Don’t you hate it when the push-to-talk doesn’t work? This happened to me on my last 90-day check, so the instructor kindly offered to make the circuit calls for me. He just needed the odd prod to help him remember. Normally, he said, there was nothing for him to do on one of these checks, just sit there and watch the pilot do their stuff. Pretty easy and generally less hair-raising than supervising low-time students (note I said generally less hair-raising). And that got me thinking: if he normally did nothing, what was he there for?
For the aircraft owners and those lucky enough not to fly with schools that insist on the 90-day check, I will elaborate. It’s a school requirement that every PPL who hires from them must fly dual every 90 days. The intent, the schools say, is to pick-up any bad habits you might form away from the training environment. And anyway it’s only three circuits, so what’s the issue?
The issue is that a 90-day check made up of three circuits only won’t pick up the important bad habits. Sure, if a pilot has speed control issues on final and doesn’t know the calls it will show-up, but that is a sign of someone who hasn’t flown for maybe a year or so, not someone who was okay just 90 days ago. Theoretically, a pilot could do no other flying but the checks for 12 months and fly the circuit quite well, but have gone completely cold on stall recovery.
PPLs tend to loathe the 90-day checks and consider them a waste of time and a wicked inconvenience. Ask anyone who has arrived at the airport on a sun-filled Sunday with pax in tow only to be told that they can’t go flying because their 90 days have expired … and there are no free instructors to do one now.
Several of the schools I have been with have tried to deflect the loathing by saying either the check is regulatory or an insurance requirement. I’m here to tell you neither is true. CASA’s requirement refers to three take-offs and landings in the previous 90-days in order to carry passengers, it doesn’t say the landings have to be dual. And as for the insurance, last time I spoke with QBE there was no such requirement; they just want the regulations met.
Flying schools, here’s a better idea. Stop wasting our time and money with three circuits every 90 days. Convert it into an hour’s dual every six months and take us out into the training area and wring us out. It will be better value for money for you and for us and there won’t be as much bad blood generated.
And whatever you do, have some flexibility. If a pilot is out of check time and wants to go flying, base your decision on what you know of the person and what they have flown in the last six months. Book the next check before they leave the hut, and let them go flying.
May your gauges always be in the green,
Hitch