In a muddle about FAA IR currency requirements...

[Contacttower]

Bizarre as it might sound having had an FAA IR for more than three years now I've recently re-read the FARs on instrument currency and confused myself a bit....

I always assumed that say I want to fly IFR on a give day...to determine if I'm current or not I simply count backwards from the day of the flight six months (so lets say since today is 22nd October I count back to 22nd April) and if I have done 6 approaches + holding in that time I'm good to go...

But on the exact wording from 61.57 is:

"(1) Use of an airplane, powered-lift, helicopter, or airship for maintaining instrument experience. Within the 6 calendar months preceding the month of the flight, that person performed and logged at least the following tasks and iterations in an airplane, powered-lift, helicopter, or airship, as appropriate, for the instrument rating privileges to be maintained in actual weather conditions, or under simulated conditions using a view-limiting device that involves having performed the following--

(i) Six instrument approaches.
(ii) Holding procedures and tasks.
(iii) Intercepting and tracking courses through the use of navigational electronic systems."

Now what has confused me a bit is the wording "preceding the month of the flight" since that implies that if I want to go IFR on 22nd October I can in fact count approaches as far back as 1st April...so OK not sure about that...?

That leads me onto my second question...the above wording would also imply that if I want to do flying on 22nd October and I had 6 approaches say all earlier in October I wouldn't be current because they weren't completed in the 6 months "preceding the month of the flight"...surely that can't be correct though?

I'm unsure of the definition of "calender month", does it literally mean a period of 28 days or does it mean a specific discrete month ie January or June or whatever?

[Cusco]

A calendar month is just that: a month from the calendar which will have a name such as May or June.

28 days is a lunar month and is not relevant (unless you're an astronomer).

So you count back to the beginning of the month six months before the month preceding your flight.

If you were flying tomorrow therefore you would look for six approaches from the 1st April.

And of course you would have done your holds, VOR /NDB interception and tracking as well.

[IFMU]

I had the same confusion, and talked to a bunch of my peers here in the US to try and figure it out. The conclusion I came to was the same as what Cusco says. It is similar to the rules for flight reviews and medicals. So if you did a flight review on August 1, then two years later on August 31 is your last day you can fly without another flight review (or rating earned).

-- IFMU

[Contacttower]

Thanks guys; I think the confusion arose in my head because when I went to look up some guidance on interpreting the FARs I referred to my instrument flying manuals; the ASA book just confused me more and the Jeppesen Instrument/Commercial stated that once exactly 6 months have gone by without one completing the requirements then you are out of currency...

Now I'm not sure if that difference is because the regs have changed at some point or whether Jeppesen is just wrong...but I think what you Cusco makes the most sense.

[CJ Driver]

As IFMU points out, in general the US approvals, medicals and so on all run to the end of the month they were issued in. For example, by careful timing you can always make an annual medical last for 13 months. Take medical on 1st April, expires next year on 30th April; take next on 1st May, expires 31st May, take next on 1st June...

[Contacttower]

Did they reply with a clarification?

[Pace152]

This is slightly off topic I know but still about FAA IR:

Say you have both FAA and JAA IR's and you have a gap of about 8 months without doing any approaches etc but then in the next few months you do the 6 required approaches using your JAA IR, is your FAA IR now current again?

[Contacttower]

Say you have both FAA and JAA IR's and you have a gap of about 8 months without doing any approaches etc but then in the next few months you do the 6 required approaches using your JAA IR, is your FAA IR now current again?

As far as I'm aware yes that it OK from the FAA's point of view since the FARs make no mention of it having to be done while exercising the privileges of your FAA IR or it having to be in an N-reg aircraft. All the previous threads about whether you can do this with either JAA IR or IMC rating seem to say the same.

[B2N2]

Pace 152, you're good.
You can fly any registry in any country to uphold the currency on your FAA IR.
And yes, it is still calender month as in a named month.
So today is Oct 24th 2011 or 10-24-2011
I need 6 approaches, holds and intercepts/tracking since april which is month 4.
So if I did 6 approaches holds and intercepts/tracking on the 1st April i'm still good, barely but still.

*** The acronym is SH@T btw, Six appraoches, Holds, Intercepts, Tracking ***