Flight Training - August 2023 - 18

PREFLIGHT ASK AOPA
BY CRAIG BROWN
eFIRC
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ROLLING
CURRENCY
KEEPING GOOD RECORDS IS
ANOTHER WAY TO DEAL WITH
REGULATIONS THAT SEEM CONFUSING
Q: How frequently should I check to confirm my instrument approach currency?
A: Once a month is all that is needed. The regulation in question here, 61.57(c), states
that within the six calendar months preceding the month of the flight, the pilot must
have performed six instrument approaches. Because it is a calendar month requirement,
if you are instrument current on the first day of the month, you are instrument
current on the last day of the month. Once a new month comes around, your currency
will need to be checked again; so, the beginning of the month is probably the best time
to confirm your currency.
I call this a rolling currency because it is always changing and could be different
from one month to the next. My method of checking currency is to start with the last
approach entry in my logbook and count back until I reach approach number six.
Note the month that sixth approach is logged in and count forward six months. You
are current until the last day of that month.
An astute student of the regulations will note the disparity in the wording of the
phrase " Within the six calendar months preceding the month of the flight.... " This
implies that the six approaches you flew this month, or even this morning for that
matter, do not make you current, but the six approaches you flew six months ago does.
Logically, this makes no sense. Would you not be more current (and proficient) today
than you were six months ago? One would certainly believe so, but we shall leave that
as it is. I suppose all pilot currency is in rolling form, one way or another, so keep good
records and always be sure yours has not lapsed prior to your next flight.
CRAIG BROWN is a senior aviation technical specialist in the AOPA Pilot Information Center.
pilotassist@aopa.org
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Currency
versus
proficiency
18
FLIGHT TRAINING AUGUST 2023
Currency and proficiency aren't the same thing. The
FAA sets minimum standards for currency-which
has a lot to do with staying legal, but not much to
do with being a competent pilot. Individual needs
vary, but for most of us, meeting FAA requirements
(and nothing more) is simply not enough. The
obvious solution to the proficiency problem is to
do more flying. But when it comes to proficiency-
being prepared to handle any situation with which
you might reasonably be presented-quality beats
quantity. Push yourself. One hundred hours of
pattern work in the past year (all of it on windless
days) might make for smooth calm-wind landings,
but it won't count for much the first time you're
faced with a 15-knot crosswind.

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Flight Training - August 2023

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