Pilot currency

When talking about pilot ‘currency’, sometimes a number of terms can come up in conversation – ‘recency’, ‘competency’, ‘club currency’, ‘passenger currency’, ‘authorisation’ and other local variations and restrictions. This can all be a little confusing for pilots trying to assess whether they are ready and able to go flying, especially after a break for winter or for other reasons such as family pressures, work issues or medical problems. Firstly, we should consider what the legal minimum requirements are for us to be ‘current’ to go flying. Then there are things we may wish to consider that will optimise our readiness for flight and make our planned flying safe and enjoyable.

The legal requirements

To be ‘current’ to fly you must firstly have a valid class rating (unless you are a LAPL holder - see next paragraph) for the class of aircraft you are intending to fly. If you look in your licence, the expiry date should be quite clearly shown in Section XII – Certificate of Revalidation and will look like the example below. Common class ratings for private pilots include SEP, SSEA, Microlight and TMG.

PPL

You must make sure that your rating is in date and applicable for the aircraft class you are going to fly. If your rating has gone out of date, even by one day, you will need to seek the services of an instructor and/or examiner to renew your rating and you must not fly until this been renewed; for full details of what you need to do, talk to an instructor.

LAPL

If you are a LAPL holder, you are subject to ‘recency’ requirements as opposed to a class rating validity period. These can be confusing to many pilots, but they are essential a rolling validity period and it is incumbent on pilots to check they meet the recency requirement before every flight. If you do not satisfy the recency requirements you will need to seek supervision from a suitable instructor to fly under supervision or seek an examiner to complete a proficiency check.

An excellent information sheet with more detail can be found from On Track Aviation via the following link:

https://www.ontrackaviation.com/Light%20Aircraft%20Pilot%20Licence%20information%20sheet.pdf

Passenger Carrying requirements

You cannot carry passengers as the Pilot in Command unless you have carried out, in the preceding 90 days, at least three take offs, approaches and landings in an aircraft of the same class [1]. Flying these under the supervision of an instructor or as touch-and-goes is perfectly acceptable. If you intend to fly at night, at least one of these must have been at night unless you hold a full Instrument Rating (an IR(Restricted)) is not sufficient).

[1] You can take a qualified non-handling pilot as the sole passenger if you have a UK non-FCL licence in a UK G-reg Non-Part 21 aircraft - the requirements for this are in Schedule 8 of the ANO. The accompanying pilot must be made fully aware that they are merely a passenger. We recommend you carefully discuss the Human Factors threat and error implications before undertaking a flight under these conditions.

Extra requirements

If you fly at a flying club or school, or own an aircraft shared with others in a group, the organisation may decide on additional ‘currency’ requirements. Typical club requirements are that you must have flown within the last 28, 45 or 60 days depending on the individual rules or complexity of the aircraft. If you do not meet the requirements, the club or group may require you to fly with an instructor to carry out a ‘currency check’ which may have some minimum mandated content. Clubs may also commonly have a scaled set of rules that are more restrictive for recently qualified pilots and are more permissive as pilots can experience and flying hours.

While these requirements can often be frustrating for pilots struggling to balance life pressures, weather, availability, and the desire to go flying; they are largely borne out of the experience of clubs and groups over how ‘rusty’ pilots go without flying for a period of time, the desire to ensure pilots are supported and mentored in their flying practices and to protect the aircraft from damage arising from incidents.

Further Considerations

So, are you satisfied that you meet all the legal requirements to go flying – and what else could you be considering? Well, this is where we may wish to consider our ‘competency’. Competency can be said to be the possession of the required level of knowledge, skills, and experience to permit the safe and efficient provision of flight.

Being a competent pilot is about more than just satisfying the legal minimum requirements. It’s about making sure that we are keeping our knowledge and skills up to date, exploiting all of the learning opportunities available to us and doing our best to be a safety conscious and diligent pilot. A big part of it is our attitude and behaviours towards our flying, and many aspects of competence are qualitative, as opposed to being measured in stats and numbers.

So, what are our Top Five tips for becoming and remaining a competent as well as current pilot?

1 – Be honest with yourself

The average GA pilot only flies about 30 hours per year. While this may be sufficient for a simple flight in good conditions, you may be surprised at how quickly handling skills and recollection of operating procedures fade, particularly if your overall flying experience is low. If the conditions on the day are challenging with some high winds, unfamiliar aerodromes or airspace or demanding passengers, then your competence may struggle to meet the demands of the flight.

