Defining currency

[drauk]

I have been thinking (and reading) quite a bit about GA safety. In doing so I have come across two recurring themes. Firstly, serious accidents are often the result of some readily avoidable situations, which through my own operating practises I believe I avoid. For example, fuel exhaustion (I am very conservative with fuel management) or continued flight in to IMC (I have an IMC and an FAA IR).

Obviously there are many other things that can go wrong. As an interesting aside, when I was training for my IR my instructor (approximately 7,000 hours I believe, vast majority of which are teaching IFR in a SEP) said he had never experienced engine failure. This was fairly surprising to me. Even more so was that his father (approximately 30,000 hours, ditto conditions) hadn’t either. They made a very big deal out of the standard of their maintenance, though as they owned the planes, the mechanics, the workshop (and indeed, until recently, the airfield too) I just figured it was pride talking. Clearly the quality of maintenance makes a big difference and I am happy to accept that, though is that the explanation or is it just luck?

The second thing that seems to come up very often is currency. I’ve read lots of accident reports and they often comment on a pilot’s inexperience with a particular type and always quote flight hour figures. And of course, on PPRuNe the answer to many questions makes mention of currency, particularly with respect to flying in IMC or at night, in bad weather and so on. But what is currency really? Obviously it is different for different pilots. Why does the FAA determine IFR currency as (basically) 6 approaches in 6 months? This still means you can fly down to 200’ in IMC having not touched an aeroplane for a day under half a year. Is this current enough? If not, why do they define it that way? Do they not know what they’re doing? Is a greater level of currency something that is put forward by those that are proud to have it or who sell flight training? Most interestingly of all (to me) how can we measure how much currency is enough for any one pilot? Of course, if I don’t fly for X months then go up in IMC and fly an ILS down to minimums without killing myself it doesn’t mean that X months is my limit. Maybe I was lucky that day or maybe I could have actually managed 2X. Any ideas?

[Genghis the Engineer]

Interesting question.

I think it perhaps needs bearing in mind that legal currency minima are just that, legal minima.

Sometimes they get a bit absurd - for example I'm not currently legal to fly pax at night. I've actually done a reasonable amount of night flying lately, but each time I've taken off in the day and landed at night. So, I don't have a night take-off, and hence can't, within the 90 day rule, take passengers.

Alternatively somebody who flew three circuits, one at night, 89 days ago, can quite legally fly with passengers today or tonight, having flown nothing since.


So what does it come down to? Trained common sense I'd suggest. Anybody holding a flying qualification should be able to exercise enough judgement to decide whether they are current or not. The legal minima are a backstop intended to stop anybody being truly stupid, but we should all stop relying upon the black-and-white of the regulations, and apply our own grey matter to whether (within the regulations of-course) we are genuinely safe.

Problem is, regulators and insurers like black and white, thank heavens that most people operate within a club, school or company environment where there is a Chief pilot / instructor (or just somebody experienced and respected) who helps us all to display more than just blind adherence to the regulations.

G

[FlyingForFun]

Genghis beat me to it.

Legal minima seem to only very rarely represent a safe level of currency. It is quite legal for a pilot to get into an aircraft and fly, having not been in an aircraft for over 700 days. And after only 15 minutes (about the time it takes to do 3 circuits) he can carry passengers. Legal it may be, but it's not safe.

I suspect it is because what makes a safe pilot, in terms of currency, varies enormously, depending on things like the pilot's natural ability, the difficulty of the conditions in which he's flying, the complexity of the aircraft he's flying, the type of flight he is planning (local, x-country, aeros, IMC, etc) and so on, that it wouldn't be possible to suggest a safe limit for every single situation. In fact, it's barely possible to suggest a safe limit for any situation, let alone every one. So all the authorities can do is make you aware of the currency issue by setting a very lenient limit, and letting you make up your own mind within the scope of that limit.

FFF
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[dublinpilot]

To me currency means that I don't have to think about tasks that previously didn't have to.

To put that slightly better, if I haven't flown for a while, and when I go back and fly again, if I now have to start thinking (even only briefly) about tasks that previously were automatic, then I am not current, and should be with an instructor for that flight.

At PPL level, I should always have space brain capacity, to allow me deal with unforseen circumstances, emergencies, and stupid mistakes. If I'm not current enough, I'll have to think about things I didn't have to think about before, and therefore I'll have much less spare brain capacity.

To me, that is currency, and hopefully between the club rules and my own judgement, I'll always know when I'm current or not.

