Some of you might recall that almost two years ago I retired as an airline captain. Then, due to various circumstances both in and out of my control, I took a year hiatus from all self-piloted flight. The result was some serious catching up to do to get ready to fly my own personal flivver. Being an opportunistic magazine editor, I used that need to also create a number of articles for the magazine about the process.
A retired airline captain discovered the significant challenge of maintaining instrument currency and proficiency as a general aviation pilot after a flight hiatus, contrasting it with his constant readiness in an airline career.
He initially relied on past experience but realized the dangerous fallacy of believing extensive experience automatically equated to current proficiency without active practice.
The author is now committed to a proactive, ongoing program of simulator and flight training to achieve true proficiency beyond mere legal currency, encouraging other GA pilots to prioritize this for safety.