awesome BBQ at places like Hard8 and Salt Lick (near Austin), but having a good and affordable place close to work and home is a big plus.

And my office is 0.25 of a mile down the road.
 
Great information from all. I am in the same situation. Thanks.
 
Lot's of really great posts here...I didn't realize there were so many of us in this situation. Father of 2, I worked as a CFI and CFII back in the late 80's and early 90's, with over 500 hours of dual given. As my first daughter was growing, I realized that $800/month plus whatever pizza delivery, truck driving, mechanic work I could find wasn't going to pay off that massive flight school debt. The final straw was when I interviewed for Mesa Airlines as a First Officer flying Beech 1900's. They offered $900/month plus I got to spend 22 days out of a month away from home and family. I walked out of the interview, and walked away from flying. I sat on over 1500 hours TT for over 20 years. My sister earned her PPL and bought a near new American Champion GCBC in 2014. I have a good deal of tailwheel time, and she asked if I would ride with her to see how I liked the aircraft. I was surprised when I took the stick how it felt like I had stepped out of the cockpit only yesterday. I got in touch with an instructor and after a thorough six hour re-orientation, received my first BFR after a 20 year absence. The nav stuff, especially GPS has been my biggest eye opener. What a miracle of navigation this has proven to be....I still try to learn something everyday regarding GPS navigation, and I admit to being a little overwhelmed at times, and I am still behind. I do a good deal of flying at a local FBO, and the kids who instruct there teach me things about GPS, IFR and new regs. I scold them for scud running, get-there itits, lack of mechanical knowledge, and relay tales of those who I've known and flew with and those who have flown west due to bad decisions and poor planning. I considered getting my CFI renewed, but I think I'll just focus on instrument currency and GPS navigation for now. As far as resources, I have found the AOPA to be indispensable, with a wealth of information, seminars, briefings, etc. I also really like BoldMethod. You can find them via Google search. They have a couple of courses that were instrumental in brushing up on Airspace and Weather for a very good price. Good luck, have fun...stay in touch.
 
Good stuff KM...........thank you.
 
Can totally relate fo2. I was out 25 yrs. ATP, CFI, I I, ME I. Just completed my Flight Review in 1.9 with 1 hr ground. It can be done! ;)
 
How many years ago? If you still have a way to play video tapes use them. That is what I did when I rettok my written after almost 20 years away and it worked.
 
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