To maintain a licence as a private pilot, it is necessary to undertake with an instructor, a flight review every two years to demonstrate that your flying capabilities haven't evaporated.
That normally requires between one and two hour's flying time when you will be required to demonstrate a steep turn, a stall and a recovery from it, a throttle off approach to a forced landing in probably a paddock and a real landing back at the airfield.
My last one here at Benalla, also involved a return flight to Albury, to demonstrate navigation ability or lack of it.
In the late 1990s I was producing a monthly magazine for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association at Bankstown airport. As a requirement of that role was a current private pilot's licence, I told my general manager that my currency was about to lapse if I did not again undertake a flight review. As he was a licenced flight instructor, he said he would check me out.
In due course we borrowed someone's single engine plane - I do not remember paying for it or the GM's time - and I did the pre flight and radio checks before taxying to the runway.
So after a radioed clearance from the control tower, we took off, but only did one circuit of the airfield before landing and taxying back to the parking lot and shutting down. All of 15 minutes travelling on the ground and in the air.
My GM/instructor was just saying that was fine, when I looked down to undo my seatbelt and realised to my horror I hadn't even done it up in the first place. So much for the effectiveness of my preflight checklist, such as it was.
I think my boss just smiled and signed my log book to again make me a legal flyer for another two years.
Haven’t been able to fake it since though, partly because my original extremely conscientious and still current instructor from nearly 50 years ago, now lives near Benalla and is the most accessible person for doing a flight review of my abilities.
That normally requires between one and two hour's flying time when you will be required to demonstrate a steep turn, a stall and a recovery from it, a throttle off approach to a forced landing in probably a paddock and a real landing back at the airfield.
My last one here at Benalla, also involved a return flight to Albury, to demonstrate navigation ability or lack of it.
In the late 1990s I was producing a monthly magazine for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association at Bankstown airport. As a requirement of that role was a current private pilot's licence, I told my general manager that my currency was about to lapse if I did not again undertake a flight review. As he was a licenced flight instructor, he said he would check me out.
In due course we borrowed someone's single engine plane - I do not remember paying for it or the GM's time - and I did the pre flight and radio checks before taxying to the runway.
So after a radioed clearance from the control tower, we took off, but only did one circuit of the airfield before landing and taxying back to the parking lot and shutting down. All of 15 minutes travelling on the ground and in the air.
My GM/instructor was just saying that was fine, when I looked down to undo my seatbelt and realised to my horror I hadn't even done it up in the first place. So much for the effectiveness of my preflight checklist, such as it was.
I think my boss just smiled and signed my log book to again make me a legal flyer for another two years.
Haven’t been able to fake it since though, partly because my original extremely conscientious and still current instructor from nearly 50 years ago, now lives near Benalla and is the most accessible person for doing a flight review of my abilities.
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