Posted by Douglas @ 04:51 PM, March 11    
Try not to let it happen?

I make it a point to go up at least once a month, usually every two weeks. Not really a lot, but it keeps the mental "rust" from building up. Even if it's just to do three takeoffs and landings, it's something. And let's face it, those are the parts we need most to keep current on....cruising through the air in a straight line doesn't develope skills.

Keep at it Brady, you're almost there!

Also, I predict you will soon want to continue on to your Private, so you're not restricted to 2 seaters and daytime.

Doug

Posted by John Craparo @ 05:07 PM, March 11    
I fly with a CFI and go through a refresher. That may seem extreme, but it works for me.

Posted by Bryan @ 05:52 PM, March 11    
The easiest thing to do is what Doug said, don't become rusty. I try to get up every week but most of the time it is once every 2-3 weeks. If you do not feel comfortable enough to go up alone, go with an instructor for half an hour and just do a few take offs and landings.

Posted by Kevin @ 06:15 PM, March 11    
When I took my written I had attended a ground school and gotten another on tape. I'll never forget Glen Ensley (hope I spelled that right) telling me about all the great stories that went along with the school. "There I was at 15000 feet...." When I took the test there were 1000 possible questions and we studied them all. The actual test wasn't all that demanding on me. I was cautioned not to "get too high a score" as the examiner would probably try to shoot me down more during the practical". It was probably an OWT but it didn't matter as I passed. I highly recommend the 3 category monitoring system. When you answer a question, write the number of the question and next to it D (definitely) U (unsure) and N (no way) (I was told that you can insert an f between no and way if you wish). When you complete the test, go back to all the U's and look them over carefully. Try to find any clue that will help you get the right answer. Trust your instincts, the first answer you pick is probably the right one. After the U's double check the D's. Only change the answer if you find a BLARING mistake. After all that if you still have time take a stab at the N's. That way you didn't waste time dwelling on answers that were least likely to be correct and maximized your score. There are many more test taking hints that mean more for maximizing the score during the test than actual knowledge.
Just my 2 cents.

Posted by Mike Franz @ 08:24 PM, March 11    
Dear Brady, as a CFI-RH & CFI-SP and current in the Remos G-3, I can tell you how easy it will be for you to get the rust off! First, watch/review all of the videos you have made with flights in them and as you watch do a mental review! Then get some cockpit time with a check list in your hand once the windshield is in and before you fly. Call and get a weather briefing everyday even when you do not fly. Also, review the POH including the Limitations section and Flight Training section to get some numbers back in your head. Lastly, make a list of the maneuvers that you have performed and at home in a chair, talk yourself thru each one, step by step. Do all of this and you will feel like you have been flying everyday. Best wishes and continued success towards your goal, Mike

Posted by Chris @ 09:21 PM, March 11    
I try to get up every two weeks or so, but certainly every month for a good couple hours. Also, in extended periods of downtime (more than a month), I have gone up with my CFI just to work on some advanced stuff I didn't cram for before my check ride. This really helps to get the rust off and make you feel confident to go back out on your own. Better safe than sorry!

Posted by Jose @ 10:04 PM, March 11    
Also use your simulator when you can't fly. Us it as a practice aid to do a new maneuver. You don't know how much the simulator has help me on my next flying class and save me money and time. Practice all maneuver before going to any fly lesson on the simulator and will help you allot. My simulator has rudder and stick to keep it real as possible. Fly realistic mode and use your current weather at your airport, my FSX has a weather update that will keep it the same as I will fly that day.

Posted by James @ 10:08 PM, March 11    
Brady,

Everything that has been posted thus far is for ideal conditions. Excellent advise, but in the northern part of the states you in WI, me in SD, flying every two weeks just is not always an option. Flying is like riding a bike in it's own way. You will not forget how to fly in a month. This, as you know was a hard year for snow and wind. I did not fly the entire month of Jan and when I did get up for the first time this year I did 3 T&G's. The first was a little ugly by my standards but the next two were perfect. Don't get to worried if you miss a month. I would be willing to bet that pilots up in the North have missed more than two weeks in a row flying. You have posted a extremely informative site right here. If you review this from time to time you will be fine, nervous but fine. Just my 2 cents. Keep up the good work. It will be worth it in the end. James

Posted by Tom @ 01:09 AM, March 12    
I grab an instructor and go up for a refresher of take-offs/landings and a few stalls. Really helps bring back the confidence.

