[Cessna571]

Checklists won’t always help.

On my first flight post lockdown I made a procedural mistake whilst rejoining the circuit.

Not one I’d usually make, and a checklist would not have helped and I’d already seen something that should have been a red flag and didn’t set off an alarm bell.

Shook me right up that I made it, I put it down to rustiness.

When I fly again, one day, I’m already thinking how I’ll get some currency before I get in the air.

[Rob L]

COVID will never be "all over", as per the OP. It's not the same as the 1918 'flu pandemic; the world population is too large now, and the insistence of creating a cure for this disease is overriding many other medical priorities.
The world will continue to develop viruses for reasons unknown to me (SARS, bird 'flu etc)
I think we will have to make do & mend as best we can.

As for booking Instructors; they're as likely as rusty as the rest of us...I'd rather check myself out than let a rusty instructor do so.

[CloudHound]

Good point. I have hundreds of hours over many years on a type of which there are only 2 of in the UK.

Not sure what handling an instructor could input.

However, my last CRI challenged me to do some exercises I hadn’t done for a while which proved valuable.

[Wide-Body]

As for booking Instructors; they're as likely as rusty as the rest of us....

Hi Rob,

some instructors have never flown so much in a 9 month period! (Something to do with a reduced heavy metal schedule)

As for checking yourself out, someone with your depth experience would have no problem . However for the inexperienced aviator careful planning would be necessary.

Looking forward to an “irregular” year

[Chris Royle]

GASCo Return to Flying on-line course
https://www.gasco.org.uk/

[Rob L]

......[heavy snip by Rob L].....
Looking forward to an “irregular” year

Likewise!

And I appreciate your comment about the difference between experienced & inexperienced pilots. Many (like you and Irv Lee) have for lots of years offered a "rust-removal" service.

Rob

ps I am glad for you that you and your fellow motorcyclists did the Route 66 trip when you did! Can you imagine that today?

[shortstripper]

As a shoestring flyer I've always struggled with currency.

Luckily, I've always flown fairly simple aircraft from grass strips, so the workload has always been low. My tip would be to either fly with someone who's current or pick a nice calm day mid week for your first few flights after a prolonged period of no flying.
It's a bit like riding a bike. Once you've done plenty, the gaps can be longer between rides before the instincts fade. If you have few hours, you need to be even more careful if you're out of practice. That said, if you are high hours, but out of practice, be humble and remember you're not as young anymore and your God-like ability won't be quite like used to be

Be careful folks

[akg1486]

[M]y last CRI challenged me to do some exercises I hadn’t done for a while which proved valuable.

Always a good idea! Except perhaps when flying with the purpose of actually going somewhere, I always try to include an exercise of some sort. Went for a bimble today, the first since late November, and did a detour to an instrument airport (closed but available Sundays) and practiced a full procedure NDB approach in VMC. I’m not an IR-pilot, but it’s a fun and useful exercise nonetheless.

After a longish break, even basic airwork like slow flight or 360s are useful.

[Maxthelion]

As a shoestring flyer I've always struggled with currency.

Luckily, I've always flown fairly simple aircraft from grass strips, so the workload has always been low. My tip would be to either fly with someone who's current or pick a nice calm day mid week for your first few flights after a prolonged period of no flying.
It's a bit like riding a bike. Once you've done plenty, the gaps can be longer between rides before the instincts fade. If you have few hours, you need to be even more careful if you're out of practice. That said, if you are high hours, but out of practice, be humble and remember you're not as young anymore and your God-like ability won't be quite like used to be

Be careful folks

You hit the nail right on the head. I'm relatively high in handling skill (aerobatic nut etc) so the stick & rudder comes easy, but I'm p1ss poor on the radio and my patter (patoius?) sounds downright amateur given all but a couple of my flights in the last year have been aerobatic A-A in class G, rather than going anywhere and needing transits. We've all got to recognise our skills and deficiencies and prepare for them and practise before leaving home, rather than discovering they suck when we need them most.

[PeteSpencer]

Checklists won’t always help.

On my first flight post lockdown I made a procedural mistake whilst rejoining the circuit.
.

No-one said that checklists are the answer to a maiden's prayer.
Perhaps , in those first faltering steps post Covid, in addition to taking it a bit more slowly, and thinking through ones proposed actions, a resumption of the use of checklists by those who , for whatever reason normally poo-poo checklists might prevent some actions from being overlooked.

Peter

[Robin500]

So, in light of tonight’s announcement. Are 30 minute engine maintenance flights still permitted ?

[tripacer]

So, in light of tonight’s announcement. Are 30 minute engine maintenance flights still permitted ?

Reading the full guidance in the pdf on https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-lockdown-stay-at-home then I'd guess not. It explicitly says that you can't leave home for recreation:

"You should minimise time spent outside your home.

It is against the law to meet socially with family or friends unless they are part of your household or support bubble. You can only leave your home to exercise, and not for the purpose of recreation or leisure (e.g. a picnic or a social meeting). This should be limited to once per day, and you should not travel outside your local area."

Virtually all education and training in forbidden, and I can't see anything that could cover engine maintenance. I can't see in the document any legal reason to leave home that might cover flying a plane, except perhaps:

"[to] go to work, or provide voluntary or charitable services, if you cannot reasonably do so from home"

Oxfam food drops, anyone?

No doubt the lawyers among us might have more expert views.

[rdfb]

As always, guidance isn't the law. I don't see the law having been published yet (which I think means it isn't in force yet either, though there's probably some technicality about being able to come into force as soon as it's on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying "Beware of the Leopard" rather than published on the Internet).

Let's see when the law is actually published.

Scotland's amendment does look like it's been published though: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2021/1/made. I don't see any ban on recreation in there, though I haven't looked through it in detail.

[johnm]

It did occur to me that the title is misleading. Covid will never be all over at best it will come under control through vaccination programs etc.

As to maintenance flights they were permitted last time, not least because maintenance shops were open and I am assuming that things will be much the same this time for similar reasons. That said since the words "coherent" and "plan" have been removed from the public dictionary who knows?

[TLRippon]

On instructor currency:

Many are still working on commercial or FI courses.
Those not working and without access to their own aircraft will have standardisation flights with the HOT or CFI before being able to fly with students after a significant lockdown. We need one every year anyway.
Many are doing ferry flights to maintenance with club fleets to maintain both engine currency and personal currency.
Many instructors have access to or own their own aircraft and do the same with them during lockdowns within the regulations.
Many are flying commercial aircraft all day.
Many have thousands of hours on type, fly all day every day during normal times. We generally are not fresh off the ATPL course low hours airline wanabe's

For my part, knowing lockdown was inevitable, on the last day we were flying, I went into the circuit for two hours of circuit emergencies and flew a cross country.

We don't all hang up our headsets and count that furlough money. (Many of us don't qualify anyway).