Flying after 8 month overhaul

[wings_level]

My plane is finally coming home after about 8 months getting engine overhauled.  With all the overhauls now taking months to complete, how long would you go without flying before getting an instructor?  I know everyone is probably different on this, just curious what most are thinking. First flight will obviously be directly above the airport for initial break-in.  I have about 600 hours or so in my Mooney, so I am not too concerned, but don’t want to be too confident either.  Not flying for 8 months will make anyone rusty.

[hubcap]

When Myrtle was down for 7 months getting the panel upgrade, I flew with an instructor after the first 3 months and then again when the project was complete 4 months later. I thought it was a good idea then and I still do. I have 500+ hours in Myrtle. 
 

I guess the correct question is “Why wouldn’t you?” I can’t think of a single good reason not to.

[varlajo]

I very clearly feel a certain degree of skill deterioration already after 4 or 6 weeks. I wouldn't fly without a CFI after having been grounded for say 3 months or so. 

[wings_level]

I agree.  Aside from skills deteriorating, just having someone else up there helping monitor engine parameters on first flight after overhaul would be worth it.

[EricJ]

When my airplane has been down at various times I used the opportunity to do something I wouldn't do otherwise, like a tailwheel endorsement, multi-engine rating, etc.   Those helped me stay current/proficient/whatever, so I at least didn't feel nearly as rusty when my airplane was available to fly again.

[N201MKTurbo]

I get in the plane and wonder what all these knobs and buttons are? How do you work one of these thing's? 
 

Then like magic, my hands start flying around the cockpit and doing things. I wonder, what’s going on here? Next thing I know we are up in the air flying….

[Hank]

1 hour ago, wings_level said:

My plane is finally coming home after about 8 months getting engine overhauled . . . how long would you go without flying before getting an instructor? . . . I have about 600 hours or so in my Mooney, so I am not too concerned, but don’t want to be too confident either.  Not flying for 8 months will make anyone rusty.

If you're feeling rusty, get a CFI. It's too late now, but it may have helped to have flown with an instructor periodically during the overhaul, to stay flight current, passenger current and instrument current. 

I had a small medical issue a year or so ago, couldn't fly from early August until early December, then again late December through March last year. I made sure to fly with an instructor, in their plane, to make sure I could manage the controls. Then when I felt up to it in my Mooney, I extended my IPC beyond making the CFII happy, until I felt comfortable and proficient again.

Fly like your life depends on it, because it does. 

[wood_fly]

Professional Pilot here (B737/G650/G4). Simple Answer: get a CFI who is current. Take it out for a spin. 

Best outcome: You prove you haven't forgotten much. 

Worst Outcome: He/She talks you (and your insurance company) through a landing that you are VERY glad they were there for. 

There is NO downside to this if you are not a regularly trained pilot. Seriously. 

Wish you and YOUR AIRPLANE the best.

[DCarlton]

When I broke in my engine after overhaul, I was told to start the engine, get to the runway and get in the air as quickly as possible with minimal taxing and idling; then keep the power up. If that’s best practice for break in, I think I would decide based on whether I’m more comfortable doing that alone or with a CFI.  

 

 

 

 

 

[Bolter]

Or a trusted non-CFI pilot who has the similar short body Mooney.  Unless the time is required to be logged as training or to get an IPC completed, there are several people I would trust as a safety pilot to make sure I am doing things correctly.

EDIT (after hitting post by accident): the motivation is not to save money, but good Mooney CFI's can be hard to find, and difficult to schedule.  A competent pilot friend should be more available.

-dan

Edited Friday at 09:34 AM by Bolter
incomplete post

[dkkim73]

15 hours ago, N201MKTurbo said:

Then like magic, my hands start flying around the cockpit and doing things. I wonder, what’s going on here? Next thing I know we are up in the air flying….

