Maintaining instrument currency - FAA
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Maintaining instrument currency - FAA
Re FAR 61.57 (c) Instrument experience.
There is a new regulation. I am trying to see what it means. So far as using an airplane is concerned I see no change, you still need, within the last 6 months, the required approaches, holds and tracking. However I always thought that if you went more than 6 months you would need to do some training with a CFII in an airplane to become current again, and if you went more than 12 months you would need an instrument proficiency check ride. The way I read this, you could go 11 months and still regain your instrument experience by doing the approaches in an airplane, then be good for another 6 months, never seeing a CFII. Am I right?
The next query is when using an ATD to maintain instrument experience. The new reg says that you can do this by flying 3 hours in the ATD, plus 6 approaches, a holding pattern, tracking plus four unusual attitude recoveries, all within the last 2 months. So if you were only using an ATD, you would have to do this every 2 months to remain current? And the ATD is not specified so any ATD would work for this (not necessarily a BATD for example, since this is not so specified in this regulation). True?
I also do not see any requirement to have a safety pilot or CFII when using the ATD, since this also is not specified. I remember the discussion last year and this point was raised then; if you don't need to have a CFII in an airplane, why would you need one in an ATD? I know that one is required when logging time in an FTD, but there is no such requirement for an ATD in the regs that I have found (if there is, please point me to it).
I have not found any ATD that does unusual attitude training well, could one substitute the airplane for that? It does not say you can in the reg, but maybe it would be accepted? How can one set up an unusual attitude, even in an ATD, if there is no-one there to put the airplane into the position you would need (close to stall or close to Vne). If you did it yourself, you could easily cheat, in fact I don't know how you could not cheat. If you do need someone to set it up, does it need to be a CFII?
Then the final part that interests me, using a combination of airplane and ATD. I read that as being the easiest, in that one approach in the airplane and six in the ATD (plus the hold, tracking and UA training) will do you for 6 months.
How does this work? I guess that if I am going to fly IFR and see I don't have the required approaches and holds, I can go to my local ATD and fly the approaches, holds and tracking and be good to go. No CFII or minimum ATD time required.
Or have I missed something?
There is a new regulation. I am trying to see what it means. So far as using an airplane is concerned I see no change, you still need, within the last 6 months, the required approaches, holds and tracking. However I always thought that if you went more than 6 months you would need to do some training with a CFII in an airplane to become current again, and if you went more than 12 months you would need an instrument proficiency check ride. The way I read this, you could go 11 months and still regain your instrument experience by doing the approaches in an airplane, then be good for another 6 months, never seeing a CFII. Am I right?
The next query is when using an ATD to maintain instrument experience. The new reg says that you can do this by flying 3 hours in the ATD, plus 6 approaches, a holding pattern, tracking plus four unusual attitude recoveries, all within the last 2 months. So if you were only using an ATD, you would have to do this every 2 months to remain current? And the ATD is not specified so any ATD would work for this (not necessarily a BATD for example, since this is not so specified in this regulation). True?
I also do not see any requirement to have a safety pilot or CFII when using the ATD, since this also is not specified. I remember the discussion last year and this point was raised then; if you don't need to have a CFII in an airplane, why would you need one in an ATD? I know that one is required when logging time in an FTD, but there is no such requirement for an ATD in the regs that I have found (if there is, please point me to it).
I have not found any ATD that does unusual attitude training well, could one substitute the airplane for that? It does not say you can in the reg, but maybe it would be accepted? How can one set up an unusual attitude, even in an ATD, if there is no-one there to put the airplane into the position you would need (close to stall or close to Vne). If you did it yourself, you could easily cheat, in fact I don't know how you could not cheat. If you do need someone to set it up, does it need to be a CFII?
Then the final part that interests me, using a combination of airplane and ATD. I read that as being the easiest, in that one approach in the airplane and six in the ATD (plus the hold, tracking and UA training) will do you for 6 months.
How does this work? I guess that if I am going to fly IFR and see I don't have the required approaches and holds, I can go to my local ATD and fly the approaches, holds and tracking and be good to go. No CFII or minimum ATD time required.
Or have I missed something?
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The truth is that it's hard to be considered that instrument in currency. I encourage you to look not only at your legal currency. But very closely at your own proficiency and ensure that you're not only legal.
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That was the regulation but it has been changed. I am having trouble understanding the new regulation. I know what I want it to say, but I do not want to do anything that is not correct, nor tell my students something wrong. I am a CFII and make my living teaching instrument flying as well as flying IFR almost every day.
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Any time an ATD is used for currency or hours towards a certificate or rating, a CFII must be present and giving dual instruction. You can't just rent an ATD and do the approaches.