Posted by John @ 09:05 AM, March 12    
I have also at times durring training been off for a period of time. The latest was durring the annual of our plane, two cylinders were found to be bad. I used this time to help the A&P tear down and repair the engine. Really learned more how things worked, he let me do all the greasy parts:-)

In the mean time I focus on metally reviewing the process. I get my check list out and imagine pre-flighting the plane. I imagine getting in, making the radio calls, taxing out and taking off. Then imagine coming back and entering the pattern and going over the process to land. I think as long as you keep it fresh in your mind, you will now lose it. I have found that at times I actually feel better, more comfortable because I have rehearsed the actions prior to doing them. Taking your instuctor along also helps...

Posted by James Keyworth @ 11:47 AM, March 12    
Re hiatus between actual flights...

The absolute best way to maintain current skill is to use your brain. Your unconscious mind cannot tell the difference between imagined events and real ones. So on a daily basis (or as regularly as you can) imagine yourself going flying. I do it just before going to sleep at night.

Find a quiet spot, close your eyes, breathe evenly and fully for a minute, and start visualizing the flying process.

Picture yourself (and I do mean "picture!") approaching your aircraft, going through each step in the walk-around, entering the plane, strapping yourself in, checking that all knobs and switches are in the pre-start positions.

Then picture yourself contacting ATIS, proceeding with engine start, radioing for taxi clearance, taxiing to the run-up spot, setting the brakes, completing the run-up, advising Tower or traffic that you are ready for take-off, checking for traffic,taxiing to position, lining up for take-off... you see where this is heading.

The trick is to visualize every actual move you must make in the process of piloting an aircraft. The key is to do it in "real time" in your mind. Imagine it as real as you can.

You can do this for every phase of flight, including emergency procedures. You can re-live all the things you have learned to date. Do it often, it works! The next time you actually get into the cockpit it will feel like you did it yesterday.

Posted by Dennis Kirk @ 12:01 PM, March 12    
Hi Brady, I forgot to mention in my last comment as to how I stay connected with the learning curve if I am unable to fly for some reason or another. Simple answer__-model r/c airplanes! On the days I'm stuck inside I use small electric flyers and outside at our local r/c club field I fly cubs, t-28s, spitfires and abunch of other models. I talk myself through the manoevres and even call out my landing and takeoff procedures. 'Entering left downwind for 36, turning left base for 36, and turning final,full stop 36', and I use my full cale aircraft numbers to say 'clear of rwy 36!' This is a great way to visualize real aircraft control. Check out some hobby shops in your area to find out how affordable and fun it is to learn (full scale) this way! Dennis

Posted by John @ 01:10 PM, March 14    
Brady, I live about 20 miles west of you and i fly every chance I get. Being from Wisconsin does not limit you as much as you may think. I have flown 40 hrs so far from december 8 to recent, so even in the winter you can pick and choose days and keep that rust off! John

Posted by Richard @ 01:40 PM, March 15    
I live in the N.E. and with 1000 hrs.can assure you flying is one of those things that you will always be able to jump right back into after a layoff of an inordinate amount of time. James Keyworths suggestion is the one that I would agree with in it's entirety. It has been 3 months now since I last flew due to both weather and an illness and I do not feel the need to go up with an instructor. I am 72 yrs old. The more experienced you get the more you will find the confidence in your own ability to do it on your own. Believe me it's a lot easier than soloing the first time. Stay in the traffic pattern for 3 touch and go's, then proceed to 3 or 4 other airports within a 15-20 mile radius, do a short-field, soft field, and normal T.O. & Lndg. Believe me,
by the time you get back to your home base , you will feel like you just flew yesterday.
Good luck,you are doing great,and remember that "diligence" is what makes good pilots, not perfect landings.

Posted by Richard Menz @ 06:56 PM, March 15    
Brady, I have gone as many as 6 weeks from my last flight lesson. I use a simulator to keep practiced. I fly around the pattern and make all the calls. I am here in Florida and we get a lot of company, this is usually what causes the interruptions. Recently a lapse occurred and it only took a couple lessons to get right back where I left off. I took my check ride last week on Friday the 13th and passed!!! This was a 5 hour process beginning at 7:00am with oral review and ending with a 1 hour flight.
I am confident you will do just fine.

Posted by Jerry @ 07:27 PM, March 15    
There are a lot of good ideas posted here. My friends and I will continue to check back regularly to see how your progress is coming.

