AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2024 - 93

FLYING SMART /
a pilot with new tools for safe flying. In my
early years flying, my clock was reset when
I earned commercial, flight instructor, and
airline transport pilot certificates as well as
instrument, multiengine, glider, and seaplane
ratings.
While I do have more checkrides in
my future, I had occasion to witness some
of my own shortcomings while flying
under instrument flight rules last summer
in my Beechcraft Bonanza Niky. My
clumsy use of the avionics put mastering
my panel atop my flight training to-do list.
(see " Rebirth Reflections, " December 2023
AOPA Pilot.) I consulted the FAA's Currency
Requirements and Guidance for the Flight
Review and Instrument Proficiency Check
(AC 61-98D) and reminded myself that a
tailored program for proficiency is not only
allowed but encouraged. Working under the
FAA Wings program is yet another way to
satisfy the requirements of a flight review
with a continuing education mindset.
I tasked myself with a collection of
New Year's
resolutions
I'm done with flight reviews
BY CATHERINE CAVAGNARO
ALTHOUGH THE FAA requires pilots to earn
a flight review every 24 calendar months
to continue to exercise the privileges of a
certificate, I avoided them for many years.
It's not that they are especially difficult for
a pilot who keeps up with the latest rules
and flies regularly. At a minimum, it takes
at least an hour on the ground and an hour
in the air with an instructor. But that's the
problem-many flight instructors are satisfied
with those minimums and don't
present much of a challenge to a pilot seeking
to maintain currency. And I have always
enjoyed a challenge.
New Year's resolutions really aren't my
thing, but years ago I made a promise to
figure out a better way to maintain proficiency
than the traditional flight review.
Fortunately, FAA provides alternate-
and superior-ways to satisfy the flight
review requirements. It stands to reason
that pilots with a continuing education
mindset will not only preserve the knowledge
and skills they demonstrated on their
last practical exam but increase them with
further exploration and challenges. So,
each new rating or certificate restarts the
24-month clock and is guaranteed to equip
reading and video materials that ensured
I understood how each unit worked individually
and went as far as I could studying
on my own. I also completed the American
Bonanza Society's course for an instrument
proficiency check (IPC). Time to consult
an expert who could help me organize and
use the information I had attained.
Finding an instructor who fits that bill
is not easy. Sure, many instructors know
a lot about flying IFR with glass panels
in general, but I needed someone to help
with optimizing the use of my new panel.
I chose my PFD, nav/coms, autopilot, as
well as placed an iPad connected to an avionics
fan and power at the center of my
panel-I'm sure there is no other panel
exactly like mine. So, I searched for an
instructor with an encyclopedic knowledge
of the units I chose and experienced
enough with myriad installations to guide
me on the path to master my own.
With a ground training certificate from
the American Bonanza Society in hand, I
contacted one of their accredited instructors,
Bruce Williams, who maintains an
aviation blog as well as a reputation as an
expert on IFR flying. I related my lack of
facility with my new panel and explained
AOPA PILOT / January 2024
93
TRACI DABERKO
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2024

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