Instrument written question

[azure]

I had this question on the instrument written today (paraphrased cuz I don't remember the exact wording, but I'm confident the gist is the same):

A pilot wants to act as PIC of a flight under IFR on July 10. Said pilot must have:

A. completed required maneuvers/iterations on or after January 10th of this year.

B. completed required maneuvers/iterations on or after February 10th of this year.

C. passed an IPC between August 1 of last year and July 1 of this year.

From my understanding of the "6 calendar months" rule, none of the above answers is correct. Because it's calendar months, if the pilot established instrument currency any time in January (even as early as the 1st), his/her currency doesn't expire until July 31, so neither A nor B is correct. And an IPC done in August of last year only renews currency until the end of February of this year, not good enough for a flight on July 10th (and not necessary either, provided the pilot did at least the required 6 approaches with holding and tracking maneuvers every six months prior to January of this year).

I assumed the January 10th was a typo and they really meant January 1. I got that one wrong, and have no idea which answer the FAA considers correct. I don't think any of them are, but I'd be delighted to be corrected on this.

Oh yes, I passed with a 95%.

 

[Areeda]

Good job Liz. Looking in my database of published questions (which of course is not complete) the only one similar is:

A pilot's recent IFR experience expires on July 1 of this year. What is  the latest date the pilot can meet the IFR experience requirement  without having to take an instrument proficiency check?
[LIST=1]
[*]December 31, this year.
[*]June 30, next year.
[*]July 31, this year.

[/LIST]
Now assuming you were correct about it being PIC and not needed and IPC the problem I have with your question is that both A & B seem correct to me and the term "required maneuvers/iterations" seems vague.

We'll see what others say.

BTW what was the Learning Area of this question (on your results sheet).

Joe

 

[Rob Schaffer]

Hmmm, I would have thought "A" as well.

 

[bbchien]

Liz is correct.

 

[azure]

Good job Liz. Looking in my database of published questions (which of course is not complete) the only one similar is:

A pilot's recent IFR experience expires on July 1 of this year. What is  the latest date the pilot can meet the IFR experience requirement  without having to take an instrument proficiency check?
[LIST=1]
[*]December 31, this year.
[*]June 30, next year.
[*]July 31, this year.

[/LIST]

December 31, this year. And no, the question I missed isn't in ASA's database either (at least, not in the "Regulations and Procedures" section).

Now assuming you were correct about it being PIC and not needed and IPC the problem I have with your question is that both A & B seem correct to me and the term "required maneuvers/iterations" seems vague.

The "required maneuvers/iterations" is my paraphrase. I don't remember the exact wording there (except they definitely did say iterations) but it was clear (I thought anyway) that they meant satisfying the recent experience requirements (6 approaches, holding, tracking). The reason I didn't like either A or B is that the question said "must", so it was asking for a necessary condition. On or after January 10 is sufficient, but not necessary, and the same with on or after February 10. The IPC between August and July is neither necessary nor sufficient.

Of course, it's possible I had a brain lapse and totally misread the question, or that the FAA and I don't parse English the same way.

BTW what was the Learning Area of this question (on your results sheet).

Joe

There were three that I missed (the others were one on spatial disorientation and one on the behavior of residual ice after popping the boots), but from the ASA codes it looks like this one was PLT442.

 

[poadeleted20]

Liz clearly understand the rule better than whoever wrote the answers to the test question. But since anything over a 70 is a pass, and beyond that doesn't really matter except to the test-taker, a 95 is just fine. Now go learn the important stuff.

 

[azure]

I talked to my instructor today about that question. He liked answer A too, and gave the standard spiel about what "6 calendar months" means. When I pointed out that it didn't matter when in January you got current, he agreed and we both settled on "bad question".

He had never heard of this, or any, question about boots on the IR written and didn't know what the correct answer was. Apparently the FAA is changing the question bank more often now. That currency question is another new one too, apparently.

He did mention that he has to give me instruction on the areas I missed on in order to endorse me for the checkride. So we got that part out of the way (mostly).

That was after 1.5 hours flying the LOC BC @ PTK. I'm definitely rusty, and haven't done a lot of hood work in bumpy conditions, period. Let the checkride prep begin.