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Maintaining currency...in general

Pilot_DAR wrote:

The answer was flying less than 10 hours a year would attract unwanted attention about my currency. I agree!

You think you would be current with your sort of flying at 10 hours a year?? Wow.

EGTK Oxford

Yes agree even on that 2km runway, one has to do his best to practice or keep on top, especially when trying to impress plane spotters and ATC by getting the first taxi exit (usually works well if you have been bashing precision circuits on that type or something quirkier )

But you can also just use 3/4 of that 2km runway when rusty, it works fine even after not flying that type for 6 months, as long as you are aware !

I am not saying you don’t need skill/currency, just the amount has to go along with your next flight, keeping current for all missions is good but how to make sound judgements and adapt your flying given your low currency is also another good skill

Pilot_DAR wrote:

This, in my opinion would be the underlying reason for flying clubs wanting to see a flight within the last 30 days, or a refresher flight.

Rental aircraft: their aircrafts, their rules (but also generate revenues), especially when not familiar with the type
Owner aircraft: many break flying the whole winter and they quickly go back to it, especially those who fly one type

Paris/Essex, France/UK, United Kingdom

JasonC wrote:

You think you would be current with your sort of flying at 10 hours a year?? Wow

At less than ten hours a year, I would not consider myself current! My insurer agrees. It becomes my responsibility to recognize this, and assure currency = a check flight. Following a forced seven month absence from flying a couple of years back, I arranged a check flight with an instructor in both a fixed and rotor wing aircraft for a currency check for both of my licenses. In both cases, it was like I’d flown each aircraft the day before, and I was easily cleared by each instructor. But, I did not know I was okay, until I went for the check flight. In both cases, the check flights were more than an hour, and very comprehensive for emergencies, not just a couple of circuits – the instructors did what they were supposed to do. I did another such check flight, with an instructor I’d never met, this past spring, before I went to flight test a client’s Cessna 206, simply so there was a record that my skills had been recently and objectively assessed.

Each spring when I first land in the water, I have not done that for the preceding five months – none of us here have, the water was frozen. Similarly, our first ski landings in the winter are out of currency. I’m authorized to check myself out, and other pilots in these circumstances, if they need a seasonal refresher. This is a situation where (short of going far south) it is not possible to maintain seasonal currency. The insurer’s know that many of us have to check ourselves out, in order to be current to check someone else out. We’re careful, and it just gets done. Happily, I have no recollection of a seasonal self checkout resulting in accident. But, I know that some water pilot’s insurance require a spring checkout before solo. ‘Based upon their experience, I suppose. But, unlike some water pilots, who do not fly at all over the winter, those of us who do solo checkouts in the spring on the water, generally fly all winter too, so our airplane skills are up, it’s just the water work which requires refresher.

Home runway, in central Ontario, Canada, Canada

especially when trying to impress plane spotters and ATC by getting the first taxi exit

The PC12 party trick at Nice LFMN was to land on 22R and exit on H1. Not sure what the LDA to this taxiway is, but around 300-400m.

Oxford (EGTK), United Kingdom

I agree that flying circuits does much more for your currency than a one hour bimble around the block.

I recently talked to a fellow pilot who didn’t fly for one and a half year. He then let an instructor in his club check him out. Surprisingly, he still nailed his landings without difficulty. He gave me the reason that for most of his flying career, he preferred doing circuits over flying somewhere else. So I guess he just had built up a lot of “muscle memory” on how to land over the years…

Low-hours pilot
EDVM Hildesheim, Germany

The weird thing is if you want to get a CPL they make you fly as many XC flights as possible, and pilots avoid doing circuits because that doesn’t count towards the XC time requirement.

I would agree circuits help me too maintain my flying skills. Slow flight and stalls and other such exercises as well.

ESME, ESMS

I think flying circuits is good for flying circuits

It is also good for anybody who owns shares in washing powder manufacturers, due to the sweat generated In the summer, most PPL students come out from a circuit session drenched in sweat.

If you want to teach landings, it is better to depart the area for say 15 mins and then come back. Then your brain has had a chance to absorb why the last landing was crap and work out what to do next time, plus you practiced the circuit arrival procedure. But this would make a PPL cost even more so nobody does it…

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

My home base has a huge circuit which takes nearly 10 mins to fly in a typical 100 kt aircraft. I don’t think flying away for another 5 mins would do much to facilitate the learning process of how to approach, correct crossword and flare properly.

Why people see any benefit in slow flight/stall practice I don’t know, I rather do stall prevention by never flying slow…

Low-hours pilot
EDVM Hildesheim, Germany

Why people see any benefit in slow flight/stall practice I don’t know

Because it’s fun :) provided you have altitude.

ESME, ESMS

MedEwok wrote:

Why people see any benefit in slow flight/stall practice

Slow flight is an exercise in handling, and a proper slow flight exercise (flying a little over stall and making turns etc) requires the division of attention to not exceed the exercises’s limits or stall, as well as demonstrating the effects of bank and the need to remain coordinated, and also the recognition of the onset of the stall (which you want to avoid during slow flight). The handling skills are very worthwhile to have – especially given that loss of control is actually a bigger killer of private pilots than weather-related crashes.

Andreas IOM
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