Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

4 Answers

Need advice on hours

Asked by: 4809 views General Aviation, Private Pilot, Student Pilot

Hello: CFIs

I will be 55yrs old this year and I'm thinking about finishing up the lessons for private Pilot

that I took 27 yrs ago.  The question is whether to use the 32 hrs that I have in my  logbook

(I still have it) or start from brand new and not even mention those hrs.  The third Class

Medical that I passed in July 1984 is not even in the FAA database anymore.  I'm planning

on taking the medical soon so should I put down on the form the hours and certificate

number or just leave it blank.  Or should I add on to those hrs and not lose them.

Thanks in advance for any advice.      Pedro

 

 

 

Ace Any FAA Written Test!
Actual FAA Questions / Free Lifetime Updates
The best explanations in the business
Fast, efficient study.
Pass Your Checkride With Confidence!
FAA Practical Test prep that reflects actual checkrides.
Any checkride: Airplane, Helicopter, Glider, etc.
Written and maintained by actual pilot examiners and master CFIs.
The World's Most Trusted eLogbook
Be Organized, Current, Professional, and Safe.
Highly customizable - for student pilots through pros.
Free Transition Service for users of other eLogs.
Our sincere thanks to pilots such as yourself who support AskACFI while helping themselves by using the awesome PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad, and Android aviation apps of our sponsors.

4 Answers



  1. Joel Odom on Jul 24, 2011

    Use the hours.  They will count toward ratings and insurance.  Just keep in mind that you will mentally start from near the beginning, so be as careful as a new student from the onset.  WELCOME BACK!

    +1 Votes Thumb up 1 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  2. Earl Kessler on Jul 24, 2011

    NEVER lie to the FAA.  There is no reason to cover up your previous training and if you started by filling out the medical questionnaire and Form 8710 as a clean slate starting in 2011, the time you flew before could come back to haunt you.  If you include it, there is no downside and you never have to worry about making an inaccurate claim to the regulators.  Besides, there is no time limit or expiration to those hours and if you are an exemplary student, you might be able to take your tests earlier than the regs would otherwise require if you were not to count the 1984 time.  Good luck with your training.

    +2 Votes Thumb up 2 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  3. Micah on Jul 25, 2011

    Your hours are always your hours. Experience adds up and is always useful, even if different. You flew in the “old system” so you may have experience that your CFI does not possess. Still, don’t confuse your previous experience and the experience required to take the practical test (checkride). You don’t need 40 “new” hours to take the test any more than you “only” need 8 hours (40-32). Your instructor will be training you to be a proficient pilot first and foremost (or at least getting you set up so that you can learn on your own how to become this) and hours are relatively immaterial. You must have a minimum of certain experiences but generally speaking these minima are less than it takes for most students to reach proficiency.
     
    So, like said above, expect that you’ll need to learn it all over again but don’t discount your previous experience. Have fun and be safe.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  4. Loren Jones on Jul 25, 2011

    Definitely use those hours!  Despite the time lag, you acquired knowledge that will benefit you when you resume your training. Plus, as pointed out, they still count towards overall experience for insurance purposes.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes


The following terms have been auto-detected the question above and any answers or discussion provided. Click on a term to see its definition from the Dauntless Aviation JargonBuster Glossary.

Answer Question

Our sincere thanks to all who contribute constructively to this forum in answering flight training questions. If you are a flight instructor or represent a flight school / FBO offering flight instruction, you are welcome to include links to your site and related contact information as it pertains to offering local flight instruction in a specific geographic area. Additionally, direct links to FAA and related official government sources of information are welcome. However we thank you for your understanding that links to other sites or text that may be construed as explicit or implicit advertising of other business, sites, or goods/services are not permitted even if such links nominally are relevant to the question asked.