The GaSCO safety evenings had some good handout cards including one from John Farley called the Farley list.
The list is VFR but no reason it might not include different type of approaches, holds and the same but under simulated asymmetric conditions. Partial panel work might also be a regular – I like the fact that the FAA might want you to conduct a partial panel instrument approach, which is rare under EASA.
I plan to add a PFL to my currency list – while I do regular PFLs from the overhead when traffic allows, I practice less PFLs where I pick a field in an area where I am not that familiar with. The old timers skill of picking fields as you progress on a cross country is worthwhile even if our engines are not rotaries running on castor oil.
The evening was worthwhile with a prize for the lowest and highest time pilot attending – I think the range was 70 to 23,000 hours plus. The majority of attendees were quite experienced, with a good minority instructors or airline pilots with 10,000 hours plus.
It would be useful to gather thoughts on what might be reasonable minimum currency aim:
SEP DAY VFR 1-2 hours per month
SEP NIGHT VFR 1 hour night flying, three landings, in last 30 days
MEP VFR 4 hours per month, asymmetric drills/circuits every six months
SEP IFR AIRWAYS 4 hours per month, including 3 approaches (ILS/LPV)
MEP IFR AIRWAYS 4 hours per month, including 3 approaches (ILS/LPV), and asymmetric ILS approach with g/a every three months
Some risk assessment forms have less than 100 hours in last 90 days as a risk factor in the context of full time commercial operations.
That all sounds about right to me. Lesser experienced pilots a little more, really high time, complacent pilots, a little more!
I’d add to that that 1 or 2 landings a month is not enough to be current and building your skills.
Just did the math for the list above using local prices:
SEP DAY VFR 1-2 hours per month: ~280 EUR
SEP NIGHT VFR 1 hour night flying, three landings, in last 30 days: ~160 EUR
MEP VFR 4 hours per month, asymmetric drills/circuits every six months: ~2000 EUR
SEP IFR AIRWAYS 4 hours per month, including 3 approaches (ILS/LPV): ~640 EUR
MEP IFR AIRWAYS 4 hours per month, including 3 approaches (ILS/LPV), and asymmetric ILS approach with g/a every three months: ~2000 EUR
That adds up to 5080 EUR per month. Needless to day that list makes no sense for a private pilot. I’m happy if I fly one hour per month privately in a SEP.
There’s way too much here: You don’t need SEP IFR if you are going MEP IFR. Same thing for VFR.
So,
IFR / VFR / MEP + Type specific currencies.
One other problem with flying once a month is that if you are the sole pilot of that plane, it won’t do the engine much good.
OTOH if you are the owner, your marginal flying cost will be the lowest possible, so you can fly a lot more.
Dimme wrote:
Needless to day that list makes no sense for a private pilot. I’m happy if I fly one hour per month privately in a SEP.
Navy seals training for private pilots 
I think (especially for VFR) currency as hours is not necessarily tremendously useful.
e.g the statement:
“It would be useful to gather thoughts on what might be reasonable minimum currency aim:
SEP DAY VFR 1-2 hours per month"
A trip to Blackpool and back for me would fulfil this, with two takeoffs and landings.
Or a day aerotowing gliders, with 10 takeoffs and landings.
The hours are the same, but the latter is I think far more valuable and results in far more currency in the more critical flight stages. A VFR cross country is spent largely flying straight and level – if I trim my plane correctly, I can do 90% of the flight without touching the controls (save a nudge on the rudder every so often) and can easily take two hours. A fancier plane like Peter’s, he can just set the autopilot on and sit back. Two hours of this may be enjoyable, but contributes virtually nothing to my currency. On the other hand, a day of manoeuvering (such as is involved when towing gliders, or taking an array of people sightseeing) contributes a great deal more – more takeoffs and landings (the most critical phase) for one.
I don’t see how much 10 landings do help to keep landing currency for a touring aircraft on a 2km runway, maybe when planning to visit a 500m grass strip one has to stay sharp?
Whether using a 500m grass strip, or a 2km runway, you can still practice your landing technique (or not). When you land on a 500m, you select your touchdown spot, with the intent of stopping by the end. When you land on the 2km runway, you can still select your touchdown spot, you just don’t need to jump on the brakes as hard/at all. The practice is your purposeful selection of the touchdown spot, and then achieving a soft landing there. The amount of pavement around it is irrelevant – unless you’re being lazy, and not selecting your touchdown spot.
Small, narrow runways are super for honing skills. But having 2km by 50m of pavement is no excuse to not still aspire to precision!
If the one hour per month is being used to diligently practice five circuits, with soft field/short field takeoffs, and precision and crosswind landings, as well as a couple of PFL’s and some upped air work, that sounds good. If you want the fly cross country flights, and expensive lunches, that flying should be in addition to the aforementioned practice for currency. I have done advanced training with far too many (nearly all of them) who were much too rusty on these basic skills – for lack of recent practice. There’s no excuse. 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.
My insurance agent covers my three planes, and covers me on a client’s fleet policy, in which I can jump into any single or light twin as PIC. He’s covered me for more than 15 years. I asked him a few years back: “How little would I have to fly for the insurer to worry about my skills suffering?” The answer was flying less than 10 hours a year would attract unwanted attention about my currency. I agree!
