When talking about pilot currency, several terms can come up – ‘pilot recency’, ‘pilot competency’, ‘club currency’, ‘passenger currency’, ‘authorisation’ and other local variations and restrictions.

Terms can be a little confusing for pilots trying to assess whether they are ready and able to go flying, especially after a winter break or for other reasons such as family pressures, work issues, or medical problems.

Firstly, we should consider the legal minimum requirements for us to be ‘current’ to go flying. Then, there are things we may wish to consider that will optimise our readiness for flight and make our planned flying safe and enjoyable.

Pilot Currency- the Legal Requirements

To be ‘current’ to fly, you must first have a valid class rating (unless you are a LAPL holder - see next paragraph) for the class of aircraft you intend to fly.

Look at your licence. The expiry date should be clearly shown in Section XII—Certificate of Revalidation, which will look like the example below. Common class ratings for private pilots include SEP, SSEA, Microlight, and TMG.

Private Pilot License (PPL)

You must make sure that your rating is in date and applicable for the aircraft class you are going to fly. If your rating has gone out of date, even by one day, you will need to seek the services of an instructor and/or examiner to renew your rating and you must not fly until this been renewed; for full details of what you need to do, talk to an instructor.

Light Aircraft Pilot Licence (LAPL)

If you are a LAPL holder, you are subject to ‘recency’ requirements instead of a class rating validity period. These can be confusing to many pilots, but they are essential for a rolling validity period, and it is incumbent on pilots to check they meet the recency requirement before every flight.

If you do not satisfy the recency requirements, you will need to seek supervision from a suitable instructor to fly under supervision or seek an examiner to complete a proficiency check.

An excellent Light Aircraft Licence Information sheet can be found on On Track Aviation.

Passenger Carrying requirements

You cannot carry passengers as the Pilot in Command unless you have carried out, in the preceding 90 days, at least three take-offs, approaches and landings in an aircraft of the same class [1].

Flying these under the supervision of an instructor or as touch-and-goes is perfectly acceptable. If you intend to fly at night, at least one of these must have been at night unless you hold a full Instrument Rating (an IR(Restricted)) is not sufficient).

[1] You can take a qualified non-handling pilot as the sole passenger if you have a UK non-FCL licence in a UK G-reg Non-Part 21 aircraft - the requirements are in Schedule 8 of the ANO. The accompanying pilot must be made fully aware that they are merely a passenger. We recommend you carefully discuss the Human Factors threat and error implications before undertaking a flight under these conditions.

Requirements for Pilots at Clubs

If you fly at a flying club or school or own an aircraft shared with others, the organisation may decide on additional ‘currency’ requirements.

Typical club requirements are that you must have flown within the last 28, 45 or 60 days, depending on the individual rules or complexity of the aircraft. If you do not meet the requirements, the club or group may require you to fly with an instructor to carry out a ‘currency check’, which may have some minimum mandated content.

Clubs may also commonly have a scaled set of rules that are more restrictive for recently qualified pilots and are more permissive as pilots can experience flying hours.

While these requirements can often be frustrating for pilots struggling to balance life pressures, weather, availability, and the desire to go flying, they are largely borne out of the experience of clubs and groups over how ‘rusty’ pilots go without flying for a period of time.

The desire to ensure pilots are supported and mentored in their flying practices and to protect the aircraft from damage arising from incidents.

Further Considerations

So, you are satisfied that you meet all the legal requirements to go flying, but what else should you consider?

We may wish to consider our ‘competency’. Competency can be defined as the possession of the required level of knowledge, skills, and experience to permit the safe and efficient provision of flight.

Being a competent pilot is about more than just satisfying the legal minimum requirements. It’s about keeping our knowledge and skills up to date, exploiting all of the learning opportunities available to us, and doing our best to be a safety-conscious and diligent pilot.

A big part of it is our attitude and behaviours towards flying, and many aspects of competence are qualitative, as opposed to being measured in stats and numbers.

Top Five Tips for Becoming and Remaining a Competent as well as Current Pilot

1 – Be Honest with Yourself

The average GA pilot only flies about 30 hours per year. While this may be sufficient for a simple flight in good conditions, you may be surprised at how quickly handling skills and recollection of operating procedures fade, particularly if your overall flying experience is low.