Posted by Marty @ 10:04 PM, March 15    
I agree completly with the comments of James Keyworth. I learned a long time ago to fly the airplane in my head. Anytime it's quiet(doesnt't happen much with 6 kids...) I close my eyes and I'm there. The smell of avgas,the dance on the rudder for a crosswind landing. I can even feel the G's in my butt during a steep turn. All the sensations are there if you can just pull it out of your head. It's a great tool and iv'e learned to have a lot of fun with it!

Posted by Scorpion @ 03:24 PM, March 16    
I have my sport pilot certificate but there are no planes to rent near me. So when I have time and money I drive 500 miles to the nearest place where I can rent. The first thing I do is fly with an CFI for about an hour to feel comfortable again. Since I'm the PIC, the only additional expense is the $35 the CFi gets.

It's a lot safer than just taking off after a couple of months on the ground.

By the way, your blog is pretty cool even for those that have passed the hurdles you still have ahead of you.

I was wondering what would have happened hadd the window disintegrated while you were in the air and not just sprung a leak!

Posted by Chris Hibben @ 10:57 PM, March 16    
Just keep flying! Once you get you ticket you will be flying as much as you can. Remember the basics and what you have been taught. If you feel nervous you can always ask an instructor to go up for a few touch and go's but you really never forget. Remember you need 3 full take off's and landing every 3 months to keep current. If you keep that up you should feel fine to fly. (at least I do)

Posted by Alistair Simmons @ 07:29 AM, March 18    
Is the REMOS serviceable yet? Whne are you next plannin to go flying?

Posted by Jack Dernorsek @ 12:28 PM, March 18    
It has been mentioned several times here very well, but to repeat, it means everything to do the mental flight. I do it just as stated, I sit in a chair and imagine approaching the airplane, going through the preflight, then getting in and actually (mentally) taking a flight. I realized the value in this as a student when I couldn't fly often and had to get comfortable again in the airplane while I was paying for an instructor. In fact, one of the things I had trouble grasping was cross-controlling for a slip or crosswind. But I was always trying to learn it (physically as well as mentally) in the cockpit. When I started to pretend fly the airplane in a crosswind, it came perfectly natural in the cockpit the next time I flew. The instructor thought I was taking lessons from someone else. It really works. Good luck.

Posted by Alex @ 04:00 PM, March 18    
I tried that mental picturing of a pre-flight right before a Dr. appointment in the waiting room. Guess what, my heartrate and BP decreased!

Posted by R. Judy @ 08:25 AM, March 19    
Hi Brady -

First let me say CONGRATULATIONS on your accomplishments so far. This is a good start on the declining pilot population in the US and I'm glad to hear of anyone starting lessons.

I know that we ALL don't fly as much as we would like, but I try to think about flying every day. I talk to pilots, airport managers, even the line guys about flying and that keeps my "head in the game".

Get on the aviation websites, play flight simulators, and just talking all help me knock the rust off...

Posted by Cliff @ 01:03 PM, March 22    
Hi Brady. So what's the latest news? Have you brushed off the rust and got back at it? I'm excited to see you finish.
Hey, on another note, can you tell me where I can find the videos you shot last summer on the B-17 tour? Particularly in Ogden, Utah. I have been looking on the EAA.org/video site but can't find much.
Anyhow, keep up the training and best of luck!

Posted by Jim @ 02:10 PM, March 25    
Brady,
I have noted both here and on other use-group sites the impression that LS certification is something you get through toward PPL. As if LS isn’t really a pilot’s license. Is this elitism - the very thing EAA and other groups are trying to dispel? I challenge those who fly PPL what % of their general flying occurs outside the LS limits and if they no longer make medicals will they lower their horizons to fly LS? I got that same impression when I went to a local chapter meeting and mentioned I will be flying under LS – that was in 2005. Since then a number of “old timers’ are flying under LS and having more flight hours in their “little planes”. Tunes change.

Posted by WP @ 01:29 PM, March 26    
Brady,
I am in the middle of my training and held off due to finances. I went back in to the air today. My last flight was Jan 11th. It all comes back! Just like I never left.

Posted by Dennis @ 07:34 AM, March 27    
Brady,i was wondering if you considered accelerated training ? I live and work in South Korea but i am from the USA.I took a 2 week vacation and got my sport license.
I took the written before i went on vacation.It seems like it would really be hard only having 14.8 hours in 164 days.I had 14.7 hours on my 5th day,first solo on 9th day,solo x-country on 12th day,check ride and got my license on the 14th day.I really enjoyed doing it this way and felt really good at my check ride everything is so fresh in your mind.I know for some people this is not practical but for me it was great.One of the best 2 week vacations ever.Great video's !!!