Coming back after close to 12 yrs off I was surprised by: 

1. How behind I felt in the first hour (in a 172 to boot)

2. How quickly things came back thereafter. I will say the longbody extended the time to get the feel right, but the aviation environment, comms, IFR were all better than I thought they would be. 

No reason not to get dual if it's not crazy to find an instructor. 

 

[dkkim73]

15 hours ago, EricJ said:

When my airplane has been down at various times I used the opportunity to do something I wouldn't do otherwise, like a tailwheel endorsement, multi-engine rating, etc.   Those helped me stay current/proficient/whatever, so I at least didn't feel nearly as rusty when my airplane was available to fly again.

This is a great rec. When life gives you lemons... You could also do some hard IFR sim dual. But taildragger time heals all wounds. 

[qwerty1]

Dude first congrats but second WTF 8mo?

[gevertex]

On 4/24/2025 at 9:52 PM, wings_level said:

My plane is finally coming home after about 8 months getting engine overhauled.  With all the overhauls now taking months to complete, how long would you go without flying before getting an instructor?  I know everyone is probably different on this, just curious what most are thinking. First flight will obviously be directly above the airport for initial break-in.  I have about 600 hours or so in my Mooney, so I am not too concerned, but don’t want to be too confident either.  Not flying for 8 months will make anyone rusty.

Agree, you need an instructor. I notice my landings are worse after just a few weeks of not flying. Also, you are in the most risky phase of your ownership with a fresh engine and the lowest proficiency having not flown for 8 months. Get an instructor and if the worst happens, you have someone very proficient to coach you or fly for you. If everything turns out well, then it's just a safety check and you may get a few pointers.

[gabez]

On 4/24/2025 at 6:52 PM, wings_level said:

My plane is finally coming home after about 8 months getting engine overhauled.  With all the overhauls now taking months to complete, how long would you go without flying before getting an instructor?  I know everyone is probably different on this, just curious what most are thinking. First flight will obviously be directly above the airport for initial break-in.  I have about 600 hours or so in my Mooney, so I am not too concerned, but don’t want to be too confident either.  Not flying for 8 months will make anyone rusty.

is the mechanic going to break in the engine or are you? 

[kortopates]

The initial break-in flight is the return to service flight line no other; meaning much greater chance of having an emergency or needing to return right away. The pilot needs to as proficient as possible for the unexpected.
Two pilots are much safer with at least one very proficient and one closely monitoring the engine monitor.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[icurnmedic]

Instructor! Really no reason not to have some piece of mind in case something does go wrong!

[DXB]

So 8 months not flying, now returning to an M20C you have about 600 hrs in...   My guess is that your basic flying skills will be fine, but you'll be awkward on the radio for a while.  If you're instrument rated, you'll definitely need some focused practice to get proficient again.   Day VFR flying will come back very quickly on its own.   However, the added stress (and inevitable small gremlins) associated with a fresh engine install makes  having an instructor along sound like a good idea.  

For comparison - my M20C was down for overhaul recently, but only for 3 months.  I had ~1300 hours in the plane up to that point.  I used the 3 down months to get my tail wheel endorsement in a J3 cub with no radio - wonderful and eye-opening experience.   I also did an IPC in a PA28 shortly before I got my Mooney back - that was a total mess given the different avionics and autopilot and overall lack of familiarity with the plane, but at least it got my feet wet again with more procedurally complex flying.  I didn't do any specific Mooney refresher training before picking up my bird.  My first flight near the field was actually quite easy - no deterioration in ability to handle the plane, but I felt like I had marbles in my mouth every time I went to speak on the radio.  That issue lasted about 10-15 hours.  I then flew some approaches again with my regular Mooney CFII, which was very helpful.  I feel fully back to my old baseline of proficiency after about 30 hours on the new engine and flyng a handful of approaches in actual.  

 

[bigmo]

Where are you located OP? 

This was never a problem for me before / but my first week of retirement and I’m running out of home projects lol. I’m a Mooney owner and CFI and time on my hands…