[englishal]

Its part of being a pilot I suppose. The FAA have a more reasonable approach to currency requirements in my view, I'd rather have relaxed currency requirements, but let common sense prevail, which you find it does.

My longest period of no flying was 7 months.....scary! I didn't just get in a plane and fly, I went up with an instructor, did some basic handling for an hour or so followed by an FAA instrument proficiency check which took about 2½ hrs (and was quite pleased to find I could still land the thing).$105 for the instructor well spent in my view. After that I felt on the ball again and banged out about 100 hours over the next several weeks, VFR and IFR. My flying tends to be like this, due to my job I can't fly for 6 weeks at a time, but then end up with 6 off, so I tend to head over the pond to the US during my leaves and bang out a bunch of hours.

Cheers
EA

PS The reason I opt for something like an IPC is that it can be used to re-validate my IMC based on my FAA IR. Makes the $105 even better value.

[windy1]

Seems to me that especially for those with IMC or higher, a very important aspect of currency relates to the ability to transfer from visual conditions to a settled instrument scan very quickly.

I remember one ex-mil instructor with countless hours of IF under his belt telling me during my IMC course that even for him, 3 weeks off flying and the small increase in time to get fully on the gauges was perceptible.

[IO540]

Personally, I fly at least once a week and would not feel comfortable not flying for say 3 weeks. It's not good for the plane, either. But that doesn't come exactly cheap...

The trouble with examing the various silly rules is that one might never stop. My favourite one is the 3km min PPL visibility - one cannot navigate in such muck using the techniques taught in a PPL. This is not a "currency" rule but is probably much more dangerous than not flying for 3 months and then flying in a simple plane on a nice clear day.

I don't think the presence of passengers affects safety as such; only in that there are more people to kill in one go IF you crash.

[drauk]

I completely agree that currency is a personal thing and that the rules, such as they are, are very much only guidelines. I also agree that it is up to the pilot concerned to be sensible. But I still wonder how we can know if we are current. Is it just a feeling? I am very aware that I don't know what I don't know and I worry that ignorance is bliss.

windy1, when I first started IMC training I would agreed with you. But the plane doesn't stop flying in those seconds that you take to settle on to the instruments. In the kind of planes I fly (140knt SEP) not a whole lot happens if you just let go of everything for 10 seconds. On the other hand, I was amazed at the difference between an instructor saying "look up" at the MAP on a non-precision approach and seeing the runway right in front of me on a nice sunny day and what actually happens when you break out of the cloud into low visibility on an offset approach to a runway with crappy lights that perhaps I hadn't flown that accurately in the first place. Those seconds spent trying to find the runway are very important. And does currency really help here? Maybe it helps in flying the approach more accurately in the first place, but my eyes are pretty 'current' in 'looking around' skills.

People seem to a make bigger deal of currency with respect to instrument flying than they do with visual flying. Is that reasonable? Instrument flying is much more procedural, more scientific in a way, less 'instinct and seat-of-the-pants', so wouldn't this imply that currency is more of a big deal for visual flying?

Oh dear, more questions. Maybe I'll not fly on instruments for 3 months then pick a 'minimums' day and get an examiner brave enough not to take over until the moment just before I really screw it all up and I'll have my answer.

[shortstripper]

Age makes a difference too I think.

When I was 28 I went out of currency and had to do a revalidation type GFT. I did a 50 minute refresher and took the test, passing easily. I'm now 38 and last December had Foxmoth (I know who he is now :rolleyes: ) check me out in our group aeroplane. I hadn't flown for just under one year (but still legally current). I was bloody awful! It's the first time a lay off has left me feeling so out of practice and I can only put it down to age? Now 38 isn't old I know, but how can a less experienced 28 year old me find 18 months of no flying easy to overcome, when a 38 year old more experienced me finds about 11 months so rust inducing??? ........ sigh of things to come?:uhoh: gulp!!!

SS

[Pete O'Tewbe]

Currency is something that is easily measurable. Ccompetency, on the other hand, is more subjective and for a given requirement of currency, will vary from person to person according to training, ability, overall experience and, yes, currency.

Currency is an aid to competency and is not an end in itself.

[foxmoth]

currency is not a thing of "28 days i am current, 29 I am not" it it a thing that "leaks" away, If you have not flown (or flown a particular type/procedure) for a couple of days then you may not need much extra brain power, if the lay off is a couple of weeks then you will probably need to think a little more, a couple of months will need a definite application of the grey matter - more than this really needs study and maybe a bit of proper practice depending on what you are trying to do. Whatever you are up to, you need to think how long ago you practised it last and how much you might have lost in that period.:{