Haven't flown since 2012 - what's changed?

SkyHog

SkyHog

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Everything Offends Me
Is there an easy "what's changed since..." guide out there? I kind of feel like a new pilot again, but with the bad part of knowing a lot already. I'm a bit nervous that I'll inadvertently do something I shouldn't (or not do something I should).

Thanks in advance!
 
I haven't flown since 2006 and went up for the first time again on Monday for a flight review. I've done a huge knowledge dump over the years and it really hurt my brain studying for the commercial written the past month or so. I'd definitely brush up on airspace, regs, runway markings/incursions, etc.
 
When was that whole "line up and wait" thing?

Hopefully since you're coming back after 5 yrs you're planning a few hours with a CFI for barnacle scraping.
 
Insurance is more, for less.
Rental rates are more.
You could be killed, by drones (but only if you believe it)
I'm about 10 hrs from my PPL, so you are in real actual danger. (believe it)
 
Ravioli said:
When was that whole "line up and wait" thing?

Hopefully since you're coming back after 5 yrs you're planning a few hours with a CFI for barnacle scraping.
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Line up and wait technically started in a "heavily suggested" form just before my last flight. I heard it exactly once.
 
Take a flight review and find out.

First thing you'll notice is the price increase. :)
 
ForeFlight instead of charts.

That's about it.
 
"Taxi to runway xx via taxiawy" no longer means you are also cleared across runway yy or runway zz. I think that change was made after 2012 but I'm not sure.

I think there was also an effort to replace "ramp" with "apron" but that didn't seem to go anywhere.

We're also transitioning to ICAO flight plans.
 
Nothing significant. NDBs and VORs keep on getting decommissioned. You're VFR only at the moment, so that doesn't really impact you. But /G is going to become a necessity for IFR before long from a practical perspective.

The 2020 mandate for ADS-B was around in 2012 and still hasn't changed. So keep that in mind for anything you buy as, even if VFR, it will impact you for where you want to fly.

Portables continue to improve, but an iPad with your favorite ap seems to be what most people use. ADS-B traffic and weather has gotten better with more coverage nationwide.

Fuel is about the same as it was then. The airplanes are 5 years older. Values haven't changed significantly.

Aviation moves at a snail's pace.
 
Flight watch on 122.0 for inflight weather has been decomissioned. Now we use the charted freqs or 122.2 Also, we now have BasicMed that can take the place of a 3rd classs medical.
 
G-force said:
Flight watch on 122.0 for inflight weather has been decomissioned. Now we use the charted freqs or 122.2 Also, we now have BasicMed that can take the place of a 3rd classs medical.
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Whoa - flight watch is gone?

So how do I report Pireps?
 
What about preflight briefings? Still 800-WXBRIEF?
 
SCCutler said:
ForeFlight instead of charts.

That's about it.
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What Spike says. I can't think of any change that would matter to your operations. Things have changed as far as the standard for checkrides but that doesn't matter. Airspace still works the same. Vfr still works the same. Sectionals really haven't changed nor has the af/d.

If I were getting you flying again I would figure a hour of talking and one to two flights.

My experience has been that the majority of people get back on the bike way quicker than they expected. I've only had issues with those that never got to do real flying. Pass the private checkeide and immediately quit and it's a problem. Get some experience under your belt and quit and it just doesn't seem to matter much.
 
SkyHog said:
Whoa - flight watch is gone?

So how do I report Pireps?
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Pretty much nobody does anymore. Kind of sad but there is almost never a useful pirep whenever I look. I'll give pireps to atc about layers, icing, etc. I don't think I've seen them actually put it into the system in years.

I haven't talked to actual flight service over the radio since well I can't remember. Few years at least.

The days of tablets and good data coverage nearly everywhere has really reduced the utility of talking to flight service. They're giving you the same info you can get and they're just reading it off a screen...which you can do yourself and understand better. Local knowledge from fss is history. They are just friendly corporate screen readers now.

Don't bust a TFR. There are more now and a call to FSS isn't even in itself enough to protect you since they can just issue one after you talk to fss and still hold you accountable. Best protection against that is IFR. VFR - I pull a briefing last minute in ForeFlight (via Lockheed) and check that before I walk to the airplane. Then I just cross my fingers and hope the government doesn't F me.
 
jesse said:
Sectionals really haven't changed nor has the af/d.
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There's a few new things on sectionals now. For example, stadium TFR's are now marked with a magenta diamond. The A/FD got renamed to d-CS.
 
SkyHog said:
Whoa - flight watch is gone?

So how do I report Pireps?
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By calling FSS as always. Flight Watch was just a way of allocating Flight Service resources that became less used and therefore less needed as cockpit weather became more widespread.

That's probably the biggest practical change - advances in tablet and cockpit technology. For regulatory type stuff you might consider taking one of those free practice knowledge tests to get a general idea what to be looking at.
 
Got the OP beat. I just returned after 25 years. Flight review and IPC were eye opening to say the least even after doing a lot of reading. But I'm legal again. Best I can offer is a warning on landing/ramp fees. They seem to be everywhere!
 
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If you get an appropriate antenna you can for free receive radar and weather on a tablet or iPad. I picked up a used Stratus antenna for this purpose for I think $100.
 
SkyHog said:
Whoa - flight watch is gone?

So how do I report Pireps?
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I usually report them to whoever I'm talking to. Center/Approach/etc. Works fine. A lot of times you can get more useful PIREPs in the air by just asking the frequency you're on. If they don't have a PIREP they can solicit one from other aircraft.

SkyHog said:
What about preflight briefings? Still 800-WXBRIEF?
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You can use them, although I haven't in years. Get my information from aviationweather.gov, tfr.faa.gov, and Garmin Pilot.