When conditions on the day are challenging, with high winds, unfamiliar aerodromes or airspace, or demanding passengers, your competence may struggle to meet the demands of the flight.

Matching the planned activity of your flight to your current experience and recent handling practice, with due consideration to the conditions on the day, is an easy way to try and avoid becoming overloaded and stressed or lacking the capacity to cope with unplanned events or emergencies.

For example, if you haven’t flown for a while, it may be an idea to go up solo and practice some skills without the distraction of passengers. Or perhaps you need to get used to your new tablet or software, so you could ask to go and try it out while a friend flies so you can try it airborne without the added distraction of flying.

The British Gliding Association produces a pilot currency barometer tool that relates several factors, including the conditions of the day and the amount of recent flying.

The barometer recognises dangers from overfamiliarity and a lack of awareness. As well as the ‘rusty’ situation of those who have not flown recently.

2 – Keep up to date

It is vitally important that we keep up to date with changes in airspace, procedures, and regulations, this could be at your local airfield, local area or national procedure changes.

A great way to do this is to use the CAA’s Skywise email notification service and read the Skyway Code to get the latest information. The Skyway Code is a great refresher and can be downloaded free in an easy-to-read PDF format with helpful bookmarks throughout.

Try to leave plenty of time in the days before going flying for pre-reading and use reliable and credible internet resources - don’t always trust club room talk or internet forums.

Social media can be supportive, but beware of people who may not be all they seem or claim. An increasing number of reputable free webinars and training resources are available, but always make sure you have the correct information for your aircraft type and operation.

3 - Practice all your skills

On your first trip back after a while, or even if you have been flying regularly, it’s essential to keep those key flying skills ticking over. For example, when was the last time you practised steep turns?

Key skills for pilots include flight exercises like:

Steep turns.
Standard stall recovery.
Practice forced landing.
Circuits, including touch-and-go.
Go arounds.
Emergencies such as practice EFATO simulated rough running or precautionary landing.

You may wish to create a personal currency card or log that you can keep in your logbook to track when you last did these things and use it to help maintain a periodicity you feel comfortable with.

A Personal Flying Currencies example is available for download.

You may also wish to review the PPL Skills Test or LAPL Skills Test and read through its various elements.

Can you still confidently fly all the required manoeuvres in your aircraft?

Have you forgotten anything or haven’t flown for a significant time? These might be good skills to practice during your next flight.

For example, if you have planned a navigation land away exercise to meet friends, perhaps practising a go-around and circuit on your return would be worth it.

4 - Don’t Be Afraid to Seek Help and Guidance

If you are unsure about how to fly certain manoeuvres or are not confident about something, do not feel shy about seeking the advice of a suitable instructor who is qualified and current on your aircraft type/class.

If you fly a particularly rare or demanding type or something with unusual handling qualities or features, you may need to seek out an instructor with type-specific experience.

As mentioned above, to maintain class rating validity or LAPL recency, pilots must undergo training with an instructor on at least a biennial basis.

These instructional flights are excellent opportunities to seek a ‘brush up’ on any areas or disciplines you feel are a little rusty; sometimes, a new instructor can also suggest a new way to approach something, or they may update you on the latest technology or techniques that may have been introduced since your initial training.

5 - Expand Your Horizons

Doing something new, like aerobatics, a night or instrument rating, or converting onto a new type of aircraft, can be rewarding and is a good way to improve your skills. Organisations such as the Light Aircraft Association, the BMAA, and the UK AOPA operate pilot wings schemes—LAA Wings and AOPA Wings.

These are part of the CAA Pilot Recognition for Operational Upskilling and Development (PROUD) initiative, which the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority officially endorses.

Pilots are encouraged to achieve flying goals and achievements within the schemes and can move up the levels of different Wings awards. Schemes are excellent motivation for maintaining enthusiasm for flying, trying out new activities, and taking training opportunities while maintaining a safe approach to flying.

Summary of Pilot Currency

Attitudes to risk will always vary, especially in general aviation, where much reliance is placed on pilots' individual attitudes and behaviours to maintain safety outside of the formal controls and rigorous oversight common in commercial flying operations.

While you may meet the legal requirements to go flying, an attitude that is thoughtful and cautious while being open to learning and new experiences will also help you become a current and competent pilot ready to enjoy a safe flight.

Further reading:

Pilot Currency