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Best approach to regain IFR currency after an 8-year break?

Asked by: 3801 views
General Aviation

I have an ATP and was an Air Force Instructor Pilot, but took a long break from aviation to have children.  Where do you recommend I start to regain my IFR currency?  I have a current BRF and medical.  Now I'd like to brush the rust off my IFR skills and start looking for work again.  Thanks!

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2 Answers



  1. Kris Kortokrax on Aug 27, 2015

    Best suggestion would be to seek out an Instrument instructor and have him/her give you the necessary training, followed by an Instrument Proficiency check.

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  2. Mark Kolber on Aug 29, 2015

    Kris’ answer is the only realistic one for the flight portion. Sure, in theory, you could grab a friend to act as safety pilot and DIY. But, even discounting the fact that if you are renting you may be faced with avionics you’ve never used before, after 8 years, the chances are very good you will be rusty enough on instrument flight and lost a lot of procedural knowledge (which IFR flight is mostly about) that a few sessions with a CFII are in order. All of your flights don;t have to be with a CFII, but I’d recommend getting an evaluation and “homework” of things to practice.

    For the ground material, unless you been doing so al along, you need to get your head into the game. There are tons of online video courses, both free and for pay, as well as magazines, forums where instrument techniques are discussed, etc. For texts, I’d strongly suggest the FAA’s two instrument manuals, the Instrument Flying Handbook and especially the Instrument Procedures Handbook, both free PDF downloads from the FAA.

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