One cool feature with 800-WXBRIEF though is that they now can identify you by your caller ID to match you to your plane, which makes filing way easier. A friend of mine did this and it's really cool. Cuts the time way down vs. years past.
 
What has changed...and I am not trying to be a jerk here......is you! You are the one that has changed. You have gotten less competent, you have gotten less proficient, you have gotten less practiced and knowledgeable...I can say this and I don't even know you!!!

If you haven't flown in that long you need to completely study everything in the AIM and FARs as a starter. Of course, doing that will answer your question as to what is new.

Of course, this happens to everyone who doesn't fly for a while but in this business you can't be gone for long without having to bone up significantly. Please don't be one of those pilots that add to the workload of the ATC system because you are too rusty to fly.

Know your stuff. And if you don't know it...LEARN IT.

tex
 
Clip4 said:
And don't forget to bring $69 because AOPA seminars are no longer free non-AOPA members and the AOPA charges members for some seminars.
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I assume that is because they now use their own presenters. Our chapter has hosted three seminars previously and have one coming up later in the year. There was no charge for the first three and we supplied our own presenters.

My BOD will discuss this at our next meeting. I don't like strong arm tactics.
 
SkyHog said:
Whoa - flight watch is gone?

So how do I report Pireps?
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Flight Watch was never about pilot reports, only weather information. Then, as now, any FSS freq will take a pilot report.

Bob
 
Dave S. said:
What has changed...and I am not trying to be a jerk here......is you! You are the one that has changed. You have gotten less competent, you have gotten less proficient, you have gotten less practiced and knowledgeable...I can say this and I don't even know you!!!

If you haven't flown in that long you need to completely study everything in the AIM and FARs as a starter. Of course, doing that will answer your question as to what is new.

Of course, this happens to everyone who doesn't fly for a while but in this business you can't be gone for long without having to bone up significantly. Please don't be one of those pilots that add to the workload of the ATC system because you are too rusty to fly.

Know your stuff. And if you don't know it...LEARN IT.

tex
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Not exactly bad advice, but also not that helpful. You can sit and read the relevant sections of the FAR/AIM, but it can be helpful to have some pointers on what items have had important changes. It allows you to focus on something that was previously rote knowledge, rather than telling someone to read the thing cover-to-cover and hope they didn't gloss over anything. The human brain has a tendency to white-wash over information it thinks you have seen before, so a small change in verbiage may not trigger someone to remain focused on the content. Obviously, being out of the flying game for so 5 years will require some refreshing, but it's not as if he will likely be a danger to all around him. He appears to be asking questions so that he can get the most out of his time with the CFI, instead of showing up and relying on the CFI to fill in the gaps. Increasing the workload of ATC should be the last on his list of concerns.
 
2012, eh? That was the first year I flew with electronic charts. (Garmin Pilot on an Android tablet.) Never looked back, never bought another chart. If you haven't made the jump, do so. It's awesome.

That was also the first year I had ADS-B weather and traffic in. XM weather, buh-bye! Very nice.

2014 was the first year I had ADS-B out. That's new.

Lots of NDBs decommissioned, but most people will only miss the football game.

Other than these few things, the only other thing you will notice is less traffic. All the WWII guys are gone, 95% of the Korean War guys are gone, and the early Viet Nam guys are starting to hang it up, too.
 
Jay Honeck said:
Other than these few things, the only other thing you will notice is less traffic. All the WWII guys are gone, 95% of the Korean War guys are gone, and the early Viet Nam guys are starting to hang it up, too.
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More traffic where @SkyHog is. Colorado is rapidly becoming crowded.
 
SkyDog58 said:
I have never seen anyone charged to attend an AOPA seminar.
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The AOPA "Rusty Pilots" seminar hosting materials say there is a $69 charge to non-member attendees to cover the cost of printed materials, but that is the only one I'm aware of.
 
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Oh, also high wings have been banned. All high wing aircraft must never be flown again, and only low wings can be flown in controlled or uncontrolled airspace. The AMOC for this is you can fly your high wing inverted, although that makes buckling in, taxi, and takeoff slightly harder.

I'm sure @SixPapaCharlie could help make a video to explain this new regulation to the masses.

That's the other big change since 2012. Brian with a y has created the most educational videos relating to flying out of anyone previous. The Kings tried to buy the rights, but they couldn't pay enough.
 
midlifeflyer said:
The AOPA "Rusty Pilots" seminar hosting materials say there is a $69 charge to non-member attendees to cover the cost of printed materials, but that is the only one I'm aware of.
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Naval jelly is cheaper and will eliminate rust if used properly.
 
midlifeflyer said:
The AOPA "Rusty Pilots" seminar hosting materials say there is a $69 charge to non-member attendees to cover the cost of printed materials, but that is the only one I'm aware of.
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I hadn't seen that but it makes sense to charge for printed materials if they are part of the program. To expect those for free is a bit silly. But as to their other programs, I have attended several AOPA/ASI seminars and have not had to pay one cent and have not seen any one asked to pay, either member or non member. In fact in addition to the knowledge gained, I have walked away with a few door prizes and a cookie or two. So I have made out fairly well from attending them.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
Oh, also high wings have been banned. All high wing aircraft must never be flown again, and only low wings can be flown in controlled or uncontrolled airspace. The AMOC for this is you can fly your high wing inverted, although that makes buckling in, taxi, and takeoff slightly harder.

I'm sure @SixPapaCharlie could help make a video to explain this new regulation to the masses.

That's the other big change since 2012. Brian with a y has created the most educational videos relating to flying out of anyone previous. The Kings tried to buy the rights, but they couldn't pay enough.
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I can support this regulation.
 
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