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I think we're alone now.


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After a 15 year hiatus from flying I jumped back into it with both feet.  2 months ago I purchased my M20F and since my timing is always impeccable I have been trying to get through my BFR and transition time while dealing with the spring weather patterns and my work schedule.  I finished up on Sunday April 30 flying around in unsettled skies with rain and even a few ice crystals thrown in.  The only upside was that afterwards I had a new scratch in my log book letting me know that I was now on my own.  Yesterday the weather and work patterns intersected again and I headed out to the airport.  After a careful preflight I was sitting out on the run up area talking myself through all of the checklists and getting ready to go when a thought occurred to me.  I said to myself "Holy crap you are alone in this thing.  Don't do anything on this flight that will make the news."  I flew around in my Mooney for 2 wonderful hours with no particular direction other than whimsy with just me to keep myself company.  The flight was uneventful and memorable at the same time.  I hope I never get to the point in my flying where I lose the feeling of awe while cruising around alone in the sky.

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15 hours ago, TonyK said:

After a 15 year hiatus from flying I jumped back into it with both feet.  2 months ago I purchased my M20F and since my timing is always impeccable I have been trying to get through my BFR and transition time while dealing with the spring weather patterns and my work schedule.

How many hours did it take until you were comfortable flying after 15 years?  Unfortunately I haven't been up in close to 10 years myself and I'm trying to catch up on all the changes and refreshing myself as much as possible before I go in for a BFR.

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I had the same thoughts on my first Mooney solo. Prior to January 2016, my last solo flight had been in 2003, since that time I had logged over 5000 hours in crew aircraft. It was odd not having someone else there to talk with.

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I did not fly from 1990 to 2011, 21+ years.

When I started back my second flight was a (B)FR in a friend's PA28-181. For me, VFR flying was pretty much like riding a bike and it did not seem that much had changed. 

It took 10 more flights to get a IPC. (GPS had come in after I had quit flying.) I bought a Mooney between getting the FR and the IPC. 

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5 hours ago, revwatch said:

How many hours did it take until you were comfortable flying after 15 years?  

Comfortable?  I don't know yet :-)  After the third hour I could feel the rust starting to chip off. As of now with a whopping 12 hours the mechanics are all there but none of the polish.  You all know the feeling when everything is flowing and smooth in the cockpit?  That is not going on in my cockpit right now.

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I took a break as a student pilot from 1991 to 2016. I had 37 hours! Should've finished. Then I passed the written April 2016, bought the Mooney September 2016 with no complex time. Passed my oral and practical October 2016 in a 172 based on the advice received here on mooneyspace, and checked out in the Mooney November 2016. Since then I have logged 60 hours and some landings twice!

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I did the same thing took 15 years off from flying.  About 5 hours in a 172 got me back in the saddle and bought a M20E a few months later in 2010.

I know how you felt when I took my first flight by myself in the first airplane that I owned.  I was going to a fly-in breakfast the weather was beautiful but my leg was still bouncing uncontrollably before takeoff.  Once I had my takeoff clearance and opened the throttle the shaking went away and I started flying.

The only other time I sat for a minute contemplating my flight was when I had just gotten my IR and was heading home the flight out was VMC and there were many clouds in the sky.  Again once I started dealing with ATC and clearances and releases the training kicked in.

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