Flying Club Currency?

flykelley

flykelley

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Waterford MI
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flykelley
Hi Guys
I belong to a flying club based at PTK. I am a member of the board of directors. I bought up the subject of currency to the board 2 months ago. The club has a piper archer and also a Piper Dakota. I think we should have a 6 month currency policy. If you have not flown the Dakota in 6 months then you need to go with a CFI for a quick ride. We can leave it up to the CFI what he wants to do for the check ride. Any thoughts on this subject? I know some FBOs and other flying clubs have currency rules for their members. This seems to be a few members who feel if you are current in the archers and ahve not flown the Dakota for 8 months that is ok, I on the other hand feel if you don't fly the Dakota for longer than 6 months you need to go with someone to knock the rust off. Ok let me have it, and tell me your your thoughts pros and cons.

Regards Mike
 
The flying club I used to be in had a 6 month currency requirement for the 177RG. I think it was insurance-induced, but it also gave people a little extra incentive to at least *try* to maintain proficiency. If you hadn't flown the 177RG in the past 180 days, you had to do a checkout flight with one of the CFI's.

The FBO that I rent at now has a loose 180 day currency requirement for their 182RG as well.

Honestly, I don't know anything about the Dakota in comparison to the Archer, so I personally can't attest to the idea that their is substantial difference between the two, but I think 'more than FAA required' currency is pretty standard across the board.
 
Seeing as the FBO I rent from has a one hour every 30 days or else you fly with a CFI rule, for anybody with less then 350 hours, and one hour every 60 days up to 500 hours, one flight every six months seems exceptionally reasonable.
 
We have a gradated scheme, whereby currency in the 210 grants currency in the 182s grants currency in the 172s grants currency in the 152. I think we have a 60 day on the 210 and a 90 day on everything else. The G1000 is a separate currency, and I don't remember what that period is. I think it's a good policy from numerous standpoints, though I admit it can be a little of a personal hassle at times. It means that when Leslie and I both fly the plane we need to make sure that the FBO knows it so they can update our currencies appropriately.
 
Our club has no currency requirements for the fixed gear planes (172 and 182), but due to insurance demands you must fly the Arrow at least 3 hours in a 180 day period, or you have to be signed off by an instructor. He doesn't necessarily have to fly with you to perform the signoff.
 
For the last two schools I've been associated with, including now, it's fly every ninety days or require a review. Things get rusty enough in that duration.
 
flykelley said:
I belong to a flying club based at PTK. I am a member of the board of directors. I bought up the subject of currency to the board 2 months ago. The club has a piper archer and also a Piper Dakota. I think we should have a 6 month currency policy. If you have not flown the Dakota in 6 months then you need to go with a CFI for a quick ride. We can leave it up to the CFI what he wants to do for the check ride. Any thoughts on this subject? I know some FBOs and other flying clubs have currency rules for their members. This seems to be a few members who feel if you are current in the archers and ahve not flown the Dakota for 8 months that is ok, I on the other hand feel if you don't fly the Dakota for longer than 6 months you need to go with someone to knock the rust off. Ok let me have it, and tell me your your thoughts pros and cons.
Click to expand...

Mike,

I'm in a club with 2 Archers and a 182. The Dakota flies a lot more like an Archer than a 182 does... I have some Dakota time too, and it seems to me that the big difference is just that you have a heavier nose (bigger engine) leading to more risk of a prop strike from porpoising a landing. That's also something I was specifically warned about when I got checked out in the Dakota.

I can see it going either way. However, once someone knows the risk of porpoising in the Dakota, it's more judgement than skill and the re-checkout won't necessarily help anything. We actually have had a prop strike in the 182 by a pilot who hadn't flown it in a long time, but we do not have specific currency rules for it. Our only rule is that if you haven't flown ASEL at all in 6 months then you must go with a CFI.
 
Thanks everyone for the reply's
I plan on printing them and handing them out at our next Board meeting. We do plan on if you are current in the Dakota that would make you current in the Archer. Keep the info coming.

Regards Mike
 
Does it necessarily need to be your Dakota? I rent an airplane when mine is in annual, and the flight school waives the currency rule because they know I fly the same type regularly.
 
