Originally Posted by
drauk
I think the need for currency can be overstated.
Drauk, I beg to differ. It really comes down to your overall experience. It's not the same if you are (as the OP) a newly-minted PPL or if you have been flying for 25 years with perhaps thousands of hours. It also makes a huge difference if you fly your own a/c which you know inside out or some club plane.
In the case of the OP (and probably many on here, including myself), currency
IS important. What Whirly is saying is exactly the point - you may not fly the thing into the nearest hillside, but you will react that little bit slower, take that little more time to understand what's going on, be overloaded easier. Especially if you are low-hours. There are ways around this if you can't go up. Some fly sims (before I get flamed - I am aware of the shortcomings), some go out to the airfield and sit in the a/c for 10, 20 minutes and run checklists. Whatever you end up doing, if you haven't flown in a while (and the definition of 'a while' will vary greatly from pilot to pilot) go up with someone else. Be safe.