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Commercial Rating or Not

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Mr. Cole

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 17, 2003
Posts
129
Ok everyone I've been throwing around the idea of going for my commercial. The primary reason is that I'd like to instruct part-time at some point, so of course I need it for the CFI. But another reason happens to be my dwindling flight hours per year. My first year flying I logged about 100 hours, and about 70 hours per year in the next two years, including the instrument rating. But last year I only flew about 30 hours, and this year isn't looking much better. The primary reason is that I moved to DC last year and its either the airports that are nearby are under the FRZ, or I have to drive an hour from Arlington to HEF or somewhere similar. I took for granted how easy it was to fly in NJ, as the airport was only 11 miles from both home and work. In fact I still haven't flown in the DC area, as it's easier to wait until I go back to NJ on the weekends.

So I didn't fly at all between October and April. I flew three times between April and May, with two of those flights used for regaining my instrument currency. I felt as though my instrument skills, although they hadn't been used in months, were better than my VFR skills. This week I decided to do a little solo pattern work. Unfortunately my last time flying solo was more than a year ago, so I decided to keep it local. Well, not only did the mid-day heat make it a tad bumpy, but the winds were starting to pick up as well. I was done after two trips around the pattern, and while some things still felt natural, overall I felt like I did when I soloed. So my hope is that the commercial will help to bring my VFR skills back up to their former glory.

I'm scheduled to do some aerobatics with an instructor in DC on Friday, which I haven't done in almost nine months.

Dave
 
I think your issue is not flying on a regular basis. Getting your COM ticket is an entirely different issue. Going for your COM will keep you flying more regularly (for now) during training and your skills will return to you. However, as with any skill, if you don't use it, you lose it. It's just that simple. So getting your COM ticket is probably a good way to kill two birds with one stone and since you mentioned the desire to become a CFI, yes you will need it. However, remember, once you get that CFI ticket, you'll be sitting on the right teaching how to fly and not necessarily fly yourself. I've had CFIs tell me how embarassed they are trying to demo maneuvers because they haven't done it for so long (not a lot of flying from that right seat).

In any case, go find a CFI and go for that COM. The more training the better is what I say. :)
 

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