AuntPeggy said:
Does it necessarily need to be your Dakota? I rent an airplane when mine is in annual, and the flight school waives the currency rule because they know I fly the same type regularly.
Click to expand...
Hi Aunt Peggy
No it doesn't need to be our plane, we have one member who owns and flies a Swift on a regular basis. As long as he is current in a High Performance plane you would be ok to fly the Dakota.

Regards Mike
 
Looking at it from an owner perspective instead of a renter perspective... no way are you going to hop into an airplane I own if you haven't flown in six months. I think what you've proposed is more than reasonable.
 
Here is the currency rule(s) for our club. -Skip

4. Flight Currency.
4.1. Members are expected to maintain currency. No member may act as PIC
of a Club aircraft unless that member has logged at least 3 takeoffs and
landings within the previous 90 days in any aircraft. Members whose
currency has lapsed under this rule must be checked out by a CFI in any
aircraft before acting as PIC of a Club aircraft.

4.2. Members who fly any of the Club’s retractable aircraft must have at least
2 hours logged pilot time in the same make and model as the insured
retractable aircraft in the preceding 90 days, or have taken and passed a
currency check-out in the insurance aircraft, and received written approval
from a Certified Flight Instructor in the preceding 45 days. However,
members who meet the above currency requirement for the Bonanzas
(NxxxxM, NxxxxS, and NxxxxM) are not additionally required to meet
the currency requirements for the Arrows (NxxxxT, NxxxxT, and
Nxxxx)
 
I think that a 6-month currency requirement for the Dakota is a good idea. The CS prop is something that those who don't fly them often can forget how to use properly, but can cause expensive problems if pilots do not use it properly.
 
AuntPeggy said:
Does it necessarily need to be your Dakota? I rent an airplane when mine is in annual, and the flight school waives the currency rule because they know I fly the same type regularly.
Click to expand...

flykelley said:
Hi Aunt Peggy
No it doesn't need to be our plane, we have one member who owns and flies a Swift on a regular basis. As long as he is current in a High Performance plane you would be ok to fly the Dakota.

Regards Mike
Click to expand...
I think you want to keep that as a special case subject to review. I know that no one here would do it, but a fear that someone is claiming flight experience in a plane they don't actually fly is a real possibility. Unless it's experience in the club's plane, there's no way to verify it.

Having said that, so much of this industry is actually predicated on trust, so I don't think it unreasonable to just require a photocopy of the logbook entry within the past x days showing that they have flown a plane of the like type. Definitely retain the photocopy, though, so you have something to show the insurance company should something happen!
 
gprellwitz said:
I think you want to keep that as a special case subject to review. I know that no one here would do it, but a fear that someone is claiming flight experience in a plane they don't actually fly is a real possibility. Unless it's experience in the club's plane, there's no way to verify it.

Having said that, so much of this industry is actually predicated on trust, so I don't think it unreasonable to just require a photocopy of the logbook entry within the past x days showing that they have flown a plane of the like type. Definitely retain the photocopy, though, so you have something to show the insurance company should something happen!
Click to expand...
Interesting point. Although the local flight school doesn't ask for a checkride when we show up once a year, we do fly a checkride in California when we show up there without our plane. Even though both places rent us planes similar to our own.
 
gprellwitz said:
Having said that, so much of this industry is actually predicated on trust, so I don't think it unreasonable to just require a photocopy of the logbook entry within the past x days showing that they have flown a plane of the like type. Definitely retain the photocopy, though, so you have something to show the insurance company should something happen!
Click to expand...

Absolutely -- it's all about thinking ahead to the court case anymore, isn't it??

:(
 
At the Pilot Center I used to teach at (where the 310 is still on lease), 10 hrs of ME time is required every 6 months to rent the 310, or a re-check with a MEI.
This was suggested by the Pilot Center owner, and we (the aircraft owners) thought it was a good idea.
Otherwise, normal FAA currency requirements are the standard.
 
My club (C172,C182,C182RG) requires the following to maintain currency for an aircraft:
1) A checkout with a club-approved CFI in the aircraft (or a more complex aircraft) within the previous six months; and
2) One flight in the aircraft (or a more complex aircraft) within the previous 90 days.
 
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