Matching the planned activity of your flight to your current experience and recent handling practice, with due consideration to the conditions on the day, is an easy way to try and avoid becoming overloaded and stressed, or lacking capacity to cope with unplanned events or emergencies. For example, if you haven’t flown for a while, it may be an idea to go up solo and practice some skills without the distraction of passengers. Or perhaps you need to get used to your new tablet or software, so you could ask to go and try it out while a friend flies so you can try it airborne without the added distraction of flying.

The British Gliding Association produce a Pilot Currency Barometer (see example below) which relates a number of factors, including the conditions of the day, and how much recent flying has been done. This also recognises that there are dangers from over familiarity and a lack of awareness, as well as the obviously ‘rusty’ situation of those who have not flown very recently.

2 – Keep up to date

It is vitally important that we keep up to date with changes in airspace, procedures, and regulations, this could be at your local airfield, local area or national procedure changes. A great way to do this is to use the CAA’s Skywise email notification service http://skywise.caa.co.uk/ and by reading the Skyway Code to get latest information. The Skyway Code is a great refresher read and can be downloaded free in an easy-to-read PDF format with helpful bookmarks throughout.

Try and leave plenty of time in the days before going flying for pre-reading and use reliable and credible internet resources - don’t always trust club room talk or internet forums. Social media can be really supportive but beware of people who may not be all they seem or claim. There are increasing number of reputable free webinars and training resources available, but always make sure you have the correct information for your aircraft type and operation.

3 - Practice all your skills

On your first trip back after a while, or even if you have been flying regularly, it’s important to keep those key flying skills ticking over. For example, when was the last time you practiced steep turns? Key skills for pilots include flight exercises like:

·       Steep turns

·       Standard Stall Recovery

·       Practice Forced Landing

·       Circuits, including touch and go

·       Go Arounds

·       Emergencies such as practice EFATO, simulated rough running or precautionary landing.

You may wish to create a personal currencies card or log that you can keep in your logbook to keep track of when you last did these things and use it to help maintain a periodicity you feel comfortable with.  An example you can download is here.

You may also wish to review the PPL Skills Test or LAPL Skills Test and read through all of the various elements – can you still confidently fly all the required manoeuvres in your aircraft? Are there any that you have forgotten or haven’t flown for a significant time? These might be good skills to practice during your next flight. For example, if you have planned a navigation land away exercise to meet friends, perhaps it would be worth practicing a go around and circuit on your return.

4 - Don’t be afraid to seek help and guidance

If in any doubt about how to fly certain manoeuvres, or if you are not feeling confident about something, do not feel shy about seeking the advice of a suitable instructor who is qualified and current on your aircraft type/class. If you fly a particularly rare or demanding type, or something with unusual handling qualities or features, you may need to seek out an instructor with type-specific experience.

As mentioned above, in order to maintain class rating validity or LAPL recency, pilots will have to undergo some training with an instructor on at least a biennial basis. These instructional flights are excellent opportunities to seek a ‘brush up’ on any areas or disciplines you feel are a little rusty; sometimes a new instructor can also suggest a new way to approach something, or they may update you on new technology or techniques that may have been introduced since your initial training.

5 - Expand your horizons

Doing something new like aerobatics, a night or instrument rating or converting onto a new type of aircraft can be rewarding and is a good way to improve your skills. Organisations such as the Light Aircraft Association, the BMAA and UK AOPA operate pilot wings schemes (LAA Wings and AOPA Wings). These are part of the CAA Pilot Recognition for Operational Up-skilling and Development (PROUD) initiative and are officially endorsed by the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority.

Within the schemes, pilots are encouraged to undertake flying goals and achievements, and can move up the levels of different Wings awards. The schemes are excellent motivation for maintaining enthusiasm for flying and trying out new activities as well as undertaking training opportunities, all while maintaining a safe approach to flying.

Summary

Attitudes to risk will always vary, especially in general aviation where much reliance is placed on the individual attitudes and behaviours of pilots to maintain safety outside of the formal controls and rigorous oversight common in commercial flying operations. While you may meet the legal requirements to go flying, an attitude that is thoughtful and cautious, while being open to learning and new experiences, will also stand you in good stead to be a current and competent pilot who is ready to enjoy a safe flight. 

Further reading:

https://www.astralaviationconsulting.com/resources/return-to-flying

https://www.aopa.org/training-and-safety/active-pilots/safety-and-technique/currency-vs-proficiency

https://www.caa.co.uk/general-aviation/safety-publications-and-information/the-skyway-code/

https://www.ontrackaviation.com/class-type-ratings.html

https://members.gliding.co.uk/library/safety-briefings/currency-barometer-pdf/

 http://www.higherplane.co.uk/index.html

https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2015/02/a-pilots-four-levels-